Tuba-Euphonium Methods Project

[jdsalas]

Hello Everyone.

This semester I'm doing an Independent Study Project on entitled an "Overview of Tuba-Euphonium Methods Courses in the University System and Their effectiveness in preparing Middle School and High School Music Educators" It's a small section of my DMA project. I was wondering how many college professors out there teach Low Brass methods as part of their work load or assign the class to a tuba-euphonium TA. I have a quick email survey if anyone wants to take part. The more college educators the more in depth the study will be. You can email me privately to avoid cluter.

To start a thread on Sean's new format, I wanted to get your opinion on an Ideal Tuba-Euphonium Methods Course. What would you focus on in your class. Playing, Trouble Shooting, History?

Also, what are your opinions/experiences on methods courses?

This could be interesting

Thanks for your help.
J.D. Salas

[LoyalTubist]

Generally, I think the older method books are better. They are focused more on playing alone and playing with a group, rather than impress the administrators with songs of 26 nationalities. And I wrote a band method book myself, when I lived in Indonesia, for my own students. I focused on playing alone and as a group, plus I used only Indonesian songs most of the kids knew. Also the text was in Bahasa Indonesia.

[Will]

I've always felt that most band directors must be scared of tubas. You see so many bands with small tuba numbers, most of which have playable horns sitting in the storage room. I walked into my current teaching position with one tuba in the whole program (almost 200 middle school students). And would you believe it, there were 4 playable tubas in the storage room collecting dust. Within the first week I had 4 sixth graders playing those horns and sounding great, as great as beginning tuba players can sound. And they're still going strong 5 months later and have added SO MUCH to the sound of the group.

Now as a tuba player, it can be easy to get kids enthusiastic about the instrument. I play for them and my natural excitement for the tuba rubs off. But I have colleagues who do just as well and aren't tuba players. I think it comes down to the director's perspective and feelings on low brass. If he or she doesn't play a low brass instrument, this perspective is developed most likely in their low brass methods in college. My students are always amazed when I play for them because they never associated a tuba with a beautiful sound. Two of my sixth graders already want to be professional tuba players. Whether that turns out isn't the most important thing. It's that they see every instrument now having the same capabilities to play beautiful music with its own characteristic sound. And when the tuba section is gone (like a field trip did to me the other day), the other students really notice.

An ideal low brass methods would have a strong focus on all common low brass (trombone, euphonium, tuba). It would include all of the history, common problems, and so on. But it would clearly focus on playing the instruments and playing them well. It would be great if the method student could sit in with the college ensemble and see the instruments in action. It may seem a bit much but how well prepared to you want future music educators who will bring us the next generations of musicians?

Bottomline: Low Brass Methods=Very Important!

[LoyalTubist]

I guess I was lucky. I had band directors who took the tuba very seriously. I even had a couple who really were tuba players. The Army band situation was a little different. And I had symphony conductors who blamed everything that went wrong on the tuba (even if there was no part.) The last two symphony conductors I worked with were great. They couldn't understand why Dvorak wrote such a pitiful tuba part for the New World Symphony and that sort of thing (but what do you do when the Symphony Society says you will play it? Add a piece with LOTS OF TUBA AS AN ENCORE!)

[Will]

I came from a small school and an even smaller band program. If I hadn't bugged my director enough, I wouldn't have played tuba.

And speaking about playing in front of your kids, my jazz band will be playing a dinner gig for the school's open house tomorrow night. My bari sax player won't be there so I'll be jammin' along on tuba to cover his parts. Students and parents are more excited to see me play than the jazz band itself!

[LoyalTubist]

We never had fewer than nine tubas when I was in high school. I guess that was really lucky. We had up to 12. We experimented with marching with sousaphones, recording basses, and Besson upright tubas. I like marching with the Bessons the best.

[Will]

My first year marching in college we had 24 in the tuba section. My first year marching in high school (actually as a seventh grader) we had 25 in the entire band! We got up to 35 when I graduated.