Flying with a mute

kontrabass · Post by **kontrabass** » Sat May 14, 2005 9:22 pm

Hey everyone,
How do you deal with flying with a mute? I was thinking of sticking it in my gig bag and packing my clothes around it. Will it get destroyed?
Thanks for your suggestions.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Sat May 14, 2005 10:17 pm

...the Department of Homeland Security ought to have fun with that...

what's wrong with carry-on?

Z-Tuba Dude · Post by **Z-Tuba Dude** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:27 pm

Perhaps you could negotiate with who ever makes the decisions, to not use a mute at all.

Think about it....how much of the music really needs to be muted. Especially considering the colossal headache you are in store for, to try to travel with it, at all. How many notes is it actually required for?

Z-Tuba Dude · Post by **Z-Tuba Dude** » Sun May 15, 2005 6:03 am

DP wrote:
Z-Tuba Dude wrote:Perhaps you could negotiate with who ever makes the decisions, to not use a mute at all.

Think about it....how much of the music really needs to be muted. Especially considering the colossal headache you are in store for, to try to travel with it, at all. How many notes is it actually required for?
When it's written, it's needed, "think about it"........

Of course, you are right, in an ideal situation...

My point is, that the tuba is typically muted very little, and if is a matter of a couple of notes, or a couple of phrases, is it really worth the headaches, and possibility of having your expensive (by definition) mute trashed? (Isn't the feat of just getting your horn from point A to point B, safely, a big enough challenge???)

It really all depends on the nature of the gig (well, the music, really) -- I think that a quintet situation is probably more negotiable than in an orchestra, since a lot of the quintet literature is made up of transcriptions in the first place. If you are playing music, whose integrity will be truly compromised by the absence of the mute, then by all means, fly with it. I just think that many times, the use of a mute for the tuba, is gratuitous.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Sun May 15, 2005 4:51 pm

Z-Tuba Dude wrote: I just think that many times, the use of a mute for the tuba, is gratuitous.

Many of the composers I've spoken with just used it for its "visual" impact (off the record, of course)

I've had concerts where I used the metal cup from a trombone straight/cup combination mute. Gives you control over exactly how you want the "muted" tuba to sound, without many of the annoying intonation impacts. And much easier to carry!

Chuck Jackson · Post by **Chuck Jackson** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:45 pm

Last time I flew with a mute, it messed up my aerodynamics so bad I had to pitch it over the mountains. At least my arms weren't too tired after flying in from the coast.

Chuck"what did you expect, I live in Las Vegas"Jackson

Bove · Post by **Bove** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:49 pm

Carry it on, and stuff it in the overhead or under the seat... or mail it ahead of time.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:19 pm

Chuck Jackson wrote:Last time I flew with a mute, it messed up my aerodynamics so bad I had to pitch it over the mountains.

You dummy, you're supposed to fly with the big end to the rear!

UDELBR · Post by **UDELBR** » Tue May 17, 2005 12:19 am

I always felt like Musicians' Union reps should negotiate a special fee for when tubaists have to take along a mute. You already get cartage for bringing "an unwieldy instrument"; why not a little more for the added burden?

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Tue May 17, 2005 2:04 am

I think it's okay, as long as it's kept in a crate:

Be sure to bring a leash along!