Jumpbass:
Thanks, guys!
I think I’m going to put the sheet music up on SheetMusicPlus. They have a program where, not only can you sell your own sheet music, they have an agreement with Hal Leonard to allow folks to arrange music that is in copyright still. It’s a limited list, but pretty darn extensive.
There’s a very limited supply of arrangements for four contrabass tubas. Usually, quartets are for two euphoniums and two bass or contrabass tubas.* I think I’m going to try to fill that need. My target is pretty much school tuba sections.
The trick for contrabasses is in the harmonies. You can’t really put such low instruments in close harmony. It gets muddy sounding. Our ears aren’t built for that. So what you have to do is spread the harmonies out a bit** and build in sparseness in the parts and not have too much going on at once. The other problem, especially for less competent players, is range. Very few high school level players can get to a Bb on the top of the staff and it’s very difficult to play quick or complicated parts below a low Bb, so you only have about two octaves to play with.
Next song: Iron Man.
*Euphoniums (or baritone horns) are basically tenor tubas, in the same range as trombones. Contrabass tubas are your typical tuba like you might see high schoolers playing. Bass tubas are Eb or F tubas, pitched half an octave higher than contrabass tubas or half an octave below euphoniums. But you knew that, right?
** For example, in Funkytown, I voiced a Cm7 chord as a low C below the staff, a Bb on the second line and an Eb up in the staff a fourth above that. You don’t need the fifth. Power chords work well. Root, fifth, octave.
Octaves are especially good with tubas in multiple; when you have at least two playing together in octaves the fifth is automatically implied in the harmonies and it sounds full and cool as hell. When I get to play with other tubists we routinely swap off on octaves in appropriate places and it sounds like the mightiest organ chord ever. Sometimes the floor shakes too.
Just another Phun Phact.
Last time I got to do that I was in a big church and we were playing the finale to the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. It was monumental, especially when the organ kicked in with us.
Jenny
Spud:
Way cool! I’m an old (ex) brass player… mainly trumpet, but occasionally french horn and trombone. I tried tuba a few times but didn’t have much luck.
Do you mind if I share your link with a group of my old marching band alums?
We were one of the first HS bands to go to a drum corp style show so there are a lot of brass players there who would love it. Came in second in MBA nationals back in 78.
Yeah, we need more videos since there’s not going to be any DCI/DCA this year, dammit.
Also got to go real old school this year and caught the HBCU Honda Battle of the Bands, that was pretty awesome too.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
TubaDiva:
Octaves are especially good with tubas in multiple; when you have at least two playing together in octaves the fifth is automatically implied in the harmonies and it sounds full and cool as hell. When I get to play with other tubists we routinely swap off on octaves in appropriate places and it sounds like the mightiest organ chord ever. Sometimes the floor shakes too.
Just another Phun Phact.
Last time I got to do that I was in a big church and we were playing the finale to the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. It was monumental, especially when the organ kicked in with us.
Jenny
Yeah, we used to do the octave divide in a community band I was in. Made a huge difference. We also got to practice our really low notes. Eb’s D’s, etc.
The TubaChristmas I conduct every year is in a church with a nice pipe organ. I’m going to arrange some music to include it. Maybe not even all Christmas stuff. I’m thinking Great Gate Of Kiev, fanfare to Also Sprach Zarathustra.