Re: German F theories


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on August 29, 2001 at 09:39:48:

In Reply to: German F theories posted by Matt G on August 28, 2001 at 13:07:57:

I think the key to the discussion lies in something you said:

"I personally think that these guys [Europeans] are so used to playing on these things [F tubas] that the low register is much more natural to them."

In my mind, the crux of the matter is how we are trained as players. Americans are primarily contrabass tuba players. We start on them and we stay on them. For us, the bass tuba is an ancillary piece of equipment, something that some players never use at all. I know that Dave Kirk teaches all his students at Rice to play and learn every orchestral excerpt on the CC tuba before they ever start with a bass tuba. Even ophicleide parts like in the works of Berlioz. The presumption in America is that your primary tuba is either a CC or BBb tuba. During years of training, all our habits as players are learned on the contrabass tuba. That is how we approach tuba playing.

Our European colleagues have exactly the opposite approach. They start on a bass tuba. They learn on a bass tuba and they stay on a bass tuba. For them, the contrabass tuba is the ancillary piece of equipment. All their years of training are spent holding a bass tuba, learning habits based on that feel. I know that there must be some teaching in Europe similar to Dave Kirk's philosophy because I have heard European players doing what we Americans consider contrabass tuba works on their bass tubas, like Wagner for example.

Also, look at the resultant products we've seen in the orchestral field. We all know how loud American orchestras play. Just look at the Chicago Symphony of the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's. Also the New York Philharmonic when Mehta was around. There are other examples of course. Has there been a European equivalent? I don't ever remember hearing any European orchestra that played at those volume levels. Conversely, is there an American equivalent to Vienna? We identify this sound as having lots of "character". Certainly, assuming all things being equal (including the capabilities of players in both environments), this Vienna sound has been proven to be popular so why hasn't an American orchestra taken up this (or a similar) approach? How do the differences in these two stylistic examples relate to the playing characteristics of bass and contrabass tubas?

I think that players are an extension of their teaching and working enviroment. They sound like they've been taught and what employers in the field are willing to pay for. Nothing new there. What is new, at least in America as far as I can see, is the large number of students who are focusing on solo repertoire and, rightly so, choosing to spend more time with their bass tubas. The problem is the almost complete lack of bass tuba experience in their formative years. We all know full well the differences in the playing of bass versus contrabass tubas. Some players take to the bass tuba better than others. I imagine a similar discussion in Europe regarding the contrabass tuba and I hope some of our European colleagues will address this topic. Ultimately, it would appear that using the bass tuba as your primary instrument gives the player the added advantage of having a leg up when approaching solo repertoire, played primarily on the bass tuba.

For me, I won't focus on the solo repertoire because nobody is going to pay me to play solos. The extent of my bass tuba experience is the execution of certain orchestral works that work better on a bass tuba. I think this is what has caused the development of instruments like the Willson Eb, Yamaha 822 & 621, etc. These tubas function like bass tubas but feel and play more like contrabass tubas. This makes them more applicable for the player like myself who isn't willing to invest a great deal of time to learn a completely new approach just for a few selected works. Let's not kid ourselves, most of these bass tubas take a different approach to play than a contrabass tuba. Certainly there are exceptional bass tubas, as of any type, but the sound and playing characteristics of the typical bass tuba are far removed from the contrabass tuba. While I don't consider myself any kind of world beater player, I cannot effectively play these tubas with my current technique levels. The lower range of the typical bass tuba is just not something I can effectively negotiate. In my mind, that's enough to prove to me that there is a definable difference with these tubas and this is not simply bad instruments or general inexperience on the part of the player. It is a different skill, one that I'm not mastering as of yet. As long as there are viable bass tuba alternatives that work effectively for me, I won't invest the time in learning the new approach required of the Germanic style bass tuba. For me, it isn't cost or time effective.

Sorry for the long post!

My opinion for what it's worth...


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