Posted by Howard on February 10, 1999 at 21:16:08:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: CC Tuba Confusion posted by Phillip Rubin on February 10, 1999 at 19:49:40:
Actually, I said "largely irrelevant", not "totally irrelevant". Also, I was referring to the various pitches in which tubas are built. For example, if an orchestral tubist wants to use a BB flat horn rather than the trendy CC, I say good for him. (I play CC by the way.) Further, if a player uses an EE flat tuba to do Mahler 5 and plays it beautifully, I wont argue with his choice of instrument. (This latter example actually happened when one of the London orchestras came through San Francisco a year or so ago.)
The point I am trying to make is that quality of sound and musicianship override any consideration of what hardware we choose to play on. I will concede that quality tubas greatly enhance our chances of playing well. But, they do not guarantee results. Only the player can do that.