"we professionals..." 🤥💩

[bloke]

I play the “let’s see if I can keep him from saying ‘tuba’ game”.
A few weeks ago, when doing that Mendelssohn (that I was mentioning here), I won the game… I made it through all the rehearsals. (Of course, the Maestro is not going to say the word ‘tuba’ during any of the performances.) He did say my first name a couple of times, but that was to get me to go over and sit at the end of the horn section - as there were no trombones on stage…and that’s something I really wanted to do anyway.
Friday, I’m working with the same folks again, when there is one rehearsal for three Christmas shows. That ‘game’ should be easier to ‘win’, but I do have that one kooky-high/will-be-played-on-euphonium solo passage - that you have all seen linked up (above) - to get past…

In recent years, I have become more and more a disciple of the rehearsal philosophy of doing everything I can to never be called out for any reason whatsoever. Think about that in the larger context.

[bloke]

The single (wildly-rushed, but there were a bunch of folks to herd on/off stage, and it was very well-planned/run) rehearsal was Friday, two shows yesterday, a run-out today, and done with this show.
I'm heading up to Dyersburg, TN (mostly, on back roads) for the run-out. I don't think that's going to be quite far enough north to see any tornado damage, fwiw.
The orchestra is busing a bunch of the musicians up, but - were I to drive to where that bus is going to be parked - I would already be (in equivalent time) about halfway to the venue...and the bus pokes along, makes a restroom/snack stop on the way there-and-back, etc., etc...

I discovered that this arrangement of "The Christmas Song" features no trumpets nor trombones...thus the trombone-range solo lick in the tuba part. The euphonium is the perfect choice for that lick. Some of the percussionists and string players asked, "What's that?"
Per what I've always tried to tell everyone about orchestra music directors, he said nothing, and never even looked at me.
- Play what's written (or - if mistakes - play what SHOULD be written).
- Play it close to in-tune.
- Play it with everyone else (neither early nor late).
- Don't play in the rests.
- "Nice sound" and "phrasing" are bonuses - but only acknowledged by colleagues (never by MD's).
MD's never give a damn "what type of tuba" is being used.

I'm "with" the horns...who are "way-way over there".

principal horn:
"Wow...I loved that really-really loud place in that one tune... (NOT the tune discussed in this thread)
me:
"hmm...Which one?"
principal horn:
"I can't remember."
me:
"I'll try to remember to play just as loud on that not-remembered tune."

bloke "The David Clydesdale arrangement of "O Holy Night (with an exclamation mark after the title)" is absurdly heavy-handed and over-written. I can't stand it, but I will play it very well, for money. The soprano - who's singing it, this time - has a WONDERFUL set of pipes...It's a shame they didn't use the John Rutter (or just about any other) setting."

[Yorkboy]

1: Show up on-time (meaning at least a half hour early)

2: Bring a music stand (or at least keep one in your car at all times)

3: Keep your mouth SHUT (unless talking about something music related)

4: Make sure you take steps so your horn won’t malfunction

5: Everything else

[kingrob76]

MD's never give a damn "what type of tuba" is being used.

Almost never. One of my orchestras had an MD that was a Euphonium player in the Army Field Band a few decades earlier and knew his stuff. He asked me once on break if I could get an F tuba for Die Meistersingers, preferably an Alex, because he wanted the different sound from my CC tuba. "Uh, sure Chuck, I'll get right on that". Definitely the exception though, no one else ever noticed or cared it seemed.

[bloke]

MD's never give a damn "what type of tuba" is being used.

Almost never. One of my orchestras had an MD that was a Euphonium player in the Army Field Band a few decades earlier and knew his stuff. He asked me once on break if I could get an F tuba for Die Meistersingers, preferably an Alex, because he wanted the different sound from my CC tuba. "Uh, sure Chuck, I'll get right on that". Definitely the exception though, no one else ever noticed or cared it seemed.

‘ sounds like a real jerk…like some of those percussionist/band directors.
…though asking for different sticks (as they are wont to do) is way less than asking for a different set of timpani, isn’t it?
I would automatically grab my F tuba for that piece, but that is TOTALLY beside the point.
Ie: “Could you go ask someone to borrow an expensive/squirrelly instrument - that is a totally different length, with unknown-to-you intonation characteristics, and all different finger patterns, so it will sound (read: ‘look’) ‘better’ to me?”

bloke “wow”

[kingrob76]

MD's never give a damn "what type of tuba" is being used.

Almost never. One of my orchestras had an MD that was a Euphonium player in the Army Field Band a few decades earlier and knew his stuff. He asked me once on break if I could get an F tuba for Die Meistersingers, preferably an Alex, because he wanted the different sound from my CC tuba. "Uh, sure Chuck, I'll get right on that". Definitely the exception though, no one else ever noticed or cared it seemed.

‘ sounds like a real jerk…like some of those percussionist/band directors.
…though asking for different sticks (as they are wont to do) is way less than asking for a different set of timpani, isn’t it?
I would automatically grab my F tuba for that piece, but that is TOTALLY beside the point.
Ie: “Could you go ask someone to borrow an expensive/squirrelly instrument - that is a totally different length, with unknown-to-you intonation characteristics, and all different finger patterns, so it will sound (read: ‘look’) ‘better’ to me?”

bloke “wow”

I didn't own an F at the time as was borrowing them as needed - I had borrowed an Alex for Mahler 1 the prior season. I had a rapport with the MD after several years so I wasn't offended. In a different scenario I probably would've pushed back a bit and try to get the MD to describe for me the sound he was looking for and solve the problem myself (which was the fun part for me). The only MD's that made me shake my head were the ones who had rehearsed their post-run through feedback and then rattled it off like they had been waiting their whole lives to give that speech.

[bloke]

I'm glad that you weren't offended, and I judge you as lucky to have a good enough friend who would loan you a nice F tuba. I'm certainly not a "world-class sound" type of guy, but I've just never had a MD ask me to "change my sound"...

...louder/softer/shorter/longer/harder/smoother/more phrasing/more music/more stoic (ie. less music)/less sound - when the choir is singing/etc...I've certainly heard all of those.

(Am I the only one who may have observed this, or has anyone else noticed that some of the world's most widely-seen-on-media wind musicians are not those which offer forth a "world-class sound"...??) ...but I digress...tuba bag storage, eBay account management tips, etc...

As stated many times (including in the first post of this very thread) I regularly play the "see if I can keep that person - up there - from saying 'tuba', this week" game.

I 'won' the game - once again - this week, and actually subsequently received a fb 'friend' request from them ...so I now have a new (restricted/acquaintances ) friend.

bloke "If only a MD and I were waiting for an elevator, I might just pretend to be receiving a phone call, walk away from the elevator doors, and take the next one. ...two things I try avoid: [1] becoming an enemy of the MD [2] perceiving myself as a chum of the MD ...one thing would I never do: After a piece is finished being rehearsed - and the MD asks, 'Are there any questions regarding this piece?'...would be to raise my hand."

[kingrob76]

Perhaps the community is just so much bigger in this area and the mechanics are different, but, I know of 3 Alex F's in the DC area and I could ask any of the owners to borrow one with 100% comfort. I've known all 3 for at least 30 years. I know others, too, who would do the same thing - all people who play, or have played, as their vocation. As an aside, if there's an area with more professional tuba players (people who do it or have done it as their primary source of income for most of their adult life) per capita than the DC area I'd like to know.

That same MD was beyond excited when another player and I showed up to play Symphonie Fantastique with me using a 983 on the 1st part (with a small, shallow mouthpiece) and a MW 182 F on the second part. We didn't quite sound like period instruments, but, it was definitely a sound more reminiscent of what would have been the norm when the piece was written.

I don't have any qualms about talking to an MD, but I try and avoid anything that isn't a 1:1 interaction. I have questions, they have answers, but I'm not looking to buddy up to them. The majority of them seem to appreciate the idea that I'm trying to give them the best performance possible - and a small handful are jerks. I generally find it helpful to know a little bit about the person I'm dealing with and what motivates them, if I can read that quick enough.

[Three Valves]

‘ sounds like a real jerk…like some of those percussionist/band directors.

Ours is so busy ragging on the percussion section he leaves everyone else alone.

[bloke]

‘ sounds like a real jerk…like some of those percussionist/band directors.

Ours is so busy ragging on the percussion section he leaves everyone else alone.

When everyone is showing up “for the love of it“, it’s probably a very delicate balance between accepting what they do, and encouraging them to do what they’re actually capable of doing.
Truth be told, most people are capable of accomplishing remarkable things in many disciplines, when they are willing to involve themselves in deep study and devote all of the diminishing-returns time required to come close to perfection in execution. Of course, the closer to perfection, the more magical something seems.

Going down a different path, here, I also hear instrumentalists rehearse/perform their music who I know are suffering from physical challenges, as modern medicine is able to keep so many people alive, today. I remember what they could do prior to becoming ill, still hear a shadow of that, and admire them for holding on to what they have.

At this time, I have a very small problem (certainly compared to the cancer/diabetes/heart conditions/etc. with which many others are dealing with - when rehearsing and performing) which can easily be solved, but I simply am not finding a convenient time to address it…advancing cataracts . Again, this is no big deal at all, but I have had to put some minor adjustments in place - such as looking over a few passages a few more times prior to first rehearsals, so that those passages are committed to memory, because (at an early-or-only rehearsal) I might look on a page, and not quite see what’s there.
(In another/new thread, I might ask some of you - who have had the surgery - which types of choices you’ve made - regarding close-up versus distant advantaged vision, in regards to this surgery. My older brother insists that distant advantaged is best, but he doesn’t stare at 0–80 threads on devices, and neither does he read dots on pages in real time.)

[Three Valves]

One thing I appreciate about his perspective, is that he places a greater emphasis on beats and accents than pitch alone.

My sight reading has always suffered from an inability to recognize more complex rhythm patterns. Fortunately, once I get the rhythm, I got it!!

[bloke]

One thing I appreciate about his perspective, is that he places a greater emphasis on beats and accents than pitch alone.

My sight reading has always suffered from an inability to recognize more complex rhythm patterns. Fortunately, once I get the rhythm, I got it!!

I’m certainly willing to discuss all sorts of topics in single threads, when others seem to wish to move another directions, particularly when a topic is just about talked out.
=========
Our oldest daughter is a very accomplished double reed player who could sit with anyone in any group. Her musical abilities are seemingly innate, and her on-the-fly music reading abilities seem to be machine-like. Many would point to or claim “talent”, but - at a very early age - she was involved in ballet for several years, as well as violin. Those disciplines are two which are extremely expressive, and where subtlety and execution are both overwhelmingly important.
I suspect that someone who is an extremely fine ballet dancer could master most other types of dance, and someone who is an extremely fine violinist could master most other types of instruments.
Of course, she also received the best training, but those motivated to do so always manage to seek out and acquire the best training.