Posted by Tom Holtz on June 11, 2000 at 22:56:46:
In Reply to: Fluency on different keyed tubas posted by Bill Burdick on June 11, 2000 at 18:41:23:
I use a BBb sousaphone and a CC tuba with the Marine Band. I do quintet gigs, the very rare orchestral work, and big band playing on an F tuba. My main freelance axe is the Eb helicon that goes to all the dixie and polka gigs. This has bent my brain on more than one occasion. I started out on Bb tubas in public school like most of us did, and have never stopped using those fingerings to this day, and they have carved the deepest grooves in my cranium. I learned CC fingerings before college, and that's where the bread and butter is today. F and Eb came later, and I'm still a bit rusty on Eb. I've only had the helicon a few years, and when I'm improvising a solo, it sometimes sounds like only a few days.
Confusing? Yes, it sure can be. Necessary? No, but on certain gigs, the dixieland gigs for example, I like what I get from the helicon more than what I get from the Hirsbrunner, and so do the guys that hire me. You do what works for you, and your mileage may vary.