subversive reactions to all of these “tips“ for tuba players on FB

[bloke]

OK… I’m reacting to all of the “tips” for tuba players that I’ve been seeing. Here are my ANTI-tips:
- Listen. Listen to the sounds being made, and compare them to the mind’s concepts of ideal sounds. If no concepts, form some.
- that person up there in front of the ensemble: Listen to what they have to say, but probably don’t spend much energy/attention on watching them wave their arms and neither focus on those black dots on those pieces of paper very much. Listen, and think ahead.
- Sadly, some of our colleagues (stick waivers and other instrumentalists) don’t expect much of us. Really good time and really good tuning raise eyebrows - and in a good way. Most of us overestimate our abilities regarding both of these things. It’s OK to spend what seem like inordinate amounts of time on these two things during practicing. Weaknesses in these two areas – nearly always – are what disqualify applicants (early on, in the filtering of applicants) for jobs.
- Time and tuning are the language of music, but music itself is the expression of emotions. Written parts (for tubas in large ensembles) are often not particularly emotional and tend to be more rudimentary. However, we should (often) follow/mimic/shadow whichever part or parts are doing the singing, and do much more with our written parts than is typically indicated on a piece of orchestra/band/quintet/etc. tuba sheet music.
- Tuba solos – as much as we would like to think otherwise - are not sought out by the public, and this becomes all too obvious when local recitals are offered, and one glances around and counts the attendees. That having been said, they offer us a way to teach ourselves how to phrase (ie. actually play music, instead of just notes). Listening to popular ballad singers is a pretty good way to learn how to phrase, if one doesn’t want to learn the mechanical Tabuteau phrasing method (which also works). A couple of different types of ballad singers are
- the ones that I might refer to as the “Italian“ type – who were popular in the 1960s. This type overdoes all of the emotions indicated in the songs…and the public buys it.
- Another type is the “Sinatra” type. This type phrases in a much more matter-of-fact way, and this type of phrasing also works and the public also buys it. The point being this: Doing something - rather than nothing – works, whereas doing nothing never works, and doing nothing means that no music is being created.
- Put that F tuba down and work with that “money” (contrabass) tuba, and work on making a really nice sound in its middle and lower ranges. Again, almost no one is ever going to ask anyone to play a tuba solo, and – if they do – they’re probably going to want a tuba player to play it for very little money or no money. If there is a love for playing solos - and a hopeful musician would like to play solo lines often and maybe for money, maybe switch to the guitar, saxophone, keyboard, oboe, violin, or to the trumpet.
nerves: Completely consistent results eliminate a whole bunch of concerns. I believe most of us know the path towards consistency.

[Snake Charmer]

if you add Marty Erickson's recipe for success you will get any job:
"Arrive in time for the gig, dressed up for the occasion and SMILE"!

[jtm]

If these are counter tips, I don’t even want to see what they’re recommending on fb.

[Three Valves]

The Italian way, or the Sinatra way, who was also Italian.

I'm sensing a theme...

Best Italian song ever??

[tubanh84]

I'd ague that it's more nuanced than that. And it depends what the purpose of the performance is.

If you're doing a dance band/pops/for-the-audience's enjoyment concert, absolutely. Meet their expectations, dress and conduct yourself for them, and don't push any boundaries.

This doesn't happen on tuba frequently, but if you're trying to execute performance art, push boundaries, and communicate something from yourself to the audience, you have more leeway to be idiosyncratic. In that case, the duty is to ensure that every choice you make is in furtherance of the artistic objective, not just lazy.

I've always had an issue with performing symphony concerts in a tux for a couple reasons. I get the long historical context and all that. But tuxedos frequently aren't a match to the mood of the music. And they are physically annoying to play an instrument in. If we need to have consistent dress on stage, I much prefer all black.

As an aside, one of my friends in college was a radio broadcaster. So I had him read my senior recital program notes to the audience, mostly to build in breaks for myself to rest. Trick was I didn't show them to him in advance, and so he had to figure out things like "Penderecki" and "Trygve" on the fly. It was part of the fun. 10/10 would do again.

[bloke]

stuff

I suspect you are responding to the wrong thread, but that’s OK.

tuxedos: the uniform of groomsmen…those who take care of equestrian property…thus the term “groom“ at a wedding and the wearing of the uniform. They’re really not particularly appropriate for concert attire.
It seems as though many wind bands and community orchestras wear them at their concerts.

Traditional is tails after six, black suit before, and white dinner jacket outdoors or pops. Some orchestras have moved to black suit / black shirt / long tie (or no tie with the button buttoned) after six, unless it’s a gala – and then it is tails.

If I’m working in a pit, and I’m told “black”, I may well show up in a black sweatshirt and black trousers in the winter when pits tend to be cold. If I’m told “black“ on stage I typically wear a black coat over a black shirt, even though they’re not requiring the coat. It looks better to wear a coat, and all concerts are 90% or more visual, with the music being parenthetical.

[ParLawGod]

if you add Marty Erickson's recipe for success you will get any job:
"Arrive in time for the gig, dressed up for the occasion and SMILE"!

Love this advice.

One of the reasons (at least in my neck of the woods) why "very good" players sometimes get the gigs over "excellent" players.

[2nd tenor]

if you add Marty Erickson's recipe for success you will get any job:
"Arrive in time for the gig, dressed up for the occasion and SMILE"!

Love this advice.

One of the reasons (at least in my neck of the woods) why "very good" players sometimes get the gigs over "excellent" players.

That’s an interesting thought, and particularly for me ‘cause I ain’t an excellent player.

I find that for most things in life, including performances I think, the customer doesn’t need perfection or even the best (though they would like it) but what they do need is good enough and there when needed. I hadn’t thought of it before but arriving in good time stops other people worrying; looking the part does have value and not looking the part is going to detract from a performance; and smiling encourages confidence and affability in those around you and in the audience. Playing is usually part of a team event and the actions above are important to how the team functions.

[bloke]

Clarification:
Of course Sinatra‘s ancestry was Italian, but he deviated from the norm in style.
Whereas many of the American Italian pop Italian-ancestry crooners tended to be somewhat operatic, his style was totally different and affected the style of those crooners younger than him, such as Como, Williams, and Bennett - again: but with some exceptions (depending on their songs) more conversational, and less operatic.

[Three Valves]

...and also refused to sing Goomba folk songs.

[russiantuba]

People like tuba solos. I was doing a NOLA Style Funk group reading bass lines to pieces I didn't even know. Crowd came up between sets begging for a tuba solo, so they got that (not saying it was good).

I have found general musically inclined audiences like some tuba stuff. I had a very general audience really enjoy my Penderecki (its one I talked about and told my story, which is probably why), but after reading several concert reports on them, they liked it better than the Ewazen, for example. I've been focusing on tuba and electronic media, because it seems that audiences enjoy varied soundscapes. Varied colors and how the tuba fits in to it can emphasize the musicality. In terms of actual repertoire, one I have on my stand now I am revisiting is the John Williams Concerto. My wife enjoys movie music (she is not a musician), especially that of John Williams, and one time I was playing a recording of it she immediately recognized it as John Williams.

With that being said, when I play solo tuba music, I do NOT want people coming up and saying "wow, you can do that on tuba?!?!". I want them talking about the musicality and any emotional effect the music had on them, even if it was such a small section of it. I've had that twice with the tuba and electronic media stuff.