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So, my tuba chops are at least as good, if not better, than my euphonium chops were at their peak. I'm sightreading a lot of my old literature down an octave, and so much of it is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm thinking about recycling a ton of my old euphonium solos onto tuba and doing a solo recital. I can get funding to get decent pay for myself and an accompanist, so it seems the hardest logistical part is already taken care of.

Of course, I should do at least one tuba solo, and considering the RVW Six Studies. Some of the euphonium (edit: let's add quotation marks around "euphonium," since so much of it isn't actually written with the instrument in mind) solos I would have no trouble working up:

Pantomime (Sparke)
Fantasia (Jacob)
Mozart Bassoon Concerto
Hummel Bassoon Concerto
Concertino for Cello (Klengel)
Vocalise (Rachmaninov)
And a number of movements from the Bach suites or Vivaldi sonatas.

But I'm thinking to do 4-5 pieces. Anybody done any of the above on tuba (excepting the Bach, as there's plenty of footage of that). The two euph pieces on top may or may not work harmonically, since they really were considered with the tessitura in mind--and I'm really wanting to stay at the octave down on most of this.

I've done the Rachmaninov vocalise on tuba before. I used the Virginia Allen arrangement; it was good on F tuba. What arrangement do you have an mind on that one -- a euph one that you'd play 8va basso?

Might be worth looking into the Allen arrangement even though you'd be playing on BBb; I bet as a euph player, doing something that lives near the top and above the staff would be fairly easy for you.

arpthark wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 6:41 am
Might be worth looking into the Allen arrangement

What key is it in? I actually play a clarinet edition in C minor (first note Eb), but I'm also very familiar with the key Christian Lindberg did in E minor. So both of those are basically under my fingers. The clarinet arrangement would start Eb in the staff, and the Lindberg version would be the G above. And the solo goes to the tonic over the starting note.

It is in C minor

LeMark wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 7:56 amIt is in C minor

Ah, so same key.

By the way, I'm preparing a recital as well


32 years after the last one

When I played euph in college I looked for any and all opportunities to play a solo. When I picked up tuba I treated it like an upright or electric bass, and approached it like a bass player that never wanted to be in the spotlight. But I feel like my chops have gotten too strong to only do that!

What are you doing on your recital?

It's very short. So I'm thinking of vocalise, two moods for tuba by Swann, and doing a bugs bower bop duet with a former student that goes the college that is bringing me in

Not sure which tuba I'm going to play. That opinion changes daily, sometimes a couple of times a day. At this point I sound better on the small CC, but the high notes lock in better on the Eb

Nice! Love the bop duets book; that was part of my jazz trombone lessons in high school.

I'm thinking shorter than longer, too, or at least 60/40 easy vs. challenging pieces.

LeMark wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 9:28 am Not sure which tuba I'm going to play....

Sounds like an excuse to get that Norwegian Star!

Well of course!

I've performed the Vocalise a couple times before, including my senior recital. I sight-transposed the original version (C# minor, soprano voice in treble clef), but I'm sure arrangements in other keys would work just as fine.