Re: What's the most commonly keyed tuba?


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Posted by Joe Baker on December 16, 1999 at 13:55:31:

In Reply to: What's the most commonly keyed tuba? posted by Not_A_Tuba_Player on December 16, 1999 at 13:39:52:

Well, the answer is that in the high-school and decidedly-amateur ranks, BBb is most common, while among the pros and pro-hopefuls CC is more common, while some prefer F or Eb, especially for solos or small ensembles.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!!! Just write the part in concert key for tuba. It's not like many treble-clef instrument where if you say 'play a C' you'll get a half dozen different notes. If you ask a BBb player, a CC player, an F player, and an Eb player to 'play a C', you will get a single pitch with a delightful blend of colors, played by four players who have different combinations of valves pressed.

Now, RANGE, that's what you have to concern yourself with. For BBb or CC, the typical range (NOT the absolute range -- I'm dealing ONLY in what is most common) is from about fourth-ledger-below F to about fourth line F. For Eb or F, the typical range is about second-ledger-below Bb or C (respectively) to about Bb or C at the top of staff. This means that there's about an octave and a half that are perfectly comfortable for most players on ANY common tuba, and in my experience most smaller ensemble pieces stay in that range.

Since you probably know who's going to be playing this (the first time), ask him/her what range they are comfortable with. Good luck, and please write back to let us know how it's going.


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