Playing percussion while playing tuba?

[imperialbari]

When compressing arrangements down to a smaller number of players, than the original setting calls for, I sometimes run into problems.

One of my own favourite settings for a small concert band is written on basis of a tune composed (by another person) for a certain 150+ years old poem, which mentions the bell of an old-fashioned steam locomotive.

In the concert band that was no problem, as the drummer beat the cup of his ride cymbal.

Right now I am working on an arrangement of this setting for the 10-piece brass format. I can get most of my tonal ideas down on paper.

Only not the bell, which only has 2 times five strokes.

There have been made some funny arrangements of Till Eulenspiegel and The Bat overture (by two different Strauss'es) for VERY few players. I once saw some soloists from the Berlin Philharmonic play these arrangements on German TV. Extremely funny and musically done.

One of the violin players imitated a snare drum roll by tapping a real snare drum with his fingers.

That has inspired me to a solution for my problem:

The 10-piece brass ensemble brings either a ride cymbal plus a drumstick or a bell hung in some sort of stand.

As all the trumpets and trombones plus the horn need 2 hands on their instruments in the first situation (triggered concert middle C's in the Bb trumpets), the only player with a spare hand is the tubist.

What is the general position among tubists?

Would they call the union?

Or would they take the challenge of making the best out of a limited resources situation?

Klaus

[scottw]

K,
If you are talking a 10-pc ensemble, and not an orchestra, I would definitely say "no", there's no problem; most tubists would just enjoy the moment. I find, at least in the US, that about the only place there will be a union presence will be the larger orchestras. Sure, there are some publicicity jobs and the like from the local, but anywhere this type of ensemble is likely to play will not likely be a union job. And, if it were, imagine putting in for a train bell double! And cartage?

[imperialbari]

As a teacher and player I of course have been inspired by the final results achieved by great artists, be it in concerts, recordings, or scores.

However the most productive inspiration has been when I have had the chance to look into the workshop of the artists.

That is the thing you will experience in master classes. Or if you get the chance to meet artists face to face and ask them unexpected questions. "Why did you change your final note in that solo concert to the fifth of the chord?" (The conductor told me to do so). "Why does your 3 upper strings sound so much better than your lowest string?" (My luthier told me to buy this new make).

Of course I am very unfair by quoting extremely silly replies, but they also were very educative for me.

I am no great artist, but a reasonably skilled journeyman in the craft of music.

As an educative measure I encourage musicians to make arrangements by exploiting the accessible tools in shape of the many available music engraving applications for computers.

But to be honest: I absolutely hate the avalanche of visual and aural junk, which these modern potentials of the last 2 decades have made available for amateurs. And I will have to admit to my habitual and recidivist status as a sinner myself.

But then again: If the level shall be raised, exchange of information and experience is a productive tool.

So as a gross breakage of my own set of rules, I have uploaded an unfinished .pdf version of the arrangement discussed in the opening posting of this thread.

Much of the text stuff may be changed as it for now mostly consists of my own work notes.

The music written mostly will stay.

The smart score-readers among you will note, that I could have relegated the 4th trumpet to the train bell function. But my hallmark as an arranger and conductor has been to promote the importance of the inner voices. Much to the surprise of many ensemble players, who had retired to these less exposed lines.

My more or less secret agenda is to exploit the fullness of a trumpet trio combined with a flugelhorn-trombone duo. Of course contrasted with the "fake" horn quartet only using notes available to valveless horns.

The second verse originally had myself playing the melody on euph with two former students playing the designated second level soloists parts on euph and F tuba.

When my collection of Tenorhorns, Baritonen (German plural), and euphs escalated my ears started to hear parts for these also. Today I have more instruments, than possible parts. The last two additions have been designated 3rd level soloists.

As I live in a world of less than ideal given realities, the use of 4 trombones rather than the wished for conical brasses will not make me commit suicide. But these trombones need some ears to make the dense low range texture work.

And then irony got the better of me: the percussion function of the tubist is possible when playing F, CC, and BBb instruments. But my own favourite for this piece would be my best Eb instrument, the Besson 981. And its 3+1 set-up would not leave a spare hand for this present arranger cum doubler on tuba and train bell!

This rant of course is tedious for many of you, but hopefully some will benefit from some workshop talk.

You will find the so far unfinished sketch here:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... BBb/files/

Then go for the "Brudefolkene" folder close to the top of the page.

Klaus

[imperialbari]

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... defolkene/

now has a view of the next steps in the process.

Some obvious shortcomings in the first file (still to be seen) have been corrected. And new problems have been created in the strive to keep the pulse active all the way.

A demand I tend to find more and more important, now where everybody younger than me has grown up with funk and its many successors.

Yet I try to avoid musical elements, which would not have been written at the end of the era of natural horns and trumpets, which is the same period as the introduction of the railway in Denmark.

I will not force all my processes onto this list, but again I remember one old didactical method: to copy the scores of the old masters.

In casu it is just a journeyman allowing for a view into his workplace.

Comments are welcome, but I will shape the setting after my own ideas anyway.

Copyright is a bit special in this case. Iris Larsen made the tune, but greatly preferred my setting over her own. So I have the rights to distribute any of my several versions, as long as I refer to her ownership of the melody and her membership of the Danish equivalent of ASCAP: KODA.

I am not a KODA member, even if I meet the entry criteria. I would loose money being a member, as KODA only recognises playing time, not the investment in creating events at the vertical level (chords, counterpoint, voicing).

Klaus

[DonShirer]

Our community band recently performed one of my compositions, "Matinee Melodies", consisting of music heard at Saturday movies in the '30s, including the Marx brothers, Shirley Temple, westerns, and of course the inevitable selected short subjects. It called for an eclectic mix of percussion from "ooga horns" to anvils, and most of the band members had at least one percussion instrument to handle, often while they were playing their own ax. My wife said it was like watching a six-armed paperhanger. I myself handled a maraca and tambourine while tooting the tuba. I was reminded of a blurb for a Ringling Bos. circus band record which described Merle Evans as "leading the performance with one hand while triple-tonguing his silver cornet with the other"!

Don "you can't have too many instruments" Shirer

[CJ Krause]

***

[JB]

Seems to me what would be perfect would be a bass drum on one foot and a high hat on the other.

Impecable way to sound good and keep beat and you would not have to worry about anyone seeing u tap ur foot.

Althought the title and composer escape me, there is actually a "self-accompanied" trombone solo utilizing this exact setup.

Would that constitute doubling? Tripling?

[CJ Krause]

***

[JB]

Got me, I am trying to figure out if it matters,,, scratching my head, thinking,,,,,,,, still thinking,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Althought the title and composer escape me, there is actually a "self-accompanied" trombone solo utilizing this exact setup.

Would that constitute doubling? Tripling?

And...
who would be more upset if the "rhythm player" got grief for lousy time?

Hmmm...

[Biggs]

Saying "just do it you lazy oaf" gets most tubists used to the idea pretty quick.

[imperialbari]

The arrangement initiating this thread is coming to a close, but has quite a bit of graphical corrections left before the final print and the extraction of parts.

The MIDI soundfile hopefully just represents a bleak reflection of YOUR marvellous performances.

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... defolkene/

Klaus

[Frank Ortega]

I have seen Paul Scott perform on auxilary percussion while playing the tuba with his New Celebration Jazz Band to great effect. He does this buy using one of the big old tuba stands for his Martin to free up his left hand for cymbals and other rhythm instruments. If you haven't heard their recordings yet,order one today. They are phenomenal!

Frank Ortega

[imperialbari]

... how about a triangle suspended from the stand? Just hope you have all open notes

Hopefully all notes on a triangle are open.

Welding the "3rd" corner would change the sound quite a bit!

Klaus