I think I missed the original post on this thread, but I have written for brass band. I can tell you that the usage of Eb tubas is less than it should be. One guy in our band uses one that he bought himself, but the others play BBb tubas even if they're playing the Eb part. In the same way, people in the USA playing the baritone parts don't play baritones. They play euphoniums. In the UK, they're more traditional.
But the Eb bass part is written in Eb transposition. It could be played just as well by the tenor horn or the soprano cornet. Only the octave would change. What a weird sound! BTW, Ray, I'm currently playing the bass trombone part in my band. They had me playing first, but my chops aren't up to the high notes these days. fortuinately, my Bach 50B works just fine, although I don't have a low B natural. Horace Brock Bass Trombone Jericho Brass Chattanooga, TN On Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:17:26 -0400, you wrote: >Right - we were assuming that, but it probably needed to be stated. >We had some doubters whether American amateurs could actually adapt to >such a thing, so we had some discussion on that. > >I actually do not know if most of the hard-core US brass bands feature >real BBb and Eb tubas. I suppose many of them do. > >I heard the Brass Band of Columbus (OH) years ago, and they had a very >fine tuba section, very focused sound - but I do not recall what >instruments they were playing, if I tell from where I was sitting. I >know they were regarded as one of the the best in the US at the time. > >Raymond Horton >Bass Trombonist, Louisville Orchestra >Minister of Music, Edwardsville (IN) UMC >Composer, Arranger >VISIT US AT rayhortonmusic.com > > >On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 6:53 PM, Steve Parker <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I know the thread wasn't about the UK, but in the UK really all brass >> band lower brass read in treble clef other than the bass trombone in >> bass clef and non-transposing. >> IME there is still a clear distinction between Eb and Bb (BBb) basses >> (tubas), but both read in treble with trumpet fingerings (i.e. 'C' is >> open or 1st for trombone). >> >> Steve P. >_______________________________________________ >Finale mailing list >[email protected] >http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
