The crisis of instrument choice!

[J. Laux]

I have reached a point in my education where I have begun questioning my choice as a tuba player in regards to where I can go from here and what future I can have with it and needed to vent some feelings and possibly get some input from a community of players in all points of tuba careers.
First, a little back story. I began on tuba as a fill in as a freshman in high school in '99, transferring from sax. I never learned the proper ways to play from that class, simply the way to assign fingerings to note positions without learning notes. 5 years after graduation and many minimum wage jobs and a few attempts at different kinds of schooling later, I realized that music was the only thing that ever really held my interest, specifically the shift to the bass section. I contacted an old friend who happened to be a tuba player, as well as the head of the local community college music department. I enrolled with the intent of becoming a music educator, not with the idea of a money making position, but rather as a way to share what had kept me going through school. I basically came in as a beginner player into college, playing the catch up game. After a few years of learning from both him and my private instruction teacher, I transferred to a university. Now I am in my second year here, technically a senior but facing 2 more years of education classes due to me faffing about with generals and having too poor of a GPA for the ed program from my previous attempts at college looking for something enjoyable (Lesson for all students, don't screw around lest ye be screwed!).

It is at this time that I run into the aforementioned crisis of instrumentation. At this point, I can do my senior recital in the Fall and essentially be done with everything except my core education classes, taking the minimum credits to be full time for the remainder. I have passed the idea around of adding a performance degree, as I have time to prepare the full recital for it towards the end of my 2 remaining years, but the combination of its use for me and the recommended changes in tubas are holding me from this. In regards to the degree usage, I feel the work I would put in to the performance degree would simply be an extra paper for the wall, as I do not feel I would be of a playing level to compete for any serious jobs with any of the other performance majors I have encountered even from the local universities. Also the idea of replacing my workhorse Bb with a C is a bit daunting, leaving me with a gap of pricing to acquire a solid C after selling my Miraphone.

The overall mental crisis I am experiencing, however, stems from an idea that as a tubist who isn't of a high performing level I will have little use of my ability once done with school. The combination of my insecurity about not being as good as player X trying for the same job and the overall lower availability of ensembles and positions as a tubist will put me in a position where the extent of my post collegiate playing will consist of only playing along with students in classrooms. Sure, I could get jobs playing with local bands from time to time, but I can't help but feel like I should play something else. I just feel like I will be spending 5 years of schooling to be unprepared to use the playing portion in practice. I'm sure many people feel something similar at some point, but I feel I am in a position where I could still change instruments to something that could be a bit more versatile in application.
Maybe I'm just being crazy and letting the anxiety of school get to me again.

Sorry for the short novel, just needed to clear my mind!

-Justin

TLDR: I am unsure if playing tuba is a choice that will allow me to continue after school.

[PMeuph]

Two words: Brass Quintet.

To me, playing in a brass quintet can be really fulfilling musically. There's plenty of challenging and diverse repertoire. You can play at many different functions and venues. It's not too hard to get 5 people together (It's definitively easier than getting a full band or orchestra). Getting paying gigs is a possibility.

[ralphbsz]

Allow me to ask a dumb question:

... I enrolled with the intent of becoming a music educator, not with the idea of a money making position, but rather as a way to share what had kept me going through school. I basically came in as a beginner player into college, playing the catch up game. After a few years of learning from both him and my private instruction teacher, I transferred to a university. Now I am in my second year here, technically a senior but facing 2 more years of education classes due to me faffing about with generals and having too poor of a GPA for the ed program from my previous attempts at college looking for something enjoyable (Lesson for all students, don't screw around lest ye be screwed!). ...

So you're studying to be a music educator. What does that mean? The music educators I know are music teachers or band directors at elementary, middle and high schools. Is that what you want to do? What do you think your career path will be?

It seems to be that to be a good music educator (and I've now met several very fine middle and high school band directors), one doesn't have to be a competent musician on any one instrument, not at the level required to get a performance degree, work full-time in an ensemble (symphony, military band, etc.), or at the level required to be a professional soloist. Instead, what I see in the educators is: great teaching skills, the ability to work with students and get them enthusiastic about music (enthusiastic enough so they go home and practice), and a little bit of ability on most of the instruments. I know some educators are also very fine players on some instrument of their own, but other good ones aren't.

Did I get it more or less right?

[bearphonium]

What do you want to do? If you want to teach (hence, the music ed degree) then as mentioned, it is going to be most likely in public/private school. Lots of people that perform at pretty high levels that are on this forum are not educators (and may lack said degrees); they have "day jobs" that may or may not be in the field of music.

If you want to make a career out of playing the tuba, figure out what that is, and go for it. If you want to make a career out of playing an instrument and you don't think you want to do it on the tuba, figure out what you want to play.

I think "making" you switch horns is silly, but I am not a professional musician by any means.

It is hard to get where you want to go if you don't know where you want to go.

[TubaRay]

It is hard to get where you want to go if you don't know where you want to go.

In my opinion, this is the best part of this thread, so far.

[Lew]

It sounds to me like your crisis isn't of instrument choice, but of career choice. You sound as if you are insecure about your playing ability on tuba and as such it seems that pursuing a performance degree makes no sense. In order to make a living as a performer it has to be something that you can't live without. You have to live for playing your instrument. That doesn't sound like you based on your post. Even if it were I would see no reason to replace your existing horn.

On top of that, you discussed finishing your music ed degree. Being a music educator has little to do with your facility as a tuba player, but it does require you to have a commitment to learning AND teaching. If you don't have a passion for sharing your knowledge and helping students you will not be a very good teacher either. This is the question you really have to ask yourself. What is your ultimate goal for your life? What can you see yourself doing with your life that will make you fulfilled?

If you continue as a music educator there is no reason that you can't have as many playing opportunities as you choose. Yes, playing tuba may limit some of those opportunities based on the number of ensembles that need tubas, but I have never had trouble finding multiple ensembles with which to play. At one point I was playing in two community bands, 2 brass quintets and a British style brass band, plus filling in for 2 other community bands when they needed a tuba occasionally. There are always lots of music educators in the community bands in which I have played. Your ability to continue to find playing venues can be somewhat independent of the decision of what career, or degree you choose to pursue.