Suggestions for great method books?

[JB]

Hi all,

I just bought a new horn and am waiting for it to be shipped to me. In the meantime, I thought I'd bide my time looking for good method and etudes books and thought you all might be able to help me.

I majored in Tuba in school and haven't picked one up since the day I graduated eight years ago.

I can still pick up sheet music and nail the fingerings on my "air tuba," (surely I can't be the only one who plays the air tuba) but I'm worried about my chops. After not playing for so long, I know it's going to be a tough road.

Could anyone recommend some decent Method books for someone like me who has a formal education in Tuba, but hasn't picked up a horn in eight years?

Really appreciate your help.

-Geoffrey
gnedge@gnedge.com

A thread from April 2004 might contain what you are looking for:
viewtopic.php?t=764&highlight=methods+books


Best of luck with the new horn and the return to playing.

[iiipopes]

For a condensed, all-around, get with it quick (but has a lot of meat) -- Rubank Advanced Method

[porkchopsisgood]

Arbans

[Thomas Maurice Booth]

See if you can find the old Hal Leonard book. It was a white and blue cover and can prove to be a tremondously helpful book. Included are a variety of technical exercises throughtout the various keys. There is also a large section of warm up/exercises written by Arnold Jacobs. This book has helped me very much.

TMB

[Mudman]

Take your time. As Steve Johns said to me in a lesson once:
You can't cram skills. There are no shortcuts.

While not exactly a shortcut, I learned tuba finger technique and gained a decent amount of chops from scratch by putting in one to two hours a day for about six months. I worked all the way through the Kopprasch 60 studies book, playing the first several pages daily then progressively working my way through the rest of the etudes one or two per day. After Kopprasch, I spent a few minutes working out of the Blazhevich book (book 1). You might call this cramming, but then again it did amount to a fair bit of practice time

Kopprasch doesn't cover the low register unless you practice it down an octave. Blazhevich does a better job getting down to the basement.

The Bordogni/Rochut book is more progressive than the Bordogni/King book. If you can read bass clef down an octave, I would go for the Rochut book over King.

Snedecor's Low Etudes are rewarding (and painful if you are a perfectionist).

[Mitch]

There's a great book for lip flexibility. It was originally published for trumpet by a Chinese author, Bai Lin, and translated/formatted into English by Rob MacGregor and published by Balquhidder. I don't know that it's ever been "arranged" for tuba, but since it deals primarily with partials (open, 1st valve, etc.), it's not too hard to translate on your own. I was in the middle of a master's degree when Fritz Kaenzig introduced it to me (I think it was Fritz...) and noticed a difference within a couple days...

[tubatooter1940]

Apparently there is a wide variety of excersises and etudes available to speed you up and fill out your tone and range but don't forget the reason your soul yearned to get back to your horn. You're supposed to have fun.
While you dilligently hone your skills,sneak in a fun tune or two that personally excite you. Jam by ear to recordings and live groups.
Making money is great but what makes you smile is also worth a lot.
I showed up with my Eb tuba at a bluegrass jam. I had to play all day in keys of E,A.D,C,G and B but I found ways not to step on the string bass player. Those guys bought me beer and kept making me play solos over thier tried and true chord progressions. Fun!