Posted by Tim on March 26, 1999 at 15:39:21:
In Reply to: 3 or 4 valve 3/4 BBb for an 11 yr. old daughter? posted by Oscar on March 26, 1999 at 10:30:48:
Hello!
Its good to hear that a young player is so actively involved! A nice horn, at a reasonable price, is the St. Petersburg. It is a full sized horn, but not huge. While having a 3/4 size horn is good for someone her age, in a few years she will probably outgrow the horn. Also, the 3/4 horn might prove to be a disadvantage is she gets interested in auditioning for honors bands or music camps.
I am friends with some people who teach at the middle school level, and by eighth grade, all of their tuba players move from the 3/4 horns to the 4/4 horns. One of them even bought a set of St. Petersburgs to upgrade his middle school tubas. The St. Petersburg is offered at a good price (around $3300, I believe), and I think plays better than the Yamaha YBB-641 (this is a personal prefernce, of course).