Re: Re: Re: Re: Different Question About CC vs. BBb


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Posted by Rick Denney on March 10, 2003 at 00:43:12:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Different Question About CC vs. BBb posted by AW on March 09, 2003 at 23:51:09:

You guys make it sound like I was advocating playing 20 cents flat just because there are three bozos in the section who can't do better.

That's not really what I said at all.

As I said to Klaus, there is really no such thing as "in tune." Academics argue about this scale and that, and even among experts there's not always agreement on the pitch in a given context. So, how do practicing musicians deal with that? They listen to their mates and match pitch with them, that's how.

It's easier to do when all are playing tubas in the same pitch. I have played next to musicians who played CC tubas in a number of circumstances, ranging from duets to quartets to full-size bands. In some cases, the CC players could not or would not adjust to me. I'd try to adjust to them, but sometimes they were out of reach. Who's right and who's wrong in such a case? You know, it just doesn't matter.

Most of the time, the CC players I sat next to were solid pros, and the intonation problem never came up. Was that because I was always in tune? No. It's because they were good enough to come to me, or they gave me a clear enough tone so I could easily come to them. Ask TubaRay if he feels like he has to do more work playing a CC in a band section full of BBb tubas. And the band he and I played in was one of the best amateur community bands in the country at the time. I know he has to do more work. He told me. It's a good thing he has the skill to do it. I wouldn't have. And if I do not have the skill, then why would I recommend a CC tuba for a returning amateur who hasn't played in 30 years?

Of course, it is the ideal for everyone to play in tune properly, and I am not condoning playing out of tune. As the section improves together, however, it helps if they improve, um, together. Nobody will like the result if they approach the ideal pitch from opposite directions.

Rick "who thinks you guys are being a little hard on Jeff--and me" Denney


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