Different key tuba, different key etudes?

[Wes Krygsman]

After starting F tuba last fall, there is a little facet of playing that I don't know exactly what I should do about.

When warming up/exercising on F tuba, I do the same warm up that I do on BBflat tuba, only a 5th up. I read the same sheets and fingerings, but it sounds a 5th up obviously.

When playing etudes though, I play the same Rochut/Bordogni's, Kopprasch, and Blazhevich as I do on BBflat, but I can't help wondering if some of them would be more beneficial up a 5th so that they'd be the same fingerings as the BBflat. I've tried both and wonder if the point of some of the technical exercises has do do with fingering patterns and placement on the horn.

My questions for the Tubenet Freak Jury or whatever you call yourselves now are this...Are there etude books specifically written for F tuba? If all you do is play the standard etude books on both horns, do you alter them in any way to make it more horn friendly/beneficial? Thanks in advance to all that reply.

[tubeast]

There are method books written for certain keys. My issue of Kopprasch, for example, has certain etudes written out several times in different keys with annotations as to the horn to be used. I also own a beginning method book that specified "BBb tuba" as its main aim.
Given the limited range of a beginner, it´s hardly possible to find exercises in these that will work on an F tuba, neither as written nor taken up an octave.

However, I should think that many etudes were not designed to establish fluency in certain fingering patterns, but rather in certain harmonic structures at ranges that will be common in musical practice.

[Wyvern]

I play the the etudes on with both my CC and EEb tubas at the same pitch which will help embed the different fingerings and the relevant pitches in the memory.

You should be able to cover the whole range on your F tuba, although I would not start on etudes specifically for BBb, although the Bordogni should be fine.

I think it is a dangerous practice playing the same music in different keys for different pitched tubas. That causes confusion!

[Chuck(G)]

It depends. If you're comfortable reading from trumpet or horn literature, then changing keys to play on different horns is quite natural--the fingerings stay the same.

That aside, it's very useful to be able to play music on your stand in any key, regardless of what it's written in. The mental work will do you good.