Tuba pitch to study in England?

[tubaknut]

Did a quick search, but didn't find any topics about this.

I'm considering commencing a degree in musicianship when I end my apprenticeship as an electrician.
At this point in time, I'm very fond of British brass bands, and Britain in general. Hence, I want to study there.

In Norway you have to go trough college with a C and an F tuba. That's not my favourite combination, since I prefer E-flat, just another reason for me to go to England. To come to the point - do they have any special requirements in the UK? Bb and Eb, or can I choose what fits me best? Can anyone enlighten me?

[AndyCat]

EEb and CC seem to be the orchestral way here now. BBb is mainly in brass bands besides the odd idiot like me!

[joshwirt]

If you're going to study and try to work in the UK, your best bet is to play a 3+1 EEb. If you end up playing in a brass band, you will either play EEb or BBb bass. I wasn't an EEb player when I got there (silly American with his CC/F tubas!) and I was told the way into a good band was from the bottom. So I auditioned and got into a top band on BBb bass instead and looooooved it!

After spending an extended amount of time on a Besson 980 and then a Yamaha 632, I really feel in love with the EEb. So much so, that I ditched my B&S F for an EEb to play on my final recital. I owned a 3+1 when I got back to the US, but have since found a 4/4 CC that works better for what I do now.

I really didn't know what to think about the EEb as an orchestral instrument at first, but after listening to the LSO, the Royal Phil, the Hallé, the BBC Phil, the BBC Symphony and the Royal Scottish orchestras live and their use the EEb quite extensively, I was sold. Granted, a lot of the rep they were playing worked really well for the EEb......I admittedly wasn't a fan of Mahler 2 on the Besson EEb.....just didn't do it for me. But the Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Stravinsky, Sibelius works were FANTASTIC on the EEb.

I think its also important to respect the cultural tradition of the ensembles in different countries. In the UK, the 3+1 EEb rules while a lot of British orchestral players also use the PT6 as their 'big horn'. The brass bands will all play basically the same instruments.....gives that lovely homogenous sound, but the playing style will vary from band to band. Most of the orchestral players that I saw and worked with in the UK played basically the same setups.....'if it aint broke'....

Its a pretty safe bet that if you're gonna be studying/playing in the UK, a 3+1 EEb will be a wise investment.

[tubaknut]

Thanks for some good answers!

Although you've told me things I sort of knew beforehand, it helped hearing it from people with experience from the UK. One thing that I can't see to have gotten answered is whether are any requirements regarding studying music at, e.x. RNCM. I'm in the market for a new tuba, and I want to choose one that'll do the work for me when I eventually come to England.

[hbcrandy]

In the late 1970's I was considering application to the Royal Academy of music to study with John Fletcher. I was told the CC and EEb tubas would work well. But, what stopped the application process for me was that, as a non-British subject, I could not legally earn money in England. So, I chose to stay in the United States.

[joshwirt]

I, like many other non-UK students, was able to work legally in the UK while studying there. You can only work up part-time as a student and I don't remember the actual number of hours, but think it was around 20 per week. Most of us worked as ushers for the RNCM as the college had performances in all 4 venues nearly every night, but others worked around Manchester as well.

As for specific questions regarding studies at the RNCM, you should check out the site and contact them for a prospectus:

http://www.rncm.ac.uk

I would also recommend contacting potential teachers at colleges and uni's in the UK about their studios. Its worth the visit to see if you really like living in one city over another. Check out the music scenes as well.....brass bands are MUCH bigger in the North of England and so is the competition. There are great orchestras throughout the UK as well as teachers/mentors to seek out.

Best of luck to you. I'd move back tomorrow if I could.....

-Josh

[hbcrandy]

I, like many other non-UK students, was able to work legally in the UK while studying there. You can only work up part-time as a student and I don't remember the actual number of hours, but think it was around 20 per week. Most of us worked as ushers for the RNCM as the college had performances in all 4 venues nearly every night, but others worked around Manchester as well.

This is good news. Things have loosened up since I applied. I wish work was available when I was still in school.

With the brass tradition in the UK, it sounds like a great place to study. Best wishes.

[tubaknut]

Very much good news here, indeed!

Since I'm Norwegian, I don't have any restrictions on how much I can work in the UK. This also applies to some other European countries including all members of the EU. However, since Norway isn't a member, I'd get the dreadful 13 500£ fee per academic year, in contrast to EU citizens who only get charged between 3000-6000£ for the same tuition. This makes studying in the UK a harder economic task, but the Norwegian government is doing everything in their power to make a deal with the UK on this matter.

On the other hand, I truly see the advantage of studying there for my own sake. I regularly play BBBb, CC and EEb, so the combination of brass bands with BBBb and orchestras with CC's seem like a good argument to go there.