Posted by Klaus on January 13, 2002 at 03:28:08:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: bass clef parts in Bb and Eb posted by Mike on January 13, 2002 at 02:34:47:
A good and productive attitude!
Yet I from experiences in my own country and from private correspondence with fellow US tubists happen to know, that it is not too uncommon to find the Eb tuba parts in a brass band covered by huge CC instruments.
The rationale behind that hardly ever is any consideration about a smooth blend of sound from the BBb contrabass function through the Eb bass function to the soloistic baritone function of the euphonium.
It is the more coincidental similarity of treble Eb parts with bass clef C parts that counts.
In better brass band arrangements there are distinct differences between the Eb and BBb tuba parts: choices of octave, non-octave divisi (aka. chords), overlaps in wide range scales and arpeggios, solos/soli for one of the parts.
These specified demands from composers and arrangers are not necessarily well served with 4 players all reading from the Eb part just for the convenience of the reading process. (Of course an extreme situation, but this has happened when substitutes and ringers were involved).
One prominent band over here at one point took the consequence and ordered the parts played on band provided Eb and BBb instruments of a relevant type and quality (to be spelled Besson Sovereign top valved compers in this case).
Even if I can tend to some orthodoxy, I will point to a modest sample how the practises of the US brass band everyday can be accomodated to. In my brass band arrangement of the 125 years old US tuba solo "The Helicon Schottische" I have included bass clef versions of the tenor trombone and BBb tuba parts.
The arrangement has the full tuba section playing the solo. It can be downloaded and used for free from the site linked to below.
(There has been one proofing error found since the uploading: the tuba parts are marked: Solo. That should have been: Soli).
Klaus