Re: Re: Conn 20k on shoulder


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Posted by Rob P-M on August 01, 2001 at 11:05:05:

In Reply to: Re: Conn 20k on shoulder posted by Joe S. on July 31, 2001 at 20:35:42:

Amen, Joe! When I learned to carry a 20K back in 1962 or so, I was taught 'front to back', with the bell facing just a teensy bit off center to the left for balance. Always seemed relatively easy.

In recent years, I've seen more and more kids (and not so young kids) playing sousaphones 'sideways' with the bells turned over the valve cluster to point (more or less) forward. Awkward and uncomfortable. You'd think with the advent of plastic sousaphones, you wouldn't see such.

I've been trying to convince the local band director to get his players to carry the horns the right way (especially his King Jumbo, which is pretty heavy).

I think the reason some people think this is the way to carry a sousaphone is that in some old pictures, people are holding them that way for the photograph. -- IMHO, only so that the sousaphone players' faces aren't obscured by the bells, because when they do that the bells are usally off to the side (as we would expect). Also, in catalog photos, sousaphones are sometimes displayed that way so you can see the bell and the body.

Do you have any good authoritative (to a band director) source showing the proper way to carry a sousaphone? I'd love to be able to give the guy a reference.

Thanks in advance

Rob


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