I am interested in a fairly cheap (ideally, < $400) 3v Eb. I would prefer it on the small side--not looking for a monster.

Like many people (none of you, of course), I find myself searching for the mouthpiece "holy grail." Looking for that special mouthpiece that will reverse hair loss, make me lose 50 lbs., and maybe even help my playing. A number of dealers will let you order online, try it out, and return i...

Dawn is great as a degreaser and several formulations are available to meet specific needs. . . The best thing about Dawn soap is that it goes down the drain without the need to be neutralized or treated. A few years ago (okay, 32 years), in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Dawn got a l...

Decades ago, when I was a new music major, I had a professor who pointed out that Romanticism was the style in which nearly all film scores are written. This was in the early 70s, and I haven't seen a lot of contrary evidence in the last 50 years. That being said, it makes a lot of sense to be leani...

Musescore is technically a music writing program. Every score you see on their site has been put there by members using the writing tools. Some are transcriptions, some are painstaking aural dictation, some are original, etc. When you click on a score, on the right-hand side of the screen you will s...

Something I have really enjoyed (your results may vary) is going to Musescore, and finding solo pieces for other instruments. With a subscription (it cost me $29), I can change clefs, transpose, edit those cello solos that cover 5 octaves, etc. Many of them have a piano accompaniment, and with a wil...

Stuff by French guys: Elegie by Massenet, and Apres Un Reve by Faure. I have been been doing embouchure work (realignments on euphonium after an isolated gig [and related focused practice] on contrabass), and these pieces really demand attention to tone. I mean, French guys, you know?

I work in a high school that has a very small band. With the sole tuba player graduating, I asked the band director if she would like me to cover for the ceremony. I mean, what is Pomp and Circumstance without endless tuba quarter notes? She was grateful for the offer, and is letting me use the scho...

I bought a Dolce 2 years ago, and believe it was a great decision. No regrets. One of the things that distinguishes the Dolce from other similar stencils is the Amado water key on the 2nd valve. It doesn't take long before you can't imagine being happy without it. And yes, I know it can be added by ...

I had to include this second picture. For me, it evokes a different time period, when the sense of community was different. This is around May, just before graduation. I am wearing my high school band uniform, but I have the Miraphone from our local college. I had taken piano lessons from the wife o...

Dons Band 1971.PNG This was in 1971. The band actually had about 75 members, but if I had posted the entire picture, how would you have found me? Top, far left (yeah, top--not the two middle-aged directors 50 years ago). They had us turn our sousaphones sideways so our faces would show. We had two ...

I'm an economics teacher. This is very similar to a scenario I share with my students each semester. I assume those price increases completely cover the described repairs. Do they just cover, or is there a small profit? Then: is that profit enough to pay you for the additional hassle? And if there i...

I switched from tuba to euphonium late in life, so I understand your quest for advice. I bought a Wessex Dolce, 3 +1 compensating. I am very happy with it. There are some who say it is a good horn for someone without a lot of money. They say it would be better to buy a used higher-level euph with so...

It was a Sunday morning, December 1983. I was in the final hour of a 24 hour CQ shift at the headquarters building at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. There had been a huge snowfall, and the entire post seemed deserted. The creepy old former hospital that had been repurposed as HQ was definitely deserted. As a mis...

We are the custodial grandparents of two boys, ages 2 and 4, so we got up really early, after going to bed really late. My wife--nickname Hestia--had laid a fire the night before. So by the pre-dawn's early firelight, we proctored the opening of the boys' stocking gifts. Yes, it was very orderly; li...

Yes, my wife told me for years that I have a hearing problem. So I got the MD non-digital (i.e., cheap) models. Later I got digital ones from Costco. My hearing loss is in the high register, so I don't always understand the auditory hash that passes for human speech. I could hear my tuba and euphoni...

My wife and I have guardianship of our grandsons--a preschooler and a toddler. You have described every morning in our house.

As far as CC or BBb, I tried a CC once. I'm over it now.

Thanks for this.

My Wessex Dolce.

I know this horn well. Seeing it in such pristine shape makes me wistfull, but I am glad it is being set for another half century (or more) of productive use. I can vouch for those valves--they're like silk. Good luck with the sale.