Your recital music

[Tubaguy56]

Hmmmm, recital is a ways away for me, but if I had to program one right now....

Hummel trumpet concerto-3rd mvnt.
Hindemith Sontata (all)
Ellerby

intermission

Marcello
Lebedev
Barnes

[Allen]

...snip...
I REALLY try to NOT play "tuba music", unless it is
- something quite campy
- something really good that has been ignored from the repertoire, or
- something that has been cycled out of the recent/common tuba music repertoire and needs a "bump".

To me most "tuba music" reminds me of so much "band music". Double-tonguing, scale runs, and "band rhythms" in the outer movements / pointless, melancholy, emotion-without-direction-or-story inner movements.

If you're playing an F tuba, the oboe repertoire is worth looking into. The most difficult oboe repertoire (Goossens, Saint-Saens, Poulenc, etc.) frankly, is unapproachable by most tubaists, but compositions, technically speaking, in the next tier down (still stuff that "big name" oboists record and perform) lay quite well on the F tuba. The oboe range, generally, can soar up to a very high F or G, and descends two and a half octaves down to a Bb below the staff. (sound familiar?)
...snip...

Joe is onto some good stuff. I'd like to further suggest flute repetoire. The flute, unlike the oboe, requires lots of wind, and phrases are written accordingly. The phrases in oboe music can be so loooooong! The older flute repertoire mostly did not go very much above D (two octaves and a second above middle C), and in the Baroque era topped out at A above that. Modern flute music can go much higher. The bottom note for old flute music is D above middle C; later flute music goes down to C or B. If you can read treble clef (at concert pitch minus two octaves), you can use flute and oboe music directly, without having to do arrangements.

I have generally found violin music difficult to play on a wind instrument. I tried on flute and recorders -- I haven't tried on tuba nor am I likely to.

Cheers,
Allen

[LoyalTubist]

I went to a tiny college in which, for my senior year, I was the only music major. For me to get band credit, I had to join the town band. That institution is now a slightly larger university and dropped the music performance option after I graduated. It now only gives BAs and no BMs.

Once, when I had to order some college transcripts for my job, the principal called me into his office during class--it was an emergency!

"Bill! What is the meaning of this? California Baptist University only awards Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees to undergraduates."

"Simple, sir. I didn't go to California Baptist University. I went to California Baptist College. When they changed the name of the school, the whole character of the place changed."

He seemed to almost accept that, but he had to call the university (from Guam) to prove it.

Consequently, when I thought I lost my BM diploma, I wrote to them. They said that I would have to pay extra because they would be changing my degree from a Bachelor of Music in Tuba Performance to a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Instrumental Music. To recreate a BM would violate the school's policy.

Anyway, after that rabbit chase, when I did my Junior and Senior Recitals, I asked the music faculty what they always wanted to hear on tuba. One of the things I did was "Tubby the Tuba" with the town band accompanying me. I did the Lebedev concerto, which went over really well. I even did Beelzebub, which surprisingly went well in a Baptist school.

My final Master's Recital in grad school (which was a Baptist theological seminary) was done pretty much the same way. I dug up some of the old war horses and played those... the Danielssen Concertant Suite, Effie, and Three Songs by Rodger Vaughan, along with other requested pieces. Even though it was at 4:00 in the afternoon on a Thursday (I seem to remember that it was on a Thursday), the little recital room was packed, mostly with high school students from high schools in the Fort Worth area.

[tubaguy9]

I even did Beelzebub, which surprisingly went well in a Baptist school.

Oh, Beelzebub is such a fun solo...as long as you didn't whimp out on the high parts. I played it for a music contest, and got a II on it playing the high parts on a CC tuba...insane, I know, but so fun.
Also, the rating you get depends on what way the wind is blowing. I was one of a million people who got a II from that guy that day.

[tubaguy9]

Well...this is in High School...

[djwesp]

I'll get torched for saying this....


But who says you need fillers? What do you consider a filler? Why have a filler anyway?


People appreciate shorter recitals. People appreciate good literature performed well. Even if you have a minimum number of minutes or pieces for your recital credit, YOU CAN DO IT. Eric, I bet you are perfectly capable of playing a serious recital in its entirity. No fillers at all. And play a fun little encore or something. There is plenty of good tuba, flute, oboe, euphonium, and even tenor horn music out there that is just waiting to be played.


Or perhaps I'm way off base in what I consider a filler. Seems to me, most of the time, the audience recognizes the material as such--- and you are just waisting your face and THEIR time.


wes "who gets tired of grade III lyrical pieces and theme and variation fillers" pendergrass


--- and no, i'm not saying there isn't some good lyrical simplistic pieces out there; and no, I'm not saying that theme and variations is bad. I'm just saying the audience isn't necessarily as dumb to the world as we make them out to be.

[UTTuba_09]

I appreciate your input, I basically have to program an hour worth of music, and I've never played with Barnum and Bailey. So my plan is to do one half of solos, a nice intermission, and some good chamber stuff, where I don't have to work as hard...

[LoyalTubist]

Don't confine yourself to just tuba solos with piano accompaniment. Use a variety of combinations--other instruments, mulitiple tubas, etc. Even tuba alone. The work I did by Rodger Vaughan in my final Master's Recital was a solo for soprano voice with tuba accompaniment. Let your audience (and the faculty jury, if this is an academic recital) see that the tuba can do many things.

[UTTuba_09]

So can anyone suggest a piece with Tuba solo and an "odd" accompaniment?

[quinterbourne]

I would sure be interested in tuba with... banjo, guitar (or similar stringed instruments)... how about accordion, or organ? Harp? Xylophone or Marimba?

[tubaguy9]

If you have the range...HoUsE MiX for Tuba and Synthesizer...forget the composer...available here

[LoyalTubist]

So can anyone suggest a piece with Tuba solo and an "odd" accompaniment?

Don't try to be odd. Be a tuba player but use the resources you have. I used Winston Morris's old Tuba Music Guide to help me find music. You can also check the Robert King catalog.

[UTTuba_09]

I found a piece by Koetsier, Galgenlieder, for soprano and Tuba, and found Mike Forbes' CD, what a beautiful piece! It's definitely going on my recital! Found it on Robert King's website, thanks LoyalTubist!

[quinterbourne]

So can anyone suggest a piece with Tuba solo and an "odd" accompaniment?

Don't try to be odd.

I don't think he wants to be odd, I just think he wants to play something different than the same old tuba and piano stuff.

I would replace "odd" with "unique, interesting and original."

[UTTuba_09]

Yeah, by "odd" I was pretty much talking about anything with solo tuba and NOT piano... but the Koetsier soprano/tuba songs sound REALLY good!

[UTTuba_09]

here is an odd one, but might work

Do a baroque sonata arranged by your teacher Mr. Morris ( i assume UT in your case is tennesee tech) and have the accompaniment be on harpischord...that would be cool.

I played a baroque piece last fall and my teacher actually wanted to do that, but our harpischord is broken

Ah, that would be neat. I'll keep that in mind!

BTW, Sande MacMorran teaches at UT.

[djwesp]

i prefer starting with a baroque, classical, or renaissance piece to begin the concert, something many people can relate to

Then play a standard Sonata like the beeversdorf or the hartley, then before intermission play a full concerto

After intermission, play something like the hindemith or encounters II, and end up with a cool piece like the plog minatures

How many recitals have you had?

[jbaylies]

ok so I let one slip

Sometimes I forget how to spell "teh"

Sometimes I forget how to spell.

My brother hass a massive mind block when he forgot how to spell "my".
"Uhh... John? How do you spell my?"
"Uhh.. emm. why."
"OHH YEAH!"