The highest on a BBb

[Hank74]

First of all, welcome to all the new posters to these boards. I've seen some new names while browsing here. It's great to see there being so many eager tuba players out there from all walks of life taking the time to share their thoughts here. These boards rock!

This is an open poll question that I wanted to post to all of you who have played a BBb tuba. What is the highest note that you were able to play on that BBb. A very good friend of mine, and a frequent poster on these boards, said that he was able to play the high B above the bass clef staff. As for me, the highest note would be the F in the staff.

Any stories you want to mention here about the highest note on an BBb?

Hank74

[Lew]

We are not trumpet players. Very high notes on tuba don't sound that high to the average person, so aren't that impressive. It's much more impressive to play very low.

That said, I assume that most professionals should be able to consistently play up to at least one octave above middle C on any tuba, and usually at least an octave higher than that. That means that they should be able to play the Bb an octave above the top of the staff on a BBb tuba easily.

Personally I have never been able to play anything above the F above the staff with any kind of sound, although if I have been practicing, the F above the staff and the notes below are pretty consistent. I can play up to the C above that, but it sounds lousy, and since I have never had a need to, I rarely try.

I usually practive 3 octave Eb through A scales and a 4 octave Bb scale, but the pedal Bb and high Bb are inconsistent.

[WilliamVance]

Just out of couriosity, is it easier to play the higher notes on an F, Eb, or C tuba than on a Bb Tuba?

[Doug@GT]

Just out of couriosity, is it easier to play the higher notes on an F, Eb, or C tuba than on a Bb Tuba?

Neither.

I finally got to play an F tuba a few weeks ago. It may be "pitched a fifth higher" than a contrabass horn but my range wasn't any better.

I can play up to the same pitch (give or take about a whole step) on BBb, CC, F tubas, Euphonium, trombone, horn, and trumpet.

Which leads me to conclude that embouchure and air support is more important than the instrument itself for hitting the high notes. With low notes you're limited by the length of the horn. Not so with high notes.

The horn will make a difference in tone and quality of the sound, but should not affect your ability actually to "hit" a high note.

At least, that's my take on it.

[king2ba]

Just out of couriosity, is it easier to play the higher notes on an F, Eb, or C tuba than on a Bb Tuba?

Oh yeah, if you start on F tuba then you've got a fifth above the BBb with the same embochure, there's a reason not many people play the Vaughn Williams on a BBb.

I've got to jump in here, because this response wasn't clear to me and I want to make sure that some of our younger posters don't get confused.

The key of the instrument you are playing make absolutely NO difference in how high you can play. None. If I understand the response above correctly, TheEngineer is saying that if you buzz a low Bb like you would on a BBb tuba, then it will come out sounding like an F on an F tuba. This isn't the case.

The tuba is an amplifier. If you put in a world class buzz, then you'll get a world class sound. If you put in garbage, then you'll get a garbage sound. Simple as that. The same logic holds true with pitch. If you put in an F above the staff, you get an F above the staff. No matter what horn you are holding in your hands. Is it a little easier to play higher on F tuba, sure, but that's because you've put the spaces between the notes farther apart, making it easier to hit the correct slot. (The notes of the harmonic series get closer together the higher we go)

This was all proved by Arnold Jacobs research when he took the CSO brass section and hooked them up to machines that would measure air velocity and pressure. The data came back that when Dr. Jacobs played a concert middle C on the tuba, and Bud Herseth played a concert middle C on the trumpet both players used the same air speed and air pressure. The only difference between trumpet and tuba was the QUANTITY of air.

Now that I've made things as clear as mud, I'll leave now!

[Charlie Goodman]

I've found that I can play pretty much the same range on any tuba, but that on a bass tuba the high range sounds a lot better, so usable notes increase by quite a bit.

[Art Hovey]

My upper limit changes from day to day. But there is a big difference between my highest playable note and my highest musical note. I can't claim to "own" a note unless I can hit it dependably and with a good sound as the first note of the day.

At one time I thought an F tuba would make high notes easier, and I practiced on it every day. Then I found that I could play just as high on my BBb tuba, and no higher than that on euphonium and trombone. But I can sound a lot better in the low register on the BBb than on any of the smaller instruments.

[Anterux]

I can play very high and very low notes on any tuba or euphonium. In a tuba is easier to control and tune very low notes and it sounds better. In a Euponium its easier to control very high notes then in a tuba and they usualy sound better.

My highest note is the same on any of these instruments. (D in the 4th line of trebble clef and higher if in a good day)...
My lowest note almost is the same but on a tuba I can play more acurate and better sounding low notes. (The F# one octave lower than the first piano F# in a tuba. B (on an Euphonium).

My upper register is better since I practice more pedal tones.

I wish I could play better on any range.

[tubeast]

Upon my switch from F to CC, my high range increased by 2 whole steps, while the low range remained basically the same.
I need special equipment (monstrous MP) to go lower than a G0 on the CC.

The CC goes higher than the F, (safe E4, an occasional A4 vs. safe C4 and occasional A4), but the F is more reliable in that range.

[windshieldbug]

I'm gunna go out on a limb here and bet she sounds just as good with the lid down...

[TubaRay]

Gosh! I never was able to get any range with a piano. It is just too doggone heavy.

[Joe Baker]

Gosh! I never was able to get any range with a piano. It is just too doggone heavy.

You need to getcha a trebuchet!


The projectile (kind of hard to make out in the picture) is actually a FLAMING piano! It will throw a piano 400-500 feet! (more info at http://www.t-wrecks.com/)
__________________________
Joe Baker, who's just GOT to build one o' these!

[windshieldbug]

I thought you always had to be high to play on a BBb...

(Man, I'm so small I could climb right in that leadpipe... )

[TubaSteve]

In the community band that I play in, this last selection of music has several passages that run up to D above the staff. I have to wonder how many amature players and even students that can consistently play in those registers. It is one thing to be able to work your way up to them, but quite another to be able to hit it on the fly with a quality sound. With the demands of everything else called life, most of the players in the groups that I play in are lucky to find the time to make it to rehearsal let alone devote more than a few hours a week to practice. When I see passages going up above G or A in the bass clef staff, I usually read it down an octave. Sorry, but for me it's better to put out some quality sound than to run the real risk of missed notes. Just my $.02
Steve

[artuba]

At the moment, I am working on keeping a consistent C, D, E, etc. above the staff. The B is not a problem anymore, but above that, I tend to get a little inconsistent.

[windshieldbug]

Joe, Joe, Joe-
Those are no longer useable- the trebuchet pianos were built to the HIGH pitch standard....

That just depends on how high your oboe player is...

[LoyalTubist]

I think the tubist who said we aren't trumpet players is right. But we also can't consider any note on the middle line D or above as high. Actually, the orchestration books indicate that our range, if you think two octaves lower, is HIGHER than trumpet range (Kent Kennan, for one).

As far as getting high range, for me, it was totally different than what my trumpet playing tuba teacher told me in college. He said I had to get my lips closer together. My jaws actually get further apart as I get higher. On my CC tuba, I get up to G above the staff. On my BBb, I get up to an F. I have an E-flat tuba but my range on that horn is limited. I don't have an F tuba.

[LoyalTubist]

A Couple of months ago it was only an F in the Staff. Now I can play musically up to F above middle C.

But do you only get it when the spirit moves?

[tubatooter1940]

I play mostly by ear doing a lot of rock basslines and solos. I chose a mouthpiece to give me lows for solid basslines first and nice highs for solos. I can hit Eb above the staff on Eb tuba and Bb above the staff on a BBb tuba-not impressive by any means but a big bottom end is always more fun and more important.

[Kevin Hendrick]

I can hit Eb above the staff on Eb tuba and Bb above the staff on a BBb tuba-not impressive by any means but a big bottom end is always more fun and more important.

Hmmm ... "Tuby Got Back"? (by "Sir Toots-a-lot", of course ... )