I will go one further here: There is no excuse not to shape phrases and lines from the bottom. We generally have one of the technically easiest parts in any group in which we are performing. Meaning we have the spare brain power to listen to what's going on around us, keep very conscious of the ...

There is something about King instruments though. The tubas sound good, the sousaphones sound good, the euphoniums sound good, the marching brass sounds good, and the long discontinued saxophones sound good . King has been on the right track for a long time. I mentioned it in another thread - I was ...

104 ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trying to think back about 25 years at this point. I was able to find a video and the 104 appears to be on the left shoulder Played one of these for 4 years in high school marching band. They were certainly....a thing. It would have made sense to me if our band director had bought th ...

The last time I looked for a new mouthpiece, it was literally just "to see." I had played American-style CC tubas for years (decades) and had a good set of mouthpieces for those horns. I had just gotten a Miraphone 184. It sounded fine with my existing mouthpieces, but I hadn't played any other ...

It may be beneficial when working with it to have a fan blowing perpendicular to you. If you're allergic enough that even having small amounts of it in the air around you irritates you, I'd offer that it's worth a shot. Having the fan blowing across you into an open area could significantly reduce ...

I like how the catalog uses the term “deflecting bell.” One of the definitions of deflect is, “To avoid something, such as criticism or blame.” Perhaps the deflecting bell will make the conductor think it was the bass trombonist that hit that clam. :teeth: If I had the required creativity and time, ...

A few thoughts. 1. I think we overthink Ride a lot. A. LOT. Along with most of our other excerpts. And in general, the overthinking leads to overcomplication which leads to always flubbing the rhythm. 2. Related to #1, and this applies to almost every discipline I've ever encountered. The easiest ...

I've never felt "undersized" with a 4/4 in any group I've played in. You can't always hear yourself the way the room does, and the recording isn't going to be representative of what it sounded like in the room. I've also played an older 2341 in a group for fun for a rehearsal of Tchaik 4 where I ...

On its way here....my choir loft horn...BTW, anyone currently own one? Received today....what a great little horn! Maybe this one is an anomily, but very even throughout and very good low range. Came with a flight case too, and probably the best packing job I have seen...I need smaller hands to ...

Pieces that don't show up on auditions that I've been very satisfied playing: Rachmaninoff 2nd Symphony Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem Grofe Grand Canyon Suite Gliere 3rd Symphony Elgar In the South Edit: Just turned on the Vaughan Williams because this post reminded me of it. If you can be a ...

Love my Bobo Solo. It works great on my MW182. Nice rich sound. Can be big (for a small F tuba...), can be throaty, can sing, especially above the staff. It also routinely provides the best intonation on each of my horns - The 182, 184CC, and Gnagey CC. Doesn't get quite as big of a sound as I want ...

How many people practice and practice and practice and practice and practice and practice and practice that thing, but never get to play it? I practiced it many, many, many (many) many times. Got sick of practicing it. Stopped. Went to law school. Grew up a bit. Realized I might as well be a good ...

My 8yo desperately wanted The Clapper for her birthday this year. So we got her the o.g. clapper for her bedroom and a smart light bulb for the light on her desk in the living room. Everyone was out last night, so I decided to practice in the living room because we have vaulted ceilings, and it ...

If I understand what is being suggested, I need to train anaerobically? Kind of like when I was a competitive swimmer, swimming underwater as many laps as possible? Sort of. Yes, you need to learn to play with little air left in your lungs. But it's not anaerobic training. I also wonder whether ...

Playing in-tune and musically will have much more influence than horn size. Sure, but no one has showed up to the finals of any recent audition with only a 184 for a reason. I love the horn, and I produce the sound that's in my head on it. And I fully intend to play in tune, musically, and in time ...

I decided to get back into playing more regularly, which includes auditioning for the sub list for the local orchestra here. I'm playing my 184 almost exclusively now, and figured to take the audition on it. And I was wondering how they would feel about playing Ride on such a small instrument ...

Bobo Solo is tiny.

Miraphone TU28 is also pretty small.

dsfinley wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2023 1:59 pm Maslanka 4 is my all time favorite work. It elicits a lot of emotion.

I'll extend that to any Maslanka. I got to work with him once, and he was an inspiring musician to play for.

I'll add the Bach Gigue Fugue.

Elsa's Procession.

Everything else I was thinking about has already been listed.

Three Valves wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 1:17 pm Jesus didn’t have grey hair.

Is that St. Bobo?

Now that you've said that, I can't unsee it.

Heh. I judge all state band here, and we invite kids to come in, play a few notes, "get used to the room," whatever. By far, the kids who do best are the ones that just jump right into the audition music. The ones who play a couple scales, long tones, parts of a band warmup thing, are the ones that ...