The Dreaded Oompahs...

[DevilDog-2013]

Well, I'm quite positive that we are all familiar with the dreaded "oom-pahs". Yeah, that's the whole "sitting at the back of the band with the biggest and shiniest instrument (and most expensive mouthpieces for that matter), playing a part any first year could manage" kind of thing. Anyone else want a break from all that?
Yes, as tuba players this is what is expected from us. But it's always nice for a change (even if only temporary). So, in high school now, concert season consist of only oompahs and long notes. The only cool parts we get are during marching season, in the stands, at the football games, playing things we made up - SnakePit/SonicBoom(I'm actually playing with a tuba that originally made that up), our version of Hey Baby, Lean On Me, and something I'm working on now.
However, after finding boxes of old music in the band room, there were SO many concertos for different instuments. AT LEAST 50 for clarinet, oboe, flute, and EVEN alto sax! But were there any for TUBA? Of course not, there wasn't even a folder for us. (But we found an INSANELY old mouthpiece that souns AHmazing...nevermind the fact that it's turning black)
Anyway, sorry for the babbling on. Does anyone know of anywhere I can purchase tuba concertos. Intermediate to advanced difficulty, although I am a 3rd year player, it will be benificial to learn something a bit above me. Any and all links to websites would be much apreciated.

Again, I apologize for the babbling, just needed to make a point.
Thank you for your time,
Erica

[Carroll]

A few hundred here:

http://www.hickeys.com/pages/tusopo.htm" target="_blank

[Dan Schultz]

Organize a low brass quartet (two tubas and two euphoniums). There's plenty of music 'out there' and you can get as brutal as you like.

There's no need to Oom-Pah any more.

[ScotGJ]

When you have "simple" parts in front of you, take the opportunity to develop exquisite attacks. Be sure each note has beautiful tone and shape. Do you take a perfect breathe each time at the right spot? Does your air flow out evenly without wavers or stops? Are the long notes beautiful, shaped, dynamic?

My point being that musicality will always have an infinite number of variables, and perfection will never be attained (though some approach it). Raise your standards to the highest mark when you play "simple parts". You will find yourself challenged. The parts will be fun in a new way.

Cheers.

[opus37]

I agree, make the best sound you can. The director will notice and find something for you.

[iiipopes]

I want to know more about the old mouthpiece the OP found.

[Brian C]

The level of complexity of high school concert band repertoire varies widely. When I was in high school years ago, I played many long tones and many oompahs. I also played some interesting passages, but not too many compared to marching band. But even simple oompahs offer many possibilities. I recall that my oompahs in high school were usually on the beat: the French horns often played on the upbeat. Meshing well with them and not running over them is a trick. Similarly, coordinating breathing within a tuba section with extremely long tones is a good exercise. Also, you could ask your director if there are more interesting pieces, especially in concert marches, such as Sousa's or the always fun "Them Basses".

I am slightly troubled that the fun marching band parts are those that you made up. I remember many challenging arrangements for marching band: "Respect" by Otis Redding/Aretha Franklin or "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder. (And yes, they were old when I was young.)

Bordogni is great, but if you're just starting out, I'd also look at Fink's etude book.

[jonesbrass]

FWIW, I can sympathize with Erica. I remember being her age and wondering why the tuba didn't have all the cool stuff to play. Erica, if you don't have a private tuba teacher, a good one can really help expose you to a lot of great music for tuba. It IS out there. At the same time, however, I must also observe that VERY RARELY have I heard young tuba players really playing oom-pah's well. Playing them well is all about listening, accuracy, mastering the subtlety of the different types of accents, dynamics, etc.
Most of the tuba players I have heard complain about marches and "oom-pahs" don't play them well. If you have a good service band around, listen to them play a march, and you'll get the idea I'm talking about. A good tuba section controls the pitch, volume and tempo of the group and really adds to the music.

[DevilDog-2013]

"A good tuba section controls the pitch, volume and tempo of the group and really adds to the music."~jonesbrass
This is true if the rest of the band actually listens to us. I had the opportunity to play in an honor band this year and it was by far the best thing to ever happen to me in music. And yeah, we pretty much just played oompahs and long notes, but it sounded AMAZING. I'm not going to lie, i even got a little teary-eyed during rehearsal. Everyone listend to us, and we listened to them. Our highschool band's problem is balance. Through countless hours of sectionals, we (low brass) have learned to play with amazing musicality. We learned to REALLY emphasize dynamics, tone, style, articulation, rhythm, ect(I finally learned how to play vibrato too). However, if we play dynamically, we get drowned out by the trilly stuff and told to play louder. Thus, ruining the bands dynamic contrast. There are only 7 of us in low brass of the 80 something band.

"I am slightly troubled that the fun marching band parts are those that you made up"~Brian C
For us, pep band is just time to screw around and have fun. And making things up is the ultimate source of entertainment. So, yeah, the actual pep music sounds cool, but it's still not as great as noodling and making up random things.

"I want to know more about the old mouthpiece the OP found."~iiipopes
What does OP mean? No one know much about it: there's no brand or anything on it; it's EXTREMELY old; it is amazingly easy to hit high notes on; it sounds amazing in the mid-upper range; and someone carve the name Frank into it. That's pretty much all we know. Here's a photo compared to my Kelly and Helleberg:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fb ... 0258980734" target="_blank" target="_blank

As far as brass quartets go, we are thinking about starting one, but the other tuba is leaving soon.
And thank you Tubajason and Carroll, I will check those out.

THANK YOU ALL for the replies, they really made me think. Thank you for your time
Erica

[pittbassdaddy]

Oompahs...say the word...say it differently a few ways. Were any of the ways you said it fun? Just because a part is easy or stereotypical doesn't mean that it can't be enjoyable. Aside from the change in literature you requested, I recommend a change in perspective as well. You can learn to enjoy your part in any music that your group plays. Sometimes it just takes a bit of a different perspective.

Aside:
Seems like you are somewhat frustrated with the less than ideal instrumentation in your HS band which is causing some balance issues. Since you have been exposed to how a better group sounds, you can do your best to balance your part in the band. If that entails playing louder...you are being asked to do so for a reason. You are corect in your understanding of dynamic contrast; however, the printed dynamics on the page should be taken in context. For example in your group when the overall dynamic is piano, you may have to play at (your) mezzo-forte to properly support the group.

Another example: My freshman year of college I was one of 9 tubas (5 of which were compotent - the other 4 were unfortunately too intoxicated to count for much most of the time) in a group that fielded 200+ musicians. The group dynamic needed to be forte and louder to fill the open ended stadium. Individually the tubas played FFF or louder all of the time to balance the group. Trying to keep a sousaphone from blasting or blowing way sharp while maintaining that dynamic level was a challenge all to itself, regardless of what music was being played.

[swillafew]

Don't stress out, find some recordings of brass ensembles and get yourself a method book (Arban's or something like it). You want to produce a good sound (like the one on a fine recording) and be able to do it on a representative etude.

Lessons are another matter, but not less important.