Colleges without tuba teachers.

[Richardrichard9]

Should I exclude a school because they don't have a tuba teacher. A general one who teaches all brass instruments, even if they they have no tuba credentials?

[THE TUBA]

Not if you want to major in something other than tuba.

[Richardrichard9]

The college I am looking at has a trumpet player as the tuba teacher. I took lessons from a trombonist for a while. I enjoyed his lessons and learned a lot, but not sure about a trumpet player.

[Norm in Bellevue]

If you're going to major in tuba performance, your tuba prof. should be a tubist, IMO. If you're majoring in mus. ed. or something else, perhaps it's not as important.

[Chadtuba]

My undergrad college didn't have (still doesn't) a tuba teacher. I studied with trombone and trumpet teachers. I learned a lot and feel I was prepared for a career as a teacher, but I definitely lacked in tuba knowledge as a result. I'm just now (graduated in 2001) learning about what is standard lit and proper mp matching with the proper horn, and many other things that I should have learned during my undergrad studies. I also feel that I could have been a better player had I studied with a tuba teacher, but I also put a lot of that back on myself for not preparing and researching more on my own.

Thank you TNFJ for helping to put me on the right track and for fanning the flames on the fire under my butt.

[Long Beach State Tuba]

If you're going to major in tuba performance, your tuba prof. should be a tubist, IMO. If you're majoring in mus. ed. or something else, perhaps it's not as important.

I definitely agree, you HAVE to have a professor that plays the tuba if you are going to be a music major. I took lessons from my high school band director who played trombone and i thought i had learned a lot, but i learned WAY more from my Tuba instructor i take lessons from now.

[Timswisstuba]

In fact Roger Bobo didn't have a tuba teacher when he was at Eastman either. He had a Don Knaub a great bass trombonist But Roger Bobo is Roger Bobo; he would sound good no matter what.

I wouldn't rule out a school because there isn't a tuba teacher. What is more important is having good brass teachers because we can apply what we learn from all brass instruments to the tuba. The only disadvantage is that the trumpet teacher may have you playing music like the "Hummel Trumpet Concerto" which may not be a bad idea anyway.

If you are going to major in music make sure that you have contact with good brass players...and hopefully tuba players.

[LoyalTubist]

Not if you want to major in something other than tuba.

Don't pay attention to the man.

I have a Bachelor of Music in Tuba from a university which didn't have a tuba teacher. For most of the time there, I studied with Jim Self. The brass teacher on faculty was Larry Johansen, a trumpet player, whose students included Gene Pokorny.

I have a Master of Music in Church Music (Tuba/Education concentrations) from an institution which didn't have a tuba teacher (or ANY brass teacher). My tuba teacher was the late Everett Gilmore.

I need to know, what gives THE TUBA the authority to give this answer?

What are his/her qualifications?

[TubaBob]

I learned tuba from my high school band director, a brilliant trombonist. I studied with a brilliant trumpet teach for a year at Northeastern Illinois which had only one brass teacher. Both were good experiences for me.

No, you should not exclude a school if the teacher is a brass generalist. You should exclude the school if the teacher is a bad player or a lunatic. There are plenty of each of these who hold tubas, trombones and trumpets.

[MartyNeilan]

Local schools will often bring in adjunct faculty to fill out their instrument roster on an as-needed basis for their more advanced students. Some schools will even give you the option of saying, "I want to take lessons with..." and set you up with him/her, but that may cost extra. Within limits...
We had a guy at my alma mater (in Cleveland,TN) that wanted to take lessons with Michael Lind The school didn't exactly go to that exteme, but they did set him up with a symphony player in a major orchestra about 1 1/2 hours away. The guy wound up quitting the horn anyway (good thing they saved on the international airfare )

[THE TUBA]

Perhaps I was unclear.
The OP did not specify what he intends to study in college, so if the OP is planning on majoring in anything other than tuba performance, he should not exclude a school solely on the absence of a tuba professor.

I did not mean to say, "Do not major in tuba at a college without a tuba professor," only that the presence of a tuba professor should not be the only deciding factor in choosing a college in which one is not going to major in tuba performance.

I apologize for any misconception.

[Albertibass]

I know that Mike Forbes studied with bass trombone player Mark Lusk in his undergrad. So i dont think it should be that big of a deal.

[TubaRay]

Interesting backtrack(above).

Along the path I have taken, I have studied with both a trombone player and a trumpet player. These were both very positive parts of my study. Interestingly enough, I studied with the trombone player before the trumpet player. The trombone guy taught me a lot about musical interpretation and worked with me on orchestral excerpts. The trumpet player taught me a lot about brass instruments and helped me extend my range a great deal. I'm glad I studied with them. They were very important to my development.

[pierso20]

I believe it is important to take lessons from many different backgrounds. Some of the best advice/instruction I've ever recieved was from non-tuba playing players.

Sometimes, when you study with a tuba player, they can be more forgiving because they understand what is inherently difficult on the tuba. Other players on other instruments don't care!! Therefore, since they don't care about what is "hard" on the tuba, they can push you a bit harder at time.

However, it is still wise to recieve instruction from an actual tuba player, pending what you want to do that is. While taking lessons from a non-tuba player is benificial, you're undergrad is a time when you should really be developing tuba skills, and only a tuba playing instructor can really really help with tuba specific technique/knowledge.

If you are getting a music ed degree, this may not be as important but if you are pursuing a performance degree, then studying with a tuba playing person is very important.

Later on is your career you may want to study with another instrument player, but you should at least have a solid tuba instructed background beforehand.

(This isn't to say that successful tuba players HAVE to have this experience. There are several successful players who studied with trombonists, euphonium players, etc.)

Just make the decision that best works with your situation and circumstnces.

[windshieldbug]

Whatever you think you might do (tuba or non), taking a lesson with the teacher before you commit may help you decide. I've heard good things from people both ways, and bad things from people both ways. It depends on your situation and the teacher.

It's your dime; try them out and see what YOU think!

(BTW, I switched my major to tuba because I found that my undergrad school had a kick-a$$ tuba teacher, and the trombonist that was trying to teach me euphonium was all about "smile" embrochures... )

[MileMarkerZero]

I can only relate my experience. I studied with two different trombone players in college. The first seemed to believe I would become a better tuba player by his mere presence. Needless to say I didn't learn much.

The second was an absolutely top-notch musician and teacher. The musical principles he taught me stick with me to this day; how to shape a phrase, how to use a minutely different articulation to get a hugely different effect, how to invest yourself and your experiences into the music, etc. But he couldn't teach me about the nuts and bolts of being a tuba player: the current and standard lit, how to choose a horn and the tendencies of different types and models, the different nuances that different horns have, even things about intra-oral shape and motion to produce different sounds (it's different on a trombone).

I wouldn't trade my knowledge gained from this gentleman for the world. But I also wish I would have had an actual tuba player for more than just one semester of my undergrad.

I guess my point is that unless you are blessed as I was to get an instructor that can give you the keys to musicianship in spades, you would be better off studying with an actual tuba teacher. He might not be able to give you those keys either, but at least you'll have the knowledge of the tuba world that you need to make that leap yourself. A teacher can teach tuba, or they can teach musicianship. Your best bet is to find someone that can do both.

[TubaRay]

Your best bet is to find someone that can do both.

This pretty much sums it up, in my opinion.

[jonesbrass]

OK, I'd say that if your basic technique is not solid, a good brass teacher is a good thing. The most important thing, however, is to study with the most MUSICAL person you can find after your technique is solid. At that point, it doesn't have to be a brass player, could be a singer, a cellist, violinist, or whatever. The most important part is to MAKE MUSIC. We just happen to play the tuba. My $0.02, FWIW.

[Mojo workin']

Studying with someone other than a tuba player is fine. If they are a great musician, they can model great musicianship for you at the very least, and will usually be able to teach it to you as well.
Conversely, they will not usually be able to teach you the finer points of great tuba sound. Tuba instructors are best for this in my opinion. Also, they will know the tuba rep better than non-tuba players.

[adam0408]

don't worry about it. If the school you wish to attend does not employ a tuba player, its not a big deal. Make sure that you can get lessons from a symphony player or other pro from time to time to make sure you're on the right track.

It isn't the teacher that makes the player. The player makes himself by how much he practices. (as long as he is practicing the right things)