Posted by Jay Bertolet on August 15, 2001 at 21:56:46:
In Reply to: Re: EEb vs. BBb posted by Mind over matter on August 15, 2001 at 21:24:13:
"When I was struggling with some of the higher range quintet literature on a 4/4 BBb, I
thought an Eb would help with this. Strangely, it did. But after several years playing Eb, I believe my BBb range is about the same as on my Eb. I THOUGHT it would be easier to
play higher, and with a little practice (aha! that may have been the real issue!) it was. Yet as I was using about the same size mouthpiece with either Eb or BBb, I'm sure this was
just mental."
Congratulations Steve! In my opinion, you have stumbled onto a major truism in high range playing that I try and teach all my students. I would put forth the theory that you got used to playing higher with the Eb such that playing in that range (on any tuba) was no longer any big deal. At that point, you began to relax and really think about making music instead of worrying about accuracy. Sound familiar?
Kinda puts a whole new spin on the question of why you buy a bass tuba, doesn't it?
My opinion for what its' worth...