Re: Re: Which F Tuba is MOST German?


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Posted by Sean Chisham on June 26, 2001 at 22:47:17:

In Reply to: Re: Which F Tuba is MOST German? posted by Matt Chin on June 26, 2001 at 10:29:27:

Only a poet could even come close to accuratelly describing sound with words. For an aural example, listen to the Meinl Weston tuba 4tet, a Michael Lind CD, Heiko Triebener, German Operas played by German orchestras. Or to hear an American do it catch Rex Martin playing his Rudy Meinl F. I would take a guess that the vast majority of American orchestral tubists use German rotary F's when they record and perform music requiring an F tuba. Or listen to just about any orchestral recording which utilizes the F tuba, like Berlioz.

Again, I am in no means able to accuratelly relay what it sounds like, but it doesn't sound like a large bore CC tuba playing high. It has a bit of a sizzle to it at times which sounds a bit like a large bass trombone. At other times it can sound thinner and sweeter like a euphonium. Still others very dark mystical like Michael Lind. The horn is not a one trick pony like a Yamaha tends to be.

Sorry Yamaha owners, I rarely hear those horns played with diverse color pallates and it bugs me. Some people pull it off, but usually it sounds like a little CC tuba or a euphonium player playing long tones. Just an opinion, remember, others don't like the sound of Hirsbrunners. Can't we all just get along :)

The German rotary horns have a flexability which allows them to be easily manipulated by the musicians ideas instead of the horn steering the player towards a mezzo vanilla sound. This is also true of the older York tubas I have played. They are very flexable. The downside to giving someone liberty like that with a tool or machine, is they must be held responsible for it's proper use. It is sorta like taking the speed limiters off of sports cars and giving them manual steering, a stiff suspension, and a short throw racing clutch. It might not be as easy to handle at first. It might drive kinda rough off the showroom floor. But, once it is mastered the possibilities are much more promising.

Not to say Pat Sheridan can't sound good on a Besson, or that Roger Bobo barely scraped by on a Yamaha. That is not at all true. It is just that many of us have ears which have becomed accustomed to a certain voice from F tubas.

It is the same with trumpets. Just about everyone uses Bach trumpets. Shilke makes BBb's and CC's. So does Besson, so does Yamaha, so does a lot of manufacturers. We have just become accustomed to Bach as the definition of the trumpet sound. Same with pianos and Steinway. Same with violins and Stradivarious. Same with PC's and Microsoft Windows. We have come to expect things to be that way.

In England most everyone plays on Besson Eb's. That is what they expect to hear. So that is the tradition. Here in the US, some people play Eb and are generally classified as amatuer with some exceptions. Same with BBb in Germany being used as the big horn in operatic contexts needing a low powerful voice. In the US we also tend to generalize the BBb as a student horn. Here we expect to see and hear large bore CC tubas of the Yorkbrunner/Nirschlbruner/2165/Holton variety.

So to summarize. I like the German F's better, because that is the tradition F tuba sound I have become conditioned to appreciate. I also know that that is the traditional sound that audition panels tend to expect. I remember playing the John Williams Tuba Concerto at an audition for the Civic Orchestra on my old Besson Eb and afterwards getting comments from Gene Pokorny over the phone asking me what kind of horn I was using for it and the other higher excerpts. I am sure with a better approach I could have been more convincing with my performance, but it still sounded odd to his ears.

We expect to hear and F tuba on F tuba literature. What the definition of an F tuba is, is up to not only the performer, but more importantly, the audience. We are professionals and have a job to do. Buy the tools which make your job the easiest. You job is to produce the best product. Your job is not to play the tuba. Your job is not to buy a horn. Some manufacturers make it really easy to afford a horn. Some manufacturers make it really easy to play the tuba. Some manufacturers make it easier to reach for the perfect aural end product. Unfortunatelly, there is are few horns which have all three.

sean



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