TUBACHRISTMAS Words of Advice

Kevin Miller · Post by **Kevin Miller** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:43 pm

Just a tip for you high school sousaphone heroes out there.

If you insist on blatting, blasting, and make the conscious choice to produce generally bad tones throughout a TUBACHRISTMAS performance; don't do it while wearing apparel that identifies the school that you attend. It only serves to embarrass your band director and invites other participants to fire off an email to said director exposing your lack of taste and professionalism, as well as the poor manner in which you represent your school. Some certain Fort Worth high school "musicians" did just that at today's otherwise fine Fort Worth TUBACHRISTMAS performance by 122 (minus those guys) participants.
Congrats to all the fine playing by the caring musicians who played today. Shame on the morons who tried to, but unsuccessfully, spoil today's performance.

Tubadork · Post by **Tubadork** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:02 pm

Same thing happened in Atlanta. About 3 or 4 of the tunes got screwed up and half of the group got off by a beat. Too many blatting kids.

What can you do, hopefully next year it will be inside and better.
Cool,
Bill

Kevin Miller · Post by **Kevin Miller** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:16 pm

Not yet Doc. Caldwell went out of business and funds are tight. Maybe next year sometime.

bort · Post by **bort** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:23 pm

Did this happen during the rehearsal too? I would think the conductor/coordinators would have addressed this then (if the students in question were at the rehearsal).

What a shame though...the whole idea is to show up and do the best you can. Even though it's not a real "serious" performance, it still needs to be treated with respect.

Eric B · Post by **Eric B** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:59 pm

[quote="bort"]Did this happen during the rehearsal too? I would think the conductor/coordinators would have addressed this then (if the students in question were at the rehearsal). quote]

I coordinated a TubaChristmas in Texarkana for eight years. We ran into that problem during the first two years. After that I would stress the importance of quality sound production. I would give a lecture at the beginning and the end of the rehearsal. Unfortunately, some heroes don't display their supreme aptitude for blatting during the rehearsal. They know that they can act up during the concert and nobody can stop them

. It's usually one of the high school kids with a sousaphone. I would have no problem telling them off after the concert

, although the damage was already done. With enough seasoned performers, I have heard decent blend from groups that had a large number of Jr. High and H.S. students. Unfortunately, it only takes a few immature blowhards to ruin an otherwise enjoyable experience. I would suggest writing a tactful letter to the coordinator with some suggestions to head off some of this next year. They are usually open to suggestions to improve their event.

fpoon · Post by **fpoon** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:40 am

First off, with the exception of a college section that "hosts" an event (GT and UGA back in the old days of Atlanta Tubechristmas) or even just attends en masse you should probaby just go ahead and wear green or red. Fashion is fashion I guess. But the odds are you'll look really out of place in your black and blue or purple and yellow, etc.

And would any of you really email a kids band director if he was playing poorly? And do you think the band director would care that much?

Not condoning such actions mind you, I really like a lot of the arrangements in that book but any tubachristmas gig is the most informal gig of the year, and you have a ton of dudes and dudettes that have not been playing long.

That trademark FAMU "SPLAT" doesn't really belong in any of Mr. Wilder's tunes, and while it may be fun to blast from time to time, doing so probably bothers more people than it entertains.

At least, in the concert...

GC · Post by GC » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:29 am

If high school or middle school kids are there, they are supposed to be accompanied by their band director anyway. I've several times seen band directors take kids aside and tell them to cut it out.

200-300 people turning around and giving dirty looks can help, too.

The worst offender I ever heard was a college student from an unnamed major university not too far from Hot'lanta who had large metal Sousaphone, an extremely powerful sound, remarkable projection, and who evidently thought that trying to see the conductor from the back was a waste of time. This person's enthusiasm was contagious, and so was his tendency to rush like mad when excited.

Pure Sound · Post by **Pure Sound** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 7:27 am

We'll see what Dallas is like today.....................

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 9:48 am

All the gripes listed above (and nobody even mentioned horn denting) are the reasons I personally choose to not attend a TubaChristmasÂ®
While I think it is in theory an excellent concept, I feel the circus it frequently becomes just furthers the belief that the tuba is a joke and not a serious musical instrument.

A local tuba player in Knoxville organized a low brass ensemble of about a dozen players last year that, while far from a Gehrad Meinl Sextet performance, made a decent presentation of our instruments instead of a mockery. Many of the arrangements were his own and quite respectable. Perhaps bucking the TubaChristmasÂ® trend and having smaller groups with players of at least H.S. competency and creative arranging would be a better outreach to the non-tuba community.

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 9:53 am

We could do like the Rolling Stones and hire a local motorcycle gang to "police" the unruly tubists.

scottw · Post by **scottw** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 10:35 am

We had one 2 weeks ago in which there was a host of euphs and a much smaller contingent of tubas, of which I was one of only 2 adults. Kids were everywhere, which is a mixed blessing: there are younger people playing the tuba, which is good. The other side is that the kids were much too busy yakking amongst themselves to actually TRY to play well and there were those 3-4 idiots trying all too hard to show that they could stand out from the other 50 players by blatting every single note from their position right behind me! Overall, the performance was well-received by the crowd at the local mall, but a MUSICAL experience it was not! The worst thing was that the coordinator and the conductors chose to ignore the whole ugly aspect of it, which was unfortunate for all those folks who were really trying to do well. I'll have to figure out whether or not it is worth the effort for next year.

jacojdm · Post by **jacojdm** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 10:39 am

Last Sunday was my twelfth time taking part in the Akron Tuba Christmas. I can say that, by and large, the blatting problems seem not to be pervasive in this event. Tucker Jolly points out at the beginning of the rehearsal that blatting is not acceptable, and he's not afraid to point it out during rehearsal, or, to shoot a disapproving look in the direction of and offending player or players. This particular event seems to usually draw about 475 musicians, give or take (I think this year was down to around 415, but I seem to remember it being as high as nearly 600 around the turn of the century), being heavily populated by middle and high school students. And, in most cases, these young people aren't chaperoned by their band director, as another poster suggested "should" happen. To me, this ensemble tends to have a better than average sound of a TC event.
I think that it's important that the older, more mature players set a good example for the younger musicians (I'm 25...and I'd think that most players of college age or better can be lumped into the mature category), and show them how good the Tuba Christmas arrangements can sound by playing as part of the ensemble, and not trying to be heard.

fpoon · Post by **fpoon** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:25 pm

If high school or middle school kids are there, they are supposed to be accompanied by their band director anyway. I've several times seen band directors take kids aside and tell them to cut it out.

Is this like an "official rule?" I can see a director attending IF he played tuba/euph/even bone but my directors never went once. We just hopped on MARTA with sousaphones and rolled solo.

I mean, if your kids are so immature you have to worry about them out in public to begin with, maybe they shouldn't be going.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:35 pm

Perhaps a short explanation of why the event is held at all might be in order. I suspect that many of the younger participants have never heard of Bill Bell, nor have any idea that he affected them in any way. They likely view any participation as a "throw away", and never even knew life without tuba ensembles.

Responsibity will not suddenly hit kids of any age. Perhaps an event accomplice in the back hitting them on the head with a pole will.

GC · Post by GC » Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:36 pm

fpoon: Maybe I should have said that it applies to school days, as most of the TCs I've been to have been during weekdays. If they aren't in school on a school day, either they're cutting or it's an official trip and they're not being supervised like they're supposed to.

You're right, though, about weekends, and I wasn't thinking. Those are free-for-alls where kids are concerned.

fpoon · Post by **fpoon** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:44 pm

Or it's just an excused absence, just like going to the doctor or what not.

All our Tubachristmas's were on weekdays (I think 100% Fridays). Throughout High School, it usually fell on an exam day so I'd stay after school one day, take an exam early and then not even have to go into school that day anyway.

So even had our director been a tuba player/cared/even wanted to come he probably could not have due to proctoring duties.

TonyZ · Post by **TonyZ** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:03 pm

Just like the above quote about Akron's TC, I give a stern but friendly list of my expectations at the outset, and have few problems. Gary Tirey has said the same things for the last 24 years, so it has become imprinted on many members. There will always be a few hot dogs, so don't ever be afraid to let them know that they are wrong. You'll be thanked and thankful in the end. There is no reason to not have a lovely sounding TUBACHRISTMAS!

A Happy one to all!!!

Gorilla Tuba · Post by **Gorilla Tuba** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:32 pm

At our tubachristmas in Joplin. MO, the majority of attendees are high school students who come with their band directors. Also, a bunch of my students come. Sadly, there aren't too many performing who aren't a student or music teacher. In total we average between 50-60 players.

I have been blessed not to have any "heros" (yet). Now, getting everyone to play in keys other than Bb and Eb.... that's still an issue. However, I can deal with some missed notes if the effort is earnest.

I still believe the comraderie of events like Tubachristmas is vital to keeping young tubists and euphoniumists playing.

chipster55 · Post by **chipster55** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 11:56 pm

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... &catId=342

(hope this link works)

This was TubaChristmas in Dallas today. Most of the blatting and the like seemed to be confined to the rehearsal, from what I could hear where I was in the group. What bothers me more are the numb-nut high schoolers who stand around noodling and farting around on their horns after the concert, especially after being told not to before we go out to play. And it's the ones who don't play worth a **** who do it.

bort · Post by **bort** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 12:30 am

Has anyone been to a poorly organized/run event? I went to a small event a few years ago, and while it was cool to play in a smaller group (~15 vs the 200+ I'm used to), it was just too annoying to go back to. Time for TubaChristmas horror stories?