Re: Preferred position of tuba in quintet


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Posted by wil on May 12, 2003 at 20:09:26:

In Reply to: Preferred position of tuba in quintet posted by Jim Andrada on May 12, 2003 at 16:11:56:

I did attend a workshop a while back where Winston Morris (Tennessee Tech)addressed this issue with a small tuba ensemble. We listened to a performance by the ensemble, followed by a critique (of sorts). The one thing that he did was to change the seating arrangement of the group, and perform the piece again to see if there would be a change in the overall sound.

The second time we all observed a very detectable difference. He simply did one thing. He moved the larger tubas to the outside (on each side) so that the bells were kind of aiming to the center of the ensemble (and up of course). And we all were able to hear a change (for the better) in the overall sound.

Hope that this makes sense. For instance, if you were playing a Miraphone 186 you would sit at the far right (as you face the audience) causing your bell to aim toward the center of the ensemble (up, of course). Or if you were playing a Yamaha YEB632, you would sit on the far left (as you face the audience). This would cause your bell to aim toward the center from the left.

Anyway by having the tubas all directing their bells (and sound) toward the center of the ensemble, we all were able to hear a much better overall sound (intonation and blend).

You might experiment, as he did to see if it helps the sound in a quintet situation. I would think that the logic would hold true for any small brass group that uses tubas.




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