Worst tuba parts

[vd8m9]

What's the most redundant tuba part of a song you've seen?

[Tubainsauga]

It's really hard to beat Dvorak 9: 14 notes in unison with the bass trombone. When written, I could understand that the addition of a tuba would be a nice colour change for the choral, but with a large, modern bass trombone I don't think it adds much of anything. That said, there are two things working it it's favour: It's a good piece of music and you don't really have to count rests.

[chronolith]

I actually enjoy the tuba part for Dvorak 9. Such a contrast to the rest of the piece and always sounds very special.

As for a monotonous part, I would go with Bolero.

[gregsundt]

Would it be irreverent to suggest the Pachelbel "Kanon", Canadian Brass arrangement?

[MikeW]

Hands down winner is the band arrangement of Respighi's "Pines of Rome".

The arranger moved the Tymp part onto the tubas, and wrote it divisi so you have two lines to choose from, one of which is boring, and the other tedious: both of them are interminable. The woodwinds never got their parts right, and weren't improving. After two years of increasingly frustrated practice sessions, it became painfully obvious that the conductor was never going to quit. So I did.

[gregsundt]

Would it be irreverent to suggest the Pachelbel "Kanon", Canadian Brass arrangement?

That one actually takes an excessive amount of concentration to play well. Very, very hard to lay that one down perfectly.

True dat. Good point.

[imperialbari]

Isn’t the bore of any tuba its worst part?

[Uncle Buck]

the spit valve

It's called a whisper key. sigh . . .

[bort]

the spit valve

It's called a whisper key. sigh . . .

[oedipoes]

I hate the parts that are converted from bass guitar parts...

TRUE!!!!!

[MurmurMoose]

Green Day's Brain Stew (arranged by Victor Lopez) is ABSOLUTELY terrible (it is 4 notes over and over again). I'm not sure if this is classified as "music" though.

[Mark]

Familiarity breeds contempt. Since the season is near, I'll vote for Sleigh Ride. I have played this so many times, that last year I realized I don't need to look at the music anymore. For those playing in a ballet orchestra and their Nutcracker count is over 1,000, I suspect they don't like it much anymore.

[Tabor]

1. The "meat slicer" on any old, heavy tuba

2. The strap rings on an orchestra grand.

3. Lyre holder screw on a bell front Besson

[roughrider]

What a great picture! Our band has two Boosey&Hawkes BBb tubas that were ready for the scrap heap. After a fair bit of repair and cleaning, they have turned out to be really excellent horns. Of course, the "nutcrackers" on both were the first things to be removed and not put back. Horns each rest on a drum stand when they are being played!

[tusabtuba]

First, call music compositions not songs. Second, great music is just that. Arnold Jacobs once said, "I just enjoy hearing fine musicians play [while counting rests, waiting for a tacet movement to end, etc.]."
Incompetent conductors can rob music of its joy, but then the challenge is to play your part the very best you can, and accept that as the challenge and reward.
We play music for the joy it provides both us and the listener.
Tusabtruba

[Untersatz]

3. Lyre holder screw on a bell front Besson

A bell front Besson

[GC]

First, call music compositions not songs.
Tusabtruba

I think the point of this thread was to find parts that should rather be called decompositions. One I personally despise is the bass part in Philip Sparke's brass band arrangement of White Christmas. I have great respect for Sparke as a composer, but this is the most boring thing I've ever played. A lot of ooms without any pahs.

[ricolee830104]

It's really hard to beat Dvorak 9: 14 notes in unison with the bass trombone. When written, I could understand that the addition of a tuba would be a nice colour change for the choral, but with a large, modern bass trombone I don't think it adds much of anything. That said, there are two things working it it's favour: It's a good piece of music and you don't really have to count rests.

+ 1

[Radar]

We're currently doing a concert band arrangement of the Nut Cracker. In one of the movements the Tuba holds a low G for the entire piece. No breath marks etc. Just one G tied together throughout the entire movement. Talk about a drone.

[Untersatz]

the Nut Cracker.