Re: Should I buy an F tuba first?


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Posted by Charles D. Ortega on January 23, 2003 at 18:16:01:

In Reply to: Should I buy an F tuba first? posted by curious on January 23, 2003 at 02:38:14:

I respectfully ask the original poster to e-mail me privately.

That said, I bought an F tuba first. I had a good CC lent to me by the school I was going to, and I thought, wow, it is the best set-up.

However, I want to provide some thoughts for you to consider. I now know from experience how much these points need to be addressed.

1. Are you sure the school will let you have the horn indefinitely? If not, how long will it be before you have enough money to purchase another horn? One that could be more expensive than this first horn you are thinking of purchasing now.

2. What about the summers, and long breaks? Do you get to keep the horn during those times? Trust me, when you get called for that Christmas gig, and you only have the F at your disposal and it is a large brass ensemble, you are going to be missing that school horn.

3. A friend of mine was using a school horn through out his undergrad and suddenly won a job. Right then, he NEEDED to have a horn, and didn't. I don't know how you play, or how old you are, but this is something that could happen to you. This broughtup the ethical question of, if you win a job on one horn, and then show up with a completely different horn, is that right?

4. Do not dismiss out of hand the people who have told you how much CC tuba playing you will be doing. We are by and large basement dwellers, and you need to develop your own characteristic sound. This horn that the school is lending you, are you going to go out and buy the same kind? If not, you will have an uphill battle on your hands trying to re-learn tendencies and ways of playing.

I will tell you straight out, if I had it to do over again, I would buy a CC. For the above considerations, and for other reasons I won't list here, so please e-mail me if your are interested in finding out
(Paul Harvey moment) "the rest of the story."

In the end, it is your decision. Sure, you want this new horn, and I know how exciting that can be, but you should also consider how much further along you will be if you buy your core horn now. The way I see it, we need about 3 horns. More if you have plenty of money. But really three is where you want to be. Sure, 2 horns will do it, if money is as tight as it was for me for the past 10 years, but ideally, 3. .An F, for solo playing, maybe quintet, and light and high orchestral stuff. A medium CC, your core horn, for quintet, and for medium orchestral playing (like pops), and finally a BAT for big orchestral stuff. This is my opinion. I am still working out when to use that medium horn in orchestra, but it is definitely a horn one needs. I have that setup now, but it has taken me 10 years to get the horns I want. Where are you going to be in 2013?

But if you get yourself a large 4/4 CC now, and it is a horn you will have for a long time, you will be able to hone your own sound starting now, rather than later. I also want to put out the idea that F tuba isn't always THE choice for quintet. Look at your two major quintets of recent memory. Canadian Brass and Empire Brass, Chuck and Sam both used CCs. There is something to be said for that. I said the same thing when I bought my F.
"Oh yeah, I can use this thing for quintet." I still use the F but I also found out that a good medium CC works really well in quintet.
Listen, whenever you decide, WHATEVER you decide, enoy it. There will be plenty of people like me and the others on here who will tell you their opinions, whether you like it or not, (at least this time you asked!) but you are the guy who has to live with this horn purchase. Do I still have that F I bought a long time ago? Yes. It was a good buy. However, like I said, I would buy a CC if I had it to do all over again.

Good luck, and email me if you get the chance. Now, help me off of this soapbox...

cdo


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