Why did you start playing a tuba in a different key

[bigboom]

I was just wondering why most people have gotten tubas in different keys from what they had learned on. If you play on horns, why have the different horns?

Ben

[Z-Tuba Dude]

You forgot "for fun" as an option!

[scottw]

I, too, started on Eb in 6th grade and played that all through H.S. I then auditioned (and was accepted ) for college as a music major on Eb. Imagine my shock when they issued me a BBb in September--they had no Eb's and I owned no horn! And, by the way, we have our band camp tomorrow and several performances next week--be ready! Amazing how quickly one can learn a new horn.

[Dan Schultz]

I learned different fingerings mainly out of neccessity. I started on Eb in the 4th grade in 1956. When I got to high school they had no Eb horns. Sooo... I had to migrate to BBb, but I continued to play Eb, too. Went to the Navy in 1964. The boot camp band had no Eb tubas... just BBb sousas. Left boot camp for class A school in Pensacola, FL and all the command band had was an old Eb helicon. First duty assignment was Scotland where I linked up with several brass bands and basically had by choice of Eb or BBb horns with the added twist that the music was all written in treble clef. Many years later I experimented with F and CC horns just for fun. Today, I can pick up any tuba, and after a few bars, I can do just fine. All this has been a fantastic life-long learning experience.... one that I would reccommend to all.

[Bill Troiano]

When I was a freshman in college, I was about to buy a large BBb Alex that my teacher told me was a good deal. When I asked him why he played a CC, he told me that all serious professionals play CC. I thought - duh??? Maybe, at the time, he didn't think I was serious. So, I bought what he had instead - a Miraphone 186CC.

[Rick Denney]

You forgot "for fun" as an option!

Yup. But that would apply to all my tuba playing.

I picked up F because I loved orchestral music (and was playing in a community orchestra at the time) and some of the literature was just beyond my ability on the big instruments. The F made things possible that were otherwise not possible for me.

Rick "for whom such transitions are not easy" Denney

[TexTuba]

I played BBb through middle and high school. I also played it my first year of college. When I got back my second year, my school bought 4 CC tubas. So I picked one up and went to work on it. I don't think I would go back to BBb.





Ralph

[sinfonian]

I said availablity because after my freshman year of college the only other tuba player graduated freeing up the schools CC tuba. Since I had nothing else to do but work that summer I decided it was a good time to work on the CC and surpise my tuba instructor in the fall when I showed up at me lesson with the CC. Of course my surprise was that I still had to marching band with a BBb sousaphone.

[Allen]

I voted for "Sound," but the real reason for going from BBb to CC was that a particular tuba picked me.

[Shockwave]

I had always played Bb until just this year. About 4 years ago I bought some horns from an old fellow who needed to pay some medical bills and had no use for the instruments anymore. Among the lot were an old Eb Boosey compensating tuba and an extremely old Eb bass saxhorn. They sat in my closet until about a year ago when I dug out the saxhorn and realized it had a really nice sound and really pumped out a lot of bass for such a small instrument. It seemed perfect for the really difficult bass lines I had written for myself in my arrangements (difficult parts are much easier to play when you wrote them), so I started learning to play it. Now I prefer the sound of the Eb horn on any music that doesnt go lower than Bb, and it is also ideal for amplification since the attacks are so clear compared to a BBb tuba.

-Eric

[MaryAnn]

Well, I played just a couple months on a small 3-piston Eb that Lee Stofer sold me, until I was sure I'd be able to get both the embouchure and the air to work. Then that went back in the case and I bought a nice 5-valve F, because I'm a horn player, already read C bass clef, and wouldn't have to learn any more new fingerings.
Then....I got my 184 CC because I wanted a bigger sound, and have played it almost exclusively for the last two years. I'd still use the F if I had to do another fast high solo, but the CC has worked both for the Eb parts in brass band and the two orchestras I played in last year. It worked just fine for Meistersinger, which is the highest part I've seen (besides Bydlo, which migrated to euphonium.)
I've played on a BBb but haven't found a reason to buy one.
MA

[Gorilla Tuba]

My background in High school and much of college was BBb. But when I finally bought my own horn it was an F. I used to play F tuba for nearly everything and a school owned BBb for the occasional big stuff. I bought my first CC when I decided to go to one "do it all" horn. That didn't last long. I am back to using F, but I now feel more at home on CC for my big horn. Contrary to what I do, I rarely recommend F tuba as a primary instrument.

I urge my students to consider CC tuba for their tuba purchases, but have no problem with them staying on BBb. The main advantage I see to switching to CC has nothing to do with the key of the instrument, but more with being forced to go "back to basics" in order to learn the new fingerings. It is hard to break old habits. Learning a new key horn can force you to learn new good habits on the new horn.

[ken k]

I first heard a professional level Eb in a quintet setting while attending the Empire Brass seminar at Tanglewood in 1983. From that point on I thought an Eb would be an option for me. 2 years later while in grad school at Rutgers I found a B&H Eb for sale and fell in love. The rest is history as they say. My relationship with my horn seems to be lasting longer than my marriage.

ken k

[Contramark]

my first different than BBb was in drum corps in 98, I played a GG.

Then CC my first year of college.

[Leland]

Beat me to it...

Within less than a year of learning tuba, I added GG contrabass. That was 1988 -- still not that long ago.

(I keep saying that it's "not long ago" because I know that there are always people who have done drum corps much longer than I have.. but I may also be trying to avoid the realization that 18 years (rookie year was '87) is still a long freakin' time).

[adam0408]

yeah, I just switched literally yesterday from BBb to CC..... But I switched because of the sound, and partly because of reccommendations.

[JayW]

Well, several of the choices could apply, but I chose availability. I was very happy playing BBb and never had any intention of switching when I was in college. I felt that my sound was right where I wanted it and that BBb served me very well for the types of ensembles I was playing in. THEN....it so happened that I found out Kyle Turner (my teacher at the time) was selling his original Conn and I said to myself "Self, if you are ever going to get a better horn, this will probably be it. So go for it" and so I decided to switch. I thought the sound he was able to achieve on this instrument was absolutely incredible. The clarity, power and projection were just about perfect IMHO. So, while I was very content playing BBb, having the opportunity to own this horn, with it's pedigree seemed too good to miss. So I took it and could not be happier to this day.