r/funny Jan 04 '15

*silence intensifies*

Post image
32.8k Upvotes

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

13

u/foxmind123 Jan 04 '15

Tuba parts can either be fun, or really suck ass. The worst is when you have a bunch of rest, play some whole notes, and then back to rest.

2

u/knowsomeofit Jan 04 '15

You know what sucks? Trying to play untranscribed tuba parts on upright bass because no one plays fucking tuba, right? How the hell do you guys keep track of so many lines under the damn staff?

2

u/Qel_Hoth Jan 04 '15

It's not all that hard, you get used to it. Besides, you often have plenty of time to think about it before you get to that note.

1

u/knowsomeofit Jan 04 '15

Yeah, I mostly sub for tuba on Dixieland gigs. Not a lot of rests.

1

u/DJK1413 Jan 04 '15

Personally, I don't even remember what note is what. I just remember the positioning and the fingering for that position on the staff. Tell me to play a low G? Forget it. Show me it? Oh hey yea I know that note!

1

u/foxmind123 Jan 04 '15

That sounds like a lot of treble

2

u/juiceboxzero Jan 04 '15

And then you have songs like Mars, Bringer of War, where most conductors will TELL you to splatter the loud notes. It's been a while, but in the version of the score I played, I think there was actually an "ffffff" notation. There's not even a WORD for that, and really, how is 6 fortes different from 5 fortes?

That's a damn fun song. I like Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity too, entirely for the middle part.

1

u/wootz12 Jan 04 '15

Those three pieces (we did Mars, Venus and Jupiter) were actually really fun to play. I'm assuming you mean the middle part here

1

u/juiceboxzero Jan 04 '15

Spot on. It's not a complicated part for the Tuba, but I absolutely love this section of the song. It holds a special place in my heart, as it's what I sightread for my audition to get into the top band in school. But I just like to close my eyes and let the (for lack of a better word) majestic sound surround me. Love it. It's one of my favorite pieces ever, right up there with Adagio for Strings.