What is your lowest note?

[AndyCat]

Not YouTube, but here are 3 "low" moments with me grumbling away. All brass band, BBb. These are all the 6-7 ledger lines below staff, bass clef. Headphones probably best!

Philip Wilby's "Revelation", live at the Europeans in 2004 with Fairey Band. Money note (Gb) is at around 2.17 , but the whole piece starts with the whole band having to play "pedal" notes. The very first entry is a twitchy, pp, solo bottom D for BBb Tuba! Great piece, worth a listen if you've time (it's 18 minutes long!):

http://db.tt/kjtdRcO

Oration (Howard Snell), from Steven Mead's CD. Loads of low stuff, demonstrates organ qualities of a good Brass Band Section. Few G's dotted around. I've played on a number of Steven's CD's, but this is my favourite track out of all of them.

http://db.tt/O1ebyPa

Procession To the Minster is a brass band classic, again arranged by Howard Snell. It's from Lohengrin, with a few extras. Loads of low stuff, but at 2.50 there's bar after bar of Ab's.

http://db.tt/2ga4JTR

Low stuff is bread and butter to most BBb players in brass bands, and composers always push boundaries. There are 3 high level brass band "test pieces" now with sustained F's, which I feel don't really contribute much in the context of a full band sound. But then, they are a "test".

Andy "by no means anything special in the low register" Cattanach.

[Rick Denney]

I don't know exactly, but often my friends and associates ask me to play so low...so low they can't hear me. <cue cymbal crash>

As they might say on TubaEuph--16 hours of listening to solo oboe music for you.

Rick "who can play in the false-tone range when asked but who thinks it rarely adds musical value to a performance" Denney

[Steve Marcus]

...this old Shure (phonograph cartridge) "test" l.p. ' anyone besides me ever "test" their cartridge with this l.p.? The bass drum test (track 5) was a classic. http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/tech_pu ... 101_ug.pdf

I had a Record Club of America LP that contained "tests" like that.

Bloke, you have mentioned The Dukes of Dixieland LP recording of "Asleep in the Deep" on Audio Fidelity which, at the time, had the lowest recorded note on a production model tuba (F below the lowest A on the piano).

[Steve Marcus]

The lowest note written in any tuba music that I have encountered (pun intended--Encounters II is obviously the lowest) is the F below the 7th ledger line. It appears in the Eb Bass solo, "Hoch" from Homage to the Noble Grape for Brass Band by Goff Richards. Our band's soloist did a beautiful job, but he was not comfortable with that low F. So I played that one note from his solo on my CC tuba (blasphemy, not a BBb for a Brass Band). The note had a fermata over it, so the Music Director advised me to hold it for a few seconds. Unbeknownst to anyone prior to the performance, the MD turned around to face the audience and made a motion with his hand as if he were covering his...(what do they call it in the UK?) bumm. That was indeed a distinguished solo.

Q.E.D., Bloke. I have now answered the question as stated, for better or worse (I believe the latter...).

[iiipopes]

I remember in high school band when we discovered privileged tones on our King souzys. I could get the Eb and the D, occasionally the Db. Decades later, with my 186, I can get Eb 124, D 234, Db 134(pull) C 1234 (pull pull) and just occasionally something that could be mistaken for a true pedal BBb.

I played a 38K that had a magnificent true pedal BBb. It was as smooth as the "regular" range, and the privilege tones were also so smooth, with the exception of 23 Bnat, that a 4th valve would have actually gotten in the way.

I play band music. We don't even get Eb's written in 99 44/100 % of the music. Occasionally, if it is a "chorale" type writing, I'll drop the octave to the near pedal Eb, D or Db if it will contribute to the solidarity of the cadential chord.

It doesn't have to be loud, since you're the only guy there. And when the rest of the band locks onto it, the stacked overtones will reinforce it.

All in all, I'm very happy with my near-pedal range, and I leave the "0" octave to the rest of you.

[oedipoes]

Philip Wilby's "Revelation", live at the Europeans in 2004 with Fairey Band. Money note (Gb) is at around 2.17 , but the whole piece starts with the whole band having to play "pedal" notes. The very first entry is a twitchy, pp, solo bottom D for BBb Tuba! Great piece, worth a listen if you've time (it's 18 minutes long!):
http://db.tt/kjtdRcO

Great job Andy !

I play BBb in brassband as well, but I stick to the upper part, until more comfortable in the pedal range. (on a non-compensated bass)

Wim

[taylorbeaty]

On my juries one semester i played His Majesty the Tuba (i think?) and it had optional pedal Bb's. After i finished the trombone teacher said, man all those low notes made me want some pie (they had food in the hallway). Still not sure if that was a good comment or not...

taylorbeaty

[Bob Kolada]

I have a pretty fat pedal G and a workable F. I haven't really played below that with any seriousness. I don't find those pedal Bb's in the Holst and Ewazen pieces to be that bad; the Eb to G in the Ewazen is! I like the low Ab C D part quite a bit.

The lowest written note I have ever played was in TROMBONE choir. It wasn't even marked contra or anything, just trombone #(X). The top of the piece was, clearly and original, marked 8vb the entire way. So there I was honking out double pedal Ab-Bb Latin rhythms on my bass. This was pre-contra but I don't think it would have made a difference.

[SplatterTone]

I can play the Brown Note with a Bach 30.
I'm actually that good.

[Mark]

However, my lowest note possible would be the infamous Brown Note. I can play if for you from here, but you will not like the results where you are. the Brown Note travels over great distances...

If you were to do that, it would end my day on a Blue Note.

[Tuba Guy]

I haven't played my lowest note yet

[sloan]

Right now, the lowest written note in any of my folders is a D.

Eb is common (err, um...commonly *played* - less commonly *written*).

D is unusual enough that it triggered (ouch!) some conversation in section - "how do you finger that on *your* tuba?" "1-2-4-pull!" "not 2-3-4?" "also works!" "1-2-3-4 on mine" We spent more time discussing it than playing it.

The main benefit of seeing a written low D on the page is that no one in the section tried to play it down an octave.