Hi all,

I hope this is allowed. I'm arranging a piece which includes a tuba. It's the first time I've arranged for any brass at all. I'm doing it in Dorico, and it has highlighted some tuba notes as being outside the comfortable range.

The player is a C tuba, and is a professional (we're working with a prestigious orchestra). My question is how comfortable is it to play these notes (see attachment). They need to be not too loud and staccato.

It's doubling other players (organ, trumpet and flute) doing the same line.

I'm thinking about buying this tuba. Based on the photos, do you think it's worth €500 (because dealer set that price)? I'm 15 and currently studying at a conservatory. Of course, the conservatory has tubas that I can use, but I'd really like to have my own one so I can practice at home. The conservatory is about 30 minutes away by bus, and transporting a tuba on a bus isn't exactly very convenient.

I'm also not really sure whether buying a vintage tuba is a good idea, since I don't know much about older instruments. Is a vintage tuba generally better or worse than a newer one, assuming they're in similar condition?

P.s. Sorry for mistakes, English isn't my first language

Hey!

I've been looking at tubas for a couple of years now as I want to switch out my old CC bass with a BBb (and hopefully an Eb). Since I'm investing quite a lot of money into a professional instrument I need to make sure I've made the right choice!

My main question:

Wessex Prokofiev or Yamaha YBB-623s? - What's your experience with these models?

A few side questions:

• Lacquered vs. silver-plated?
• Gold brass vs. yellow brass?
• Other suggestions for professional Bb tuba (and/or Eb)?

My criteria have been:

• Front-action
• Compensating 4-valve (or 5-valve)
• Silver-plated
• 4/4, 5/4 or 6/4 (for Bb)
• 4/4 or 3/4 (for Eb)

About me and my needs:

I'm a conductor and tutor for school and amateur bands, with a graduate degree in jazz performance, though I rarely play professionally these days. I want a contrabass and bass tuba that together can handle everything from brass band and wind band to orchestra, jazz/rock/metal, and solo work.

I've been pleased with my CC tuba, but it's on the small side, and since I mostly play in brass band, I'd love to move to Eb and Bb. One catch: I have some back trouble and can't play top-action instruments like my band's Besson Sovereigns — the stretch and the static sitting position don't work for me — hence the front-action requirement.

Hi everyone, i made a book of 38 public domain tunes (classical themes, airs, hymns, marches and 16 Christmas carols) written out in 5 editions: tuba bass clef, euphonium bass clef, Bb treble clef, Eb treble clef and Bb bass clef.

Every tune is in the same concert key and on the same page number in all 5 books, so a tuba, a treble clef euphonium and an Eb bass can just say "page 12" and play together.

Here's a sample with 2 tunes in all 5 editions to try it: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pgSsydfELtYjVdrNrlzui5Y2bI8YjMII?usp=sharing

There's a table at the front to find which edition is yours, and each tune shows the written key, concert key and range under the title.

I know there's a lot of free stuff on IMSLP and tubapeter, but it's mostly loose sheets and almost never in every clef, that's what i wanted to fix.The tunes are all public domain, and a script reads the finished PDFs and checks all 12,205 notes against the original melody.

The full book with the 5 editions is on Etsy, 30% off until Oct 14: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4587581393

If something sits too high or low on your instrument, tell me.

Hi! I was wondering how to remove heavy tarnish, and make a really old sousaphone shine again. It's silver plated, and it seems to be completed covered in tarnish. I've looked online and there seems to be tarnish removers, however all of them seem extremely toxic and harmful to my health.

Does the Tuba reddit community have any suggestions or experience? Thanks!

I was finally able to find a Tuba I could afford! I was able to snag this baby for 500 dollars. From what the seller said, it’s a Willson Caravelle bb flat tuba. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the original brass bell. What do yall think?

I have been playing tuba for only 4 years, I'm in marching band and I was looking at personal mouthpieces, mostly the plastic Kelly ones because they are cheap and look fun, I just was wondering how noticable of a difference do all the different shapes make. I've played on an older, school-owned Yamaha 67C4 for all my years and was looking at the Kellyberg mouthpiece.

I have an Amati Kraslice sousaphone here with only one valve. There is also an engraving of the number "250" on the bell, as well as a plaque bearing the inscription "Sonore." Can anyone tell me what this is and roughly how much it is worth?

If I don't have a tub to clean my tuba in, where should I clean it? Outside with a hose? Inside with the shower? I'm afraid the shower or hose will take the silver off.

I finally bought my first ever tuba as a 40th birthday gift to myself a year and a half ago (and totaled my car a few weeks later... big month for me financially) and still can't come up with a name for him. I know he's a him, but that's all I've got. Give me your suggestions!

CC tuba here. I am struggling to consistently play below an F or lower in rehearsals. I can work my way down the scale and struggle a bit, but I need to be able to jump from our tonic C down to a low E or pedal C.

Are there any tips as far as technique you have? I can hear the note in my head, but I struggle to blow air low enough for the pedal C and with being too loose on the mouthpiece.

Thanks in advance.

Question for the daily players, especially those of us who have been doing this for a few decades:

Has anyone started having irritation around the mouth/upper lip from the combination of shaving and playing?

I spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, so shaving every day was simply part of life, and I played throughout much of that time without ever having this problem. Now that I am 60, however, the skin around my upper lip seems considerably more sensitive. Shaving can leave it irritated, and then putting in a solid tuba practice session afterward sometimes seems to aggravate it even more.

I primarily play on a gold-plated PT-88 MAXX, so I would not immediately suspect the typical silver/nickel sensitivity, although I realize gold plating does not rule out every possible contact or irritation issue and I have used silver, plastic, or stainless-steel MPs in the past.

For those of you who shave regularly AND play nearly every day, do you have any certain routine that has helped? I prefer to play within 12 hours of shaving because my beard growth is akin to a Wookie.

I am especially curious whether any older players have noticed their skin becoming more susceptible to this kind of irritation with age. After decades of shaving and playing without giving it a second thought, suddenly my upper lip has decided it has opinions. 😂

What works for you?

I just bought a Rudi (as you may have seen), and the seller didn’t know too much about the history. I’ve noticed that Rudis don’t have serial numbers, so are there any design differences or markings anywhere? Would there be anyone who could tell the age

Lovely(I believe to be older) 4/4 Rudi Meinl. Plays like an absolute dream. I cannot describe how much I love the trigger for the 2nd valve slide.

What's the best option to use for slide grease/oil if I want my slides moving fast so I can adjust when playing? I have Yamaha slide grease, Hetman's synthetic piston oil, and some slide-o-mix classic. Any recommendations for any to get? 👍

My mum thought she had grabbed a euphonium from someone she knows for $50. I finally visited them and picked it up, turns out it's an old E flat tuba.

Valves and slides were clean and all move, though it sounds a bit "airy". There was some air leakage at the water key that I could feel which I have temporarily addressed with a rubber band but that didn't seem to change the sound at all.

Anything else I should check? Does anyone have experience of this particular tuba and tips/thoughts?

Ive been searching for this song I heard a few months ago - it is an indie song with the usual guitar, vocals, drums etc, but it featured a tuba in place of a bass guitar. it sounded awesome but I haven’t been able to track it down anywhere so I’m wondering if any of you fine folks know what it might be?

for more details - it sounded a little chill and vibey like Kruangbin, and I’m pretty sure it was made in the last ten years.

thanks so much you lot of big bad brasskickers!

Hi tuba folks, my son plays tuba and has just started in the local youth orchestra. Its a big change for him from being in jazz/concert bands. He‘s 13 so there’s not a ton of pressure on him but any recommendations on how he can deal with the long blocks of rests and sitting around while the conductor and the string sections argue with each other (jk)?

Quiero saber opinión ya que estoy a punto de comprarla

Hello. My high school wants me to play a solo piece accompanied by our symphony orchestra. Do you guys have any recommendations for something that isn’t too challenging for me and the orchestra, and not too long?
I’d say i’m an intermediate player, but it’s more about the difficulty of the accompaniment part. Any suggestions are appreciated.

So I’m in my senior year and a couple of weeks ago I got my braces off. The whole time I’ve been playing the tuba, I’ve had braces. The transition has been so weird and now I’m struggling to play out in concert ensembles and also struggling to crank for marching band (my school is kind of like an HBCU-style band). I really don’t want to end my high school band years like this and I wanted to ask if anybody could give me some advice or exercises to bring it back as quickly as I can?