Transcriptions

[aaronliu]

I would like to transcribe some orchestral parts for tuba. I would like to post the transcriptions on the internet and use them to talk about playing them.

[eupher61]

Transcribe? Get the PD parts on IMSLP.

[aaronliu]

Here's my first try. I did not finish writing in the C tuba valve combinations. They're harder for me. Will do it.

[Michael Bush]

I applaud you for making this effort to be helpful. At the same time, I must admit I have some questions.

Do people who need to learn Tannhaeuser need BBb (or CC, for that matter) fingerings written in, in advance, by someone else? And if not, why would they not just download the part from IMSLP and practice, writing whatever they find helpful on the part for themselves?

[aaronliu]

just an exercise...I haven't started playing tuba yet and wanted to do some stuff to learn...i want to find out if the key of E major is easier to play on C tuba than B flat tuba...(i decided to go with C tuba because i want to play in the sharp keys more easily)

it's for people to see if I made mistakes also, and for me to find out whether transcribing might be a good exercise to learn how to play the tuba! i think it will be...

[imperialbari]

Is this an excerpt from the tuba part for Tannhäuser?

http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnk ... .lowBr.pdf

[aaronliu]

imperialbari:

yes, it is! Thank you so much for finding it. So I wrote it in 6/8 instead of 3/4, and I notated the notes an octave lower than they're written in the tuba part. So tuba parts are written an octave higher than they sound. I remember that now...

This is just what I was hoping to find out. I just prefer to transcribe rather than look up music because it's a good exercise for me, and I'm just not one to go flipping through a lot of pages of stuff if I can help it. I'm a little consciously old fashioned. I will use pencil and paper rather than a keyboard any time I can.

[hup_d_dup]

DO NOT WRITE IN THE FINGERINGS!

This is very bad form. It leaves a distracting trail of unsightly clutter, like crumbs of food dribbled by a sloppy eater.

Every note with written fingering is evidence of time wasted not learning how to properly read.

Fingerings should only be written for alternate combinations, such as when necessary for a tricky passage or for an intonation issue.

Tubists are the WORST of all musicians when it comes to the disease of notated fingering (maybe beginning guitarists are as bad). Don't let this happen to you!

Hup

[aaronliu]

ok thanks, just trying to learn them...i'll remember for the future!

[hbcrandy]

So tuba parts are written an octave higher than they sound. I remember that now...

The tuba is written in the octave that it sounds, not an octave higher.

i want to find out if the key of E major is easier to play on C tuba than B flat tuba...(i decided to go with C tuba because i want to play in the sharp keys more easily)

Whether your main instrument is BBb or CC tuba. you MUST be able to play your instrument in ALL keys with equal facility.

You are starting with many misconceptions. Find a competent tuba teacher (one who actually plays the instrument and has studied the instrument as a major) and learn to play tuba properly. When mastering a musical instrument, there is no easy way.

[aaronliu]

Thanks, Randy. I appreciate it. About all keys, I agree that is a worthy goal. However, I could play the rest of my life and never achieve it.*

If you care about the reason I think that, read on:

*In fact, I am sure that is the case. But I want to be practical about it and make things as easy as they can be (not easier). I just know that most music (diatonic music) is in certain keys and I am happy with that. The keys with 0,1,2,3,4, and 5 sharps are most common in orchestral repertoire that remains mostly in major and minor, and the keys with 2,3,4,5, and maybe 6 flats are most common in jazz. I guess I have signed up for most keys. But I still know certain keys much better than others. I got a teacher to teach me over the internet. I trust his experience though he's young. I think we will have a very nice experience. I am never going to be Charlie Parker. I have a few minutes for music each day, and a little more time on the weekends. Call me a weekend warrior; I just want to make the most of it. I pushed myself really hard to "master" my instrument when I was young and it's time to smell the roses. To get the most bang for my buck, this is what I have found works for me:

--spend only what time is necessary on the instrument, and take care of the body.
--use the mind to practice many things
--focus on playing music rather than exercises and etudes (I just don't have time for that any more)
--study harmony to assist the memory and with sightreading

It's not orthodox, but I gotta use what I got. And this is what I got.

Seriously, though thank you for your input, which comes from being concerned about correct playing and development.

[ginnboonmiller]

I haven't started playing tuba yet

Is this sentence really not being addressed?

Aaron, are you waiting to pass the written test for your learner's permit or something? Stop farting around and go play a tuba. You're wasting your own time doing this crap and wasting ours by asking questions about it. You will learn more about playing a tuba in less than one second of actually playing a tuba. Or by jogging for ten minutes. Or by drinking a beer. Anything at all, really, will prepare you for the apparently terrifying goal of knowing how to play a tuba than spending a day on a forum showing off all the stuff you're doing because you want to learn to play a tuba but haven't bothered to play a tuba.

[The Big Ben]

I haven't started playing tuba yet

Is this sentence really not being addressed?

Aaron, are you waiting to pass the written test for your learner's permit or something? Stop farting around and go play a tuba. You're wasting your own time doing this crap and wasting ours by asking questions about it. You will learn more about playing a tuba in less than one second of actually playing a tuba. Or by jogging for ten minutes. Or by drinking a beer. Anything at all, really, will prepare you for the apparently terrifying goal of knowing how to play a tuba than spending a day on a forum showing off all the stuff you're doing because you want to learn to play a tuba but haven't bothered to play a tuba.

+1

[PMeuph]

imperialbari:

yes, it is! Thank you so much for finding it. So I wrote it in 6/8 instead of 3/4, and I notated the notes an octave lower than they're written in the tuba part. So tuba parts are written an octave higher than they sound. I remember that now...

This is just what I was hoping to find out. I just prefer to transcribe rather than look up music because it's a good exercise for me, and I'm just not one to go flipping through a lot of pages of stuff if I can help it. I'm a little consciously old fashioned. I will use pencil and paper rather than a keyboard any time I can.

Tuba parts are written were they sound.... You're confusing that with Bass parts (Those are written one octave higher)
The notes are at the right place (ref. page 45 in the pdf document)

As others have said, transcribing might be a good goal, but you should start to focus on playing the tuba.

[hbcrandy]

Aaron, are you waiting to pass the written test for your learner's permit or something? Stop farting around and go play a tuba. You're wasting your own time doing this crap and wasting ours by asking questions about it. You will learn more about playing a tuba in less than one second of actually playing a tuba. Or by jogging for ten minutes. Or by drinking a beer. Anything at all, really, will prepare you for the apparently terrifying goal of knowing how to play a tuba than spending a day on a forum showing off all the stuff you're doing because you want to learn to play a tuba but haven't bothered to play a tuba.

+100

[Donn]

You guys worry too much sometimes. If I remember right from another thread, his tuba is in the mail, nothing to be done about getting to it any faster. In the mean time, he's talking about music, am I right? Personally, I sometimes transcribe stuff when in principle I'm trying to learn it by ear, because it tends to come out more faithful to the original that way. Essentially I'm "taking notes", may or may not ever need them later. Musical notation software makes it possible for me, otherwise it would be about 1/2 scratched out passages, and the remaining 1/2 would only be that way because I haven't found the errors yet.

[bighonkintuba]

You guys worry too much sometimes.

+1

If you feel that the OP is somehow 'wasting your time' well... don't read the thread.

[Rick Denney]

just an exercise...I haven't started playing tuba yet and wanted to do some stuff to learn...i want to find out if the key of E major is easier to play on C tuba than B flat tuba...(i decided to go with C tuba because i want to play in the sharp keys more easily)

it's for people to see if I made mistakes also, and for me to find out whether transcribing might be a good exercise to learn how to play the tuba! i think it will be...

To be honest, you should know what the part sounds like, so just play it as you've notated it and if it sounds wrong, you made a mistake.

Your approach to learning the tuba sounds an awful lot like the Music Man's THINK method.

Play music. Scales are music, if they are played musically. Therefore, play scales, musically. There are more modes than major and minor, but thinking about modes is for a theoretician, not for a performer. Play the music!

Remember, tuba playing is only partly about mashing the buttons. Most of it is about breathing and tone (Jacobs said, "Song and wind"). Also, an embouchure requires muscles, and training, and does not result from the think method. Articulation results from training the tongue in coordination with the air, and that doesn't come about from the think method. PLAY TUBA!

Rick "a second-rate amateur who still plays scales, at least in the cash register, in all keys" Denney