Posted by Rick Denney on June 20, 2003 at 10:02:59:
In Reply to: Re: horns for auditions posted by Alex C on June 20, 2003 at 09:34:24:
Amen. It seems to me that we tuba players are so enamored of sound that we de-emphasize all that other stuff. Were I on an audition committee (albeit for third hosephone in the local dog-catcher band), I think I'd be most interested in who I enjoyed listening to the most. That is a musical connection. Anything that distracts (or detracts) from that musical connection is a problem, and that includes all technical weaknesses, of which less-than-stellar sound is one. But having no technical weaknesses and a stellar sound doesn't make the music.
Thus, in the unlikely event that I ever audition for anything again, I'll show up with the instrument that is easiest to play so that I can focus the maximum energy into the music. Today, that dog-catcher band audition committee would hear me hack my way through easy solos on my big Holton and my little Yamaha 621, because those are my most musically effective instruments--for me--today.
Rick "who would start with the musical objective and go from there" Denney