Posted by Rick Denney on January 10, 2002 at 16:37:32:
In Reply to: writing a tuba concerto..... posted by Winton on January 10, 2002 at 11:13:58:
Some things to watch out for, from a hobbyist's perspective:
- Make sure the tuba voicings don't invert chords that don't want to be inverted. This is hard to avoid, because the tuba is mostly under everyone else. You'd think someone like me would not have to say this to someone like you, but I still see it and hear it often enough to make me want to mention it just in case.
- Decide early on who your favored player is. If you want it to be a technical showpiece that only Pat Sheridan or Roland Szentpali can play, then accept that you won't sell copies to the likes of me. If you want to sell it to high-school kids (and hobbyists), make it easier than the Vaughan Williams but without any less musical value.
- Watch the range. As you know, playing high is not that hard. Staying high is hard. Decide early on if you prefer it to be played on a bass tuba or a contrabass tuba, and depart from the cash register of the selected instrument only to achieve something worth the effort.
- Tubas don't impress people by playing high. A high note on a tuba doesn't sound high, and though it may be killing the player, the audience won't realize the effort required (unless, of course, the player makes it look hard, which is not a good thing). Tubas impress people by playing low. Make the important show-off note in the cadenza a low note rather than a high one.
- Provide alternatives for the most technical bits. Anybody can compose for a virtuoso, but it takes skill to make something of real musical value accessible to morons like me. Design it like a good golf course--an easy way down the fairway to play safe, but a shot over the trees that will take a stroke off the hole if you have the courage and ability to do it.
- Don't make it hard just to make it hard. We've all played pieces that were killers to work up, and once worked up, we wondered why we bothered. Make sure every bit of difficulty, in range, technique, or rhythm, that you put into serves the musical purpose directly.
- Keep it simple. Both players and audiences usually agree that the best part of the Vaughan Williams is the middle movement. Get it?
- You've already mentioned tunefulness, so I won't mention it again. Oops, I just did.
Rick "admittedly self-serving in this response" Denney