What did you play today?

[Mary Ann]

Concert band concert. Some went amazingly better than anticipated -- such as most of Carmina Burana. The movement that is in multiple x/8 time signatures where the tubas SHOULD sound metronomic, was left out because the woodwinds could not keep a steady beat going with their parts, and it was impossible to follow with the conductor trying to follow the woodwinds. ALL they had to do was freaking practice with a metronome, but I guess that simply never occurs to a large portion of people.
Strathcarron also went very well, but it had a lot of rehearsal time.
One piece that "I don't know why this person is allowed to conduct" basically went totally off the rails because he always gets lost and just beats a steady 3/4 even though it is going back and forth between 3/4 and 4/4 at odd times. Half the band just keeps going (proper response) but then he will cue a section where he THINKS he is and everything goes haywire until the rest of the band (the ones who just kept going) figures out where he went.
This band is LOUD. I'm surprised the audience did not have hands over their ears.
I am still hoping to get enough up to speed on the Hagen to play it there. I do not want to be a buffoon.
Besides all this, I do have fun with these things because the unseriousness leads to no performance stress.

[bloke]

It's time to spend some time playing the tuba again and (at least) split time between improving bass guitar technique and maintaining tuba technique.

[the elephant]

Today I played on my F tuba from Eb below the staff to A natural below the staff, up and down, fast and slow, over and over, for about an hour.

[gocsick]

Took a lesson with Dr. Green last week and worked through some of the Vaughn Williams 6 Studies in English Folskong. Decided to be contrarian
and do the movements that are not part of the Falcone rep this year - II, III, and IV. Finally got a chance to revisit them today, so spent about 15-20 minutes on each... mostly trying to sound like a singer and not sound like a tuba player or many of the cello recordings.. Also trying to really pay attention to intonation...

[prodigal]

Took a lesson with Dr. Green last week and worked through some of the Vaughn Williams 6 Studies in English Folskong. Decided to be contrarian
and do the movements that are not part of the Falcone rep this year - II, III, and IV. Finally got a chance to revisit them today, so spent about 15-20 minutes on each... mostly trying to sound like a singer and not sound like a tuba player or many of the cello recordings.. Also trying to really pay attention to intonation...

I love the pieces, low enough to use the 186 instead of the PT-16.

Today I played through the Tuba Christmas book and the second movement of the York concerto at lunchtime. I have also taken up arpthark's Bach cello suites F tuba challenge.

It was interesting thinking in cello and F tuba at the same time and looking for the similarities in valve combinations and fingerboard positions. In other words, I was using all manner of alternate fingerings.

Still trying to like the PT-64S, it really makes a nice tone, but it sure feels TINY to my big mouth.

[Mary Ann]

I am messing with the alto clarinet waiting for the correct ligature and the Legere 2.5 to get here -- had to ask my clarinet friend how to do one thing (I hate having to ask) and now have a reasonable rendition of the alto sax solo in Bolero, complete with vibrato. I'm getting a kick out of this thing. As usual, I plan to play it reading horn clef, but it's no fun if it's too easy! (Eb alto clef is also fine, same as tuba in brass band and Eb horn parts.)
And I'm still trying to nail register changes on the Hagen, doing over-and-over-and-over tongued (as it were) low octave, fifth up, higher octave, fourth down, lower octave until they are all clear on first try, over most of the range. One must spend time in the woodshed. One's cat doesn't seem to mind. One has a beautifully resonant living room that makes one sound good.

[Mary Ann]

It was interesting thinking in cello and F tuba at the same time and looking for the similarities in valve combinations and fingerboard positions. In other words, I was using all manner of alternate fingerings.

Still trying to like the PT-64S, it really makes a nice tone, but it sure feels TINY to my big mouth.

I seem to have lost interest in cello -- canNOT find a way to hold it that is secure and comfortable. Still stuck at the end of Suzuki book 3. Onward, I guess. Lots of money invested in that, oh well. Maybe I'll get re-interested.

On the PT-64S, what is the difference between it and the 64 without the S? I have one of those and used it when I had the 184, but it doesn't seem to work on anything I have now, and in retrospect I didn't have a very good high range with that. (too wide, opposite of you. I have a big mouth in some ways but not wrt tuba cups.)

[arpthark]

It was interesting thinking in cello and F tuba at the same time and looking for the similarities in valve combinations and fingerboard positions. In other words, I was using all manner of alternate fingerings.

Still trying to like the PT-64S, it really makes a nice tone, but it sure feels TINY to my big mouth.

I seem to have lost interest in cello -- canNOT find a way to hold it that is secure and comfortable. Still stuck at the end of Suzuki book 3. Onward, I guess. Lots of money invested in that, oh well. Maybe I'll get re-interested.

On the PT-64S, what is the difference between it and the 64 without the S? I have one of those and used it when I had the 184, but it doesn't seem to work on anything I have now, and in retrospect I didn't have a very good high range with that. (too wide, opposite of you. I have a big mouth in some ways but not wrt tuba cups.)

S= slightly smaller shank

Regular PT shank is halfway between euro and American. S shank is American. XS is small British (bass tbone) shank.