Re: EEb vs. BBb


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Mind over matter on August 15, 2001 at 21:24:13:

In Reply to: EEb vs. BBb posted by Steven on August 15, 2001 at 13:30:29:

As has been said below, the main reason to pick the key of the horn tends to be the sound of the instrument, not the absolute range. If you want to play a tuba but "cover" a 2nd 'bone part in a quartet, then consider a 3/4 size F tuba for a little brighter, more focused sound that will blend better with this size group. But don't expect this tuba to create a broad, full foundational sound for an orchestra or community band, even though its low register may extend just as far downwards as a big BBb or CC. Likewise, the sound of the large contrabass tuba will tend to stand out as "different" if used to play a 2nd 'bone part in the hypothetical quartet, even though a good player might be able to play the contrabass tuba just as high in range as the small F.

The role of the Eb tuba (a.k.a. EEb -- same thing) *tends* to be as a compromise tuba if you don't want to own both a smaller bass tuba and a larger contrabass tuba. The Willson 5V Eb tuba works well as a "one-size-fits-all" choice, for example. Not the perfect "small" tuba, not the perfect "substitute contrabass", but with reasonable capabilities at both extremes.

Not being a British Brass Band person, I'm not familiar with the role of the Eb in this type of music, but I've read that the Eb tuba tends to fill a variety of roles, sometimes doubling the bass part an octave higher for clarity (sometimes an octave lower for unique effect), sometimes doubling the euph (?) part an octave lower for more substance, etc.

When I was struggling with some of the higher range quintet literature on a 4/4 BBb, I thought an Eb would help with this. Strangely, it did. But after several years playing Eb, I believe my BBb range is about the same as on my Eb. I THOUGHT it would be easier to play higher, and with a little practice (aha! that may have been the real issue!) it was. Yet as I was using about the same size mouthpiece with either Eb or BBb, I'm sure this was just mental.

If you can find a 4V (or more) Eb instrument, it's probably just as capable as a BBb for a small to medium sized group in the low register, and *maybe* slightly easier to play above middle C than the BBb instrument, maybe not . . . . The Eb horn will *tend* to have a little tighter or more focused sound than the BBb, assuming you're not comparing a BIG Eb tuba with a small BBb tuba -- then the audience might perceive the opposite.

Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN


Follow Ups: