Re: Re: Re: BB industry!


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Posted by Rick Denney on February 26, 2001 at 13:07:27:

In Reply to: Re: Re: BB industry! posted by curious on February 26, 2001 at 11:00:14:

Ditto.

Cerveny built what may be the first CC tuba in something like the 1850's, or maybe even a bit earlier.

The tuba that so impressed Berlioz was an F tuba, which was the "standard" instrument in German and English orchestras from the last days of the ophicleide to within the last few decades. When a composer called for a contrabass, Germans would usually pull out a BBb, sure. But the notion of a contrabass of either pitch being the "standard" instrument is an American concept, and any trend in Europe along those lines has American roots. Stravinsky certainly wrote Petrouschka for an F tuba.

But, you know, it doesn't really matter. The players who are good enough will play whatever works best for them, and will work with whatever pitch horns do that work. Because most orchestra players in the U.S. use C instruments, most of the makers build orchestral contrabass horns primarily in C. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

It's the amateurs for whom this matters most. We amateurs are more reluctant to change keys to obtain improvements many of us cannot exploit. I agree with Joe, if we amateur players who have the scratch to buy pro-quality instruments do so, then the makers will make them. There are more of us than orchestra players, after all.

Rick "who has paid real money for the right BBb tuba" Denney


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