Posted by Doug Whitten on October 27, 2002 at 14:03:35:
In Reply to: Re: Eb fingerings posted by Chuck(G) on October 27, 2002 at 11:57:30:
I also with Chuck that it is important to learn the new fingerings specific to the new horn (not to draw parallels or think of it as a transposition). The reason is that you are not transposing. A C is still a C, it just uses a different fingering. More importantly, however, is that "fingerings" are subject to the individual horn. For intonation reasons and sometimes for timbre reasons alternate fingerings are needed. For instance, I use the 1&3 combination to play G in tune on my F tuba, but If I used 1&3 on just about any note on my CC it would be terribly sharp.
One last reason to try not to learn EEb tuba as a parrallel is that it will make it difficult to switch back and forth between horns.
Please keep in mind that the bottom line is to do what works for you. I tried learning EEb tuba several years ago by thinking of it as a transposition and it proved difficult at best. For me, when I re-approached learning EEb tuba I thought of it a new fingerings, not a transposition and had success.
Although I have learned a set of fingering specific to each of my horns, I do find it useful to learn how to transpose music from other instruments (reading horn, trumpet, alto sax music) in order to expand our repretoire.