Posted by Jon Meyer on February 25, 2004 at 13:20:49:
In Reply to: Re: Arban Tuba Book posted by tony on February 25, 2004 at 11:42:05:
Different version! The Simone Mantia Arban's for Trombone/Euphonium and Various Bass Clef instruments is the one that I think you are refering to as "$20 or less". It is not a complete Arban's method and definately is "hard to read" as mentioned in a below post
Yes, Wes Jacobs asks a high price for his books, but it is worth it! They are so well constructed and printed on HIGH quality paper that lasts. I have purchased many of them and will continue to do so. The TB/EP version is annotated by Brian Bowman and Joe Alessi and the tuba book is annotated by Wes Jacobs and Jerry Young.
However, I too recommend learning the books in different keys. I use many french horn and flute method books myself and with my students. Especially flute arpeggio books; they help with future jazz reading because of the key signature and chord progression repetition. Learning to play a treble clef arpeggio study helps to strengthen the hand-brain coordination when you are "ad lib"ing off a lead sheet or fake book.
I also have the trumpet book, and I use it for my Eb tuba. I just read it like bass clef (with the adjusted key signatures) and it lays perfectly on the horn.
As far as the spiral bound issues mentioned in a below post, I too take ALL of my books to be spiral bound. It makes them a little bit harder to transport, but the fact that they lay flat on the stand is worth it. It is like $3 per book all said and done at Kinko's. I just recently took my Blazevich, Kopprach, and Bordogni "Robert King" books there and had them sliced and bound together. Works out quite well as a collection.
JON MEYER