Posted by AW on December 28, 2003 at 19:48:41:
In Reply to: Re: Ask question~ posted by dp on December 28, 2003 at 12:20:51:
While it appears to be true (in the USA, anyway) that there are more serious and/or professional tubists that play CC as their main contrabass tuba, I don't see how that fact supports the conclusion you present. Whenever two phenomena appear together, such as CC tubists frequently being serious tubists, you have to be careful what conclusions one can reasonably draw:
1) Playing CC tuba causes a player to be serious and good.
2) Being serious and good causes a player to choose a CC tuba.
3) Being serious and good, and playing a CC tuba do not cause one another; rather they have a common cause.
4) It is a coincidence; there is no cause-and-effect relationship.
Myself, I suspect that some combination of happenstance, choices made by some leading players in the past, and traditions in USA music schools have much more to do with the correlation than anything else. In other nations, the majority of professionals may choose different pitch tubas from USA tubists.
It is true that, all things being equal (as they almost never are) higher pitch tubas are more agile, and lower pitched tubas have a deeper and darker sound. The difference between BBb and CC contrabass tubas is small, and the difference between Eb and F bass tubas is similarly small. If you really want agility, you can go for the higher-pitched members of the tuba family: Bb euphonium and Bb fluegelhorn. You can't have everything in one horn; you will have to make some choices, and/or own more than one tuba.
I think the most important thing for someone asking this kind of question is to get a good teacher. Your teacher can guide you better than any Internet forum.
My choice? I was a BBb player, went shopping for a tuba, and a CC tuba picked me. It took me about two weeks to learn the fingerings, and about two months to get good at the fingerings.
Allen Walker