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Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by Private teacher on 10/9/2019, 6:46 pm

I'm a euphonium private teacher who recently picked up a superb senior tubist. This kid played the Broughton tuba concerto last year and could learn pretty much anything. The only problem is, most of the most advanced solos like the Vaughan Williams or the Gregson require an F tuba and he only has access to a BBb. What is a top-level tuba solo he could play for UIL that is accessible on a BBb?

Alternatively, does anyone know of anywhere I could rent an F tuba? Is that a thing?

Thanks for any help you could provide!

Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by tubadude on 10/10/2019, 10:01 am, in reply to "Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

An F tuba isn't a requirement for him to play these solos. Additionally, having an F tuba doesn't magically give someone a range to play these notes. The student has to have the ability to play those notes.

A couple years ago, Gene Pokorny played the VW on a C tuba in a concert.

A good option might be the...

Lebedev - Concerto in one Movement
Haddad - Suite for Tuba
Vaughan Williams - Six Studies on an English Folksong

That should be a good place to start for the student.

Is the student planning on pursuing tuba in college?

Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by Bald Eagle on 10/11/2019, 8:23 pm, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

I'll add:

Sonata - Beversdorf (it's on the no memory required list)
Sonata for Tuba and Piano - Frackenpohl (also on the no memory list)
Variations for Tuba and Piano (The Cobbler's Bench) - Frackenpohl

The second Frackenpohl listed is variations on Pop Goes the Weasel and is a LOT of fun.

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Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by OP on 10/10/2019, 12:08 pm, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

I understand the point behind both of your first two sentences, but let's face it, a high E (Gregson) or high Ab (VW) are a neck of a lot easier to play accurately on an F than a BBb.

But thanks for the repertoire suggestions, I'll look into those.

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Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by Autowreck Anthony on 10/10/2019, 8:03 am, in reply to "Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

Excuse my ignorance, but I don't see anything on the PML that says an F tuba is required. In fact, in my 31 years of teaching I haven't seen any piece of music for band that requires more that a BBb tuba. Is this that mythical creature that exists along with the 5 octave marimba?

Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by euphguy on 10/10/2019, 4:17 am, in reply to "Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

As a fellow Euph lesson teacher I've been in your situation. I will say plenty of HS kids have played the Gregson and Vaughan-Williams on BBb tuba, it's just not ideal. I've had the tuba kids who were on bigger mouthpieces move back to their Helleberg or pick up a small F-tuba mouthpiece like a PT-65 to get that little boost up to those High E's and F's (at the unfortunate sacrifice of their tone quality).

I had a tuba kid do the 1st movement from Gregson last year on BBb where he took down the section at Rehearsal 8 down an octave...which he wouldn't have been able to do at UIL but he was doing a local S&E. The rest of the solo is plenty playable for any 5A/6A all-region tier varsity player. Tuba players have really gotten shafted by the PML. All their playable solos got moved down to the class II list and all their really cool solos (VW, Hindemith, Ewazen, Gregson, Bencriscutto) require having god-tier range to be able to play (since they're written for pros who own F tubas).

These kids need to be exposed to some of this lit before they graduate though, and we should really do the best we can to see what can be done to allow them to play it.

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Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by Difference of opinion on 10/10/2019, 11:48 am, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

No, tuba players didn't get shafted by the PML.
EVERYONE had their "playable" solos moved down to the class 2 list. This isn't the committee picking on tubas, this was across the board.

UIL wanted fewer people at TSSEC. They wanted to hand out fewer Class 1 medals, so they took the five to six (or more) easiest solos off of every Class 1 list and moved them down - or worse, took them off completely.

The Class 1 list for nearly every instrument is now basically a college audition piece list. There's very little accessible to kids without private instruction now, unless that kid is extremely determined or a very talented player.

Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by hmmm on 10/11/2019, 2:30 pm, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

So all sections got shafted. Got it. It's okay to have a standard, even a high one. But let's have a realistic one. Funny how with UIL music events we keep "raising the standard" to take away more and more from students but athletics gives more and more to their kids. And we wonder why more and more kids and parents gravitate to sports and away from band. Soon we will "standard" ourselves out of the business, except for the large 6A schools with large staffs and lessons.

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Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by Euphguy on 10/10/2019, 11:29 pm, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

Look...yes, everyone did have their solos downgraded. I'm a low brass guy who's intimately familiar with both the Trombone and Euph lists as well, and yeah, there's some pieces on those lists that I was disappointed got bumped down, though I get it. But here's the kicker; the difference is Flute, Trumpet, Trombone, Euph etc. actually all have a decent amount of quality rep so there's still other pieces they can play. Tuba doesn't have that broad rep. There are only 53 class 1 solos (flute has three times that). Most of them are garbage. And most of the few good ones are out of reach for even some of the best players because it's such high tessitura (it was designed for a tuba pitched a P5 higher).

I don't have the analytics but I would bet fair money the Haddad is the most commonly performed class 1 tuba solo. Haddad doesn't need to be class 2...it's 3 movements, 9-12 minutes long, the bookend movements are fast, it goes up to a high-C--it's an expansive work. It's the most recommended piece to give high schoolers because it's both moderately challenging and highly melodic (therefore fun to play). But here's the thing, if you compare it to similarly lauded works on the Flute, Clarinet or Horn lists, it's cheesy, campy trash. It's not a good piece of music. On the other hand, the Vaughan Williams is the most prolific work written for the tuba, and even it can be kind of campy in places. The whole first movement is a hulking, hobbling tuba player stereotype.

Aside from RVW and Hindemith, none of the "masters" wrote for tuba. It didn't even exist in their time for most of them (Mozart, Beethoven), and the 20th century guys just scoffed at it. So when 'Air & Bourree' got bumped down to the class 2 list, tuba teachers flipped. Not just because it meant their freshman would no longer get an easy ride to state, but because it meant the actual list of good pieces that can be played by ANY high schooler (not just freshman fresh off of the class 2 list) got reduced from, like, three pieces to two. That's a slight exaggeration but you get my point. Air & Bourree, despite now being a 2 is actually on many college entrance lists because there's some relatively good material in it. That should tell you how starved the list is, and how getting hoity toity with such a sensitive list royally SHAFTS these tuba kids.

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Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by WBB on 10/10/2019, 1:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

Not accurate. There are pieces for all instruments that are accessible on the class 1 list. You have to find what fits your student the best instead of looking for the easiest.

Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by Gaga on 10/9/2019, 10:07 pm, in reply to "Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

Does he have a solid Eb above the staff? The Koetsier Sonatina and the Hindemith Sonata are about as challenging as it gets. They do have some upper range requirements but both are accessible for a BBb.

Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by RC on 10/10/2019, 7:26 am, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

I agree, the Hindemith is accessible on BBb tuba. If you choose to do the Hindemith, you had better have one heck of a pianist!!

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Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!

Posted by tubadude on 10/10/2019, 9:22 am, in reply to "Re: Advanced Class 1 tuba solo BBb TUBA ONLY!"

If you play the Hindemith, just play the first movement. The piano part is only insane in the third movement.

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I agree, the Hindemith is accessible on BBb tuba. If you choose to do the Hindemith, you had better have one heck of a pianist!!

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