Posted by Roger Lewis on June 24, 2002 at 13:22:28:
In Reply to: Extreme high range on tuba posted by Eric on June 24, 2002 at 10:35:06:
I believe that many composers are looking for "color" in some of these high notes. The color you are going to get this high on many instruments is that of "a Blue Jay farting in an empty silo" as Lee Richardson used to say. I have played licks coming down from Eb over double high C in a world premier piano concerto in Southern France. When we were joined by the soloist/composer he asked "What the hell are you doing?" I replied - "You tell me" - it turns out the arranger had written it for French tuba and it needed to be down an octave.
Stay sane and remember that if you want other groups to program the piece it has to be reachable with a moderate amount of rehearsal time. Three months of three hours a night to just get the first movement to come together....well not a lot of guys are going to make the commitment.
Just my warped thoughts on this.
Roger