A Bold Statement from a Female, Teenage Tuba Player

[TubaRay]

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

Pearls of wisdom, here. Glad you shared them with everyone, Mary Ann.

[Doug@GT]

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.

In everyones' opinion, how successful would you all say events like TubaChristmas have been at allowing players who don't fit a given stereotype to meet others of similar characteristics?

Women, lawyers, ex-cons, politicians, short folks, skinny folks, etc.

Doug "can't remember how many--ahem--tuba chicks there were in Atlanta last year"

[tubatooter1940]

I was 5'3" and 100 pounds when I started tuba in 8th grade.My band director let me play snare drum in the Mardi Gras parades until I grew enough to carry a sousaphone.
I admire Mary Ann who has never and may never exceed 100 pounds and tackles the tuba as well as doubling on horn,violin and other instruments. Her posts are always thoughtful and interesting as well.

[oldbandnerd]

I have never understood this steryeotype of the tuba player as being a short fat guy with puffy cheeks . When I was in high school our 3 tuba players were tall and skinny . My community band has 3 tuba player all tall and skinny . I cannot think of any tuba player that I have ever know personally that was really fat .

Also, I know two woman who played in band when they were in school and switched from flute to tuba . This was in the late 70's and early 80's . They are both smallish women and were not laughed at but were considered "cool".

You hang in there tubachick . Never mind those close minded individuals who can't accept something a little different .

Besides,what could be cooler than a tuba playing chick ?

[Sally Larsen]

Back forty years ago (!) when I started playing, there were no other female tuba players to be found. I marched with a brass sousaphone, because we had four fiberglass horns and one brass one, and our heights looked like this: - - _ - - (Me, 5'4", sandwiched in a line of four 6-footers).
I used to get my picture in the paper nearly every parade
The weight of the horn isn't an issue yet, but I do use a Tubassist for my old King, because the receiver is set too high on the horn for me. I know quite a few female tuba players now, and it doesn't seem like much of an issue any more. A great player is a great player.

Sally (now the problem seems to be more about wind than gender)Larsen

[Erin]

. . . tell them that the tuba is a great dude magnet

Barry Guerrero

Yeah, but the kind of dudes you attract when you play tuba might not be the kind of dudes you want to spend a whole lot of time with!

(Just kidding guys... no need to send me angry PM's.)

[JB]

. . . tell them that the tuba is a great dude magnet

Barry Guerrero

Yeah, but the kind of dudes you attract when you play tuba might not be the kind of dudes you want to spend a whole lot of time with!

I hear ya, especfially after the day of lessons I had to teach...

[Haugan]

Has anyone considered contacting Elese A. and making sure she is aware of this forum? I think Tubenet could use some more literary types - a fine piece of writing as well as the ideas expressed within!