Re: Horn trends 4/4's


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Posted by Jeff Miller on January 27, 2004 at 17:36:51:

In Reply to: Horn trends 4/4's posted by Kyle Turner on January 26, 2004 at 20:35:30:

As a freelancer, I play in a wide variety of groups and styles, ranging from orchestras and quintets to dixieland and funk bands. For a given gig, I will often use an instrument that convention would consider to be the "wrong" one. Sometimes this is due to my own choice; more often it is due to the logistical constraints of having multiple gigs during one trip away from home. (Unbelievably, I don't have a car, so I have to carry what I plan to use).

The result of this is that I have by choice used my Yorkbrunner to do brass quintets and dixieland gigs. I have also done large orchestral pieces on an F. Some things I have noticed are:

If I use my 4/4 CC in an orchestral setting, the added core in the sound ensures that the audience can easily distinguish the tuba sound. (i.e. "Hey, listen to that tuba!")

If I use my 6/4 CC in an orchestral setting, they may or may not realise that they hear the tuba, but they will feel it, and the bass frequency of the orchestra sound will be fuller. (i.e. "Hey, listen to that orchestra!")

If I use my Yorkbrunner in a dixieland gig, it works great; loads of bass, lots of front on the note, and very efficient at making a controlled, rounded sound at low volumes. This means a lot when you are playing 2 or 3 one-hour sets without being able to take the mouthpiece off your face during a set.)

(Incidentally, when using my 6/4 in Dixieland gigs, I often get unsolicited compliments from my colleagues regarding the sound of that instrument in the band, indicating that it must work fairly well or they would keep their mouths shut.)

What's my point? As usual, I don't really have one. What I'm trying to say is that a decent tuba player who is also a good musician should be able to make almost any gig convincing on almost any size of tuba.

I'm not saying that any musical approach is better or worse; sometimes the music is supposed to make people say "Wow, Tuba!"; sometimes the music calls for something more subtle.

All this is offered, of course, In My Most Humble Opinion.

Jeff Miller


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