A Bold Statement from a Female, Teenage Tuba Player

Kevin Hendrick · Post by **Kevin Hendrick** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:14 pm

Indeed she does -- good article!

Doug@GT · Post by **Doug@GT** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 4:14 pm

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 4:27 pm

thetubachick wrote:We may be girls, but Tuba can still be our thing!

And why not? It's a great instrument for anyone. I think it takes a bit of courage for a girl to play tuba because you must get a double dosage of what most of us get in the comments department.

DonShirer · Post by **DonShirer** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:06 pm

I am forwarding this to my granddaughter, who has been playing tuba for one year now in Junior High. Although as far as I know no one has tried to dis her choice of instrument (probably because she's taller than most boys her age!).

Don S.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:10 pm

BRAVO

tubathig · Post by **tubathig** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:42 pm

hell yeah

artuba · Post by **artuba** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:18 am

Good for her!!! I'm a guy, but I'm shorter (i.e. 5'5"-ish) and a little on the puny side, so I definately don't fit the stereotype either.

Erin · Post by **Erin** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:41 am

So, if tuba playing women are so great, (which most of you seem to think we are) how do you think we can recruit and retain more female tuba players?

BAT boy wrote:Ive got sumthin for her

How about by not posting crap like this on a widely read tuba/euph message board?

C'mon guys...

(Thank you to those of you who managed to refrain from posting comments like the one quoted above.)

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:04 pm

Erin wrote:So, if tuba playing women are so great, (which most of you seem to think we are) how do you think we can recruit and retain more female tuba players?

BAT boy wrote:Ive got sumthin for her

How about by not posting crap like this on a widely read tuba/euph message board?

C'mon guys...

(Thank you to those of you who managed to refrain from posting comments like that.)

I completely agree. That's just embarassing, or should be, to us all.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:05 pm

Sounds more to me like

bat BOY wrote:Ive...

in this case...

tubeast · Post by **tubeast** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:42 pm

For one thing I believe that people think too much about what is or is not considered appropriate for different parts of society.
(Not restricted to gender).
It starts off with the kind and colour of clothes to dress a baby, the kind of toys children get and the kind of behavior that is encouraged. Just imagine a boy being more interested in ballet than football. What a nerd, and a "suspect" of being homosexual.
That includes, of course, the size of deal made of a situation where somebody chooses not to fit themselves into stereotypes. No matter if that big deal be in support or disapproval.
Me, too, got sumthinÂ´ for Â´em tuba gals, by the way, but IÂ´d grant that to anybody playing that instrument: an offer of sympathy and support.

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:18 pm

I appreciate a good tuba player. If it be a female I would be equally inclined to buy her a beer and talk tubers as I would a guy. Of course I'm old and present no threat to lady tuba tooters.

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:52 pm

What an awesome post, Lisa. And I thought all lawyer-types were somehow sub-human(just kidding). You have spoken for many today, not only females. Some profound things in your post. Thanks.

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:03 pm

cc_tuba_guy wrote:
I play because I love it...and NO ONE can change that.
Hell yeah! I wish we had more women AND men in the tuba world with your enthusiasim.

Absolutely!

Doug@GT · Post by **Doug@GT** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:38 pm

Jared wrote:middle school band directors pick "big beefy guys with fat cheeks" because they are more likely to stick with it than someone of the opposite proportion. That's what happened to me. I think most of time we forget how big and heavy our instruments are because our tubas have been a part of us for so long. It's frustrating for a child to carry such a big intrument around not to mention trying to reach the mouthpiece without turning the horn on it's side. We forget what it feels like to be 100 lbs or less under 5' tall.
It makes perfect sense to not put small children (including most girls) on the tuba if they don't want to. I'm not saying small people can't do it. I'm saying they are more likely to have a harder time.

Certainly makes the case for middle schools using a Wenger Tuba Tamer or something similar.

Not only was the awkward size of the instrument no longer a problem for me in middle school, but the simple fact that middle school kids weren't always handling the horn meant the tubas stayed in VERY good shape.

Interestingly, though, I don't think we ever had any "small" tuba players of either sex. So making up for the stereotypical size difference didn't really matter.

I just remembered a comment about one of the tuba players at Tech:

Known as "The mightiest tuba midget", Jessie loves to impress us with her ability to weigh less than a Tuba, and still march it like a bad-***! Being there, the bigger guys can NEVER complain about the weight of a Tuba.... EVER.

Tom Mason · Post by **Tom Mason** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:00 pm

I started four tuba players this year at school. Three boys and one girl. At week five, all have moved to bariphonium except one boy. Today, I had one of my original bariphonium girls ask if she could move to tuba. She appears to like the tuba more than the three original students who chickened out. She makes a great sound and has a good range without a lot of work. If she keeps up the enthusiasm, she might get through two levels of books by the end of the year.

I will have to let her read the original posting on this one.

Tom Mason

Brassdad · Post by **Brassdad** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:12 am

My son was 5'3" and 135 lbs when he started playing the tuba in 6th grade (school requirement for an "arts" class). He loves it and has grown (6'1" 160 lbs

) into it over the last 2 1/2 years.
My daughter (currently 3rd grade) wants to do the band thing when she reaches middle school. Right now she's only a foot taller than the big Yamaha he uses. She had been wanting to play french horn (middle school teacher's primary instrument), but after attending a tuba/euphonium event this summer she now wants to play euphonium/baritone and get into quartets with her brother.
As her father I encourage any choice she makes....so long as she doesn't follow me into the Marine Corps.

Doug@GT · Post by **Doug@GT** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:33 pm

Jared wrote:My middle school cooperating teacher from my student teaching experience said he makes sure he has at least one girl in every stereotypical boy section. Because the girls in general are mentally more developed and mature the boys are at that stage, they tend to learn at a quicker pace. He said that the boys in the section hate that a girl is playing better, and it encouages them to practice so they won't be "showed out by a girl". He uses their pride and the stereotype to everyone's advantage.

Adam Smith would be proud.

JB · Post by JB » Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:55 pm

TubaRay wrote:
Erin wrote:So, if tuba playing women are so great, (which most of you seem to think we are) how do you think we can recruit and retain more female tuba players?

BAT boy wrote:Ive got sumthin for her

How about by not posting crap like this on a widely read tuba/euph message board?

C'mon guys...

(Thank you to those of you who managed to refrain from posting comments like that.)
I completely agree. That's just embarassing, or should be, to us all.

bat BOY:

In this instance it appears that BAT (lower case, small letters for you) means Brain Apparently Turned OFF

TubaRay wrote:That's just embarassing, or should be, to us all.

Exactly as TubaRay called it

[PS: If you want to send nasty PM messages to people who respond to an immature, junevile post -- why not have the testicular fortitude to show all the readers how you are responding. Or are you ashamed to further reinforce adult impressions of you?

I am referring, as you well know, to your PM message to "Erin" that inculded:
Lay off. I meant ...ITs a good thing that everyone else was so
offended that they didnt take the oppurtunity to fling poo.

... I may edit posts I make for people that address me with concerns of the content, but only when its done respectfully. ]

And you think your comment was respectful in the first place

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:00 pm

Edit: post above appeared while I was writing this one; commentary below is NOT response to above post's comments to BAT boy. I agree completely with those comments, BTW.

I think it depends on what age you are. As an older, more wrinkled 100# 5'3" tuba player....it doesn't matter much to me what they think or say. (This happens when you get older...you just don't give a hoot any more.) However, the response has been overwhelmingly accepting; at brass band concerts I see older ladies smile, nudge the lady next to them, and point at me. When the tubas are introduce I hoist my 184 over my head, to smiles from everyone.

When I tell people I play tuba, either they say "cool!" or they kind of don't react....I figure at least it gets the old brain cells stirred up a little bit, which is a good thing. Maybe next time some lil pint-sized pack-o-dynamite says she plays tuba, they'll say "cool!" too.

I've only personally met "in person" one other female tuba player, although I see a couple around town. Just haven't crossed paths yet.

High school can be a rough time for having to deal with the attitudes of your peers. Just do what you enjoy and later you will be glad. The girls who are all boy crazy and do only what is needed to attract boys....will be less happy later on than the ones who put their attention on developing skills and activities they enjoy. Life isn't about who is attracted to you.

Cheers,
Mary Ann

TubeNet

A Bold Statement from a Female, Teenage Tuba Player

You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!