Posted by Dan Schultz on December 02, 2002 at 10:43:09:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Where's the tuba?!! posted by T(AT)BG on December 01, 2002 at 22:34:57:
Tuba is my primary instrument. I mess with bagpipes and saxophone a little and also do some trombone, but my real love is tuba. I see more and more really good tuba parts going to bass guitar and it really bothers me. Hal Leonard publishes a set of easy to play Dixieland arrangements called 'Dixieland Beat' where the bass part is written for guitar and has to be dropped an octave to make it livable for a tuba. The same's true with the 'Church Gig' and 'Christmas Gig' sets of music (the ones that come with a CD)... the drum part and the bass guitar part are combined in the same book. Again, to use a tuba requires some 're-writing'. I sometimes play with one of the local high school pep bands. When I'm not there, they use a bass guitar. I just wonder how long it will be before high school band directors take the sousas off the field altogether and put an amplilfied bass guitar in the pit with the percussion equipment! I guess when that day comes, I'll just have to face reality.... a sousa costs $3,500 and can be replaced with a $100 guitar and an amp!
How nice it was a couple of weeks ago at our annual 'football weekend' with some of our old college buddies to see 20 sousas marching in the Purdue band! Ahhh tradition.... Not bad for a fine engineering school that doesn't even offer a music major.