Re: Re: Tuba Toss at Finland and Results


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Posted by Joe Baker on August 27, 2001 at 13:23:34:

In Reply to: Re: Tuba Toss at Finland and Results posted by tubanian on August 26, 2001 at 15:17:11:

No, never caught that show. But a couple of things Carl K might remember at N. Texas 20 or so years ago:

"Piano Burning" was an avante-garde piece performed between the library and the music building, wherein a piano had its strings tightened to the breaking point, and a pipe inserted into the sound board (with a microphone at the other end of the pipe). Then the piano was doused with kerosene and set ablaze, causing the strings to break. POING!! SPRUING!!! Great fun!

Then there was the marching band's playful little poke at SMU (who, for the unaware, use Dizzy Gillespie 'upward bell' trumpets). I was playing trombone in the marching band there, and we all went out and bought pawn-shop horns and bent the bells upwards.

But if, in fact, tuba players DO have a better sense of humor about themselves than players of other instruments, so much the better. I don't know that I'd go so far as agreeing with the poster who asserted that the tuba was 'limited', but our parts sure are! It doesn't matter how musical we are, or how haughty and formal we are doing it, most people are still going to THINK of tuba players as guys (and dolls) who just play oom-pahs. So what? And do you think that if we have our serious little affairs (which no one would ever even KNOW about without events like tuba toss), that perception will change? I'd rather have them think 'Tuba player, huh? Cool...' than 'Tuba player, huh? What a self-absorbed chump.' I think events like the tuba toss (and tuba Christmas, too, no matter how seriously WE take it) convey to the public that we have a sense of humor.


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