Posted by big red 14 k on April 12, 2010 at 3:33pm
Is it me or am I trippin,that sometimes these tuba section's actually cake out on some parts of songs .The reason I'm asking is because i just heard S.U.playing there goes my baby ( now don't get me wrong I have a lot of respect for the white horses or t phi t but i just heard it up close on the band and i actually heard a totally different bassline then what i heard before.Yes they played their part but in certain parts of the song I heard some other parts being played but pretty much were down played ,i guess for the sake of the rest of the band
You need to be a member of bandhead.org to add comments!
I kind of feel what you what you saying and you are correct the tuba is the foundation but what u want the tubas to be beasting throughout the whole song. Certain songs require tuba not to be beasting but require them to play at a piano level and let the other sections in the band to play at forte level or FF level. I guess the word im looking for is dynamics, play with dynamics.
I agree with both Bigboi and Goldy.. dynamical changes within certain measure give songs it's feel.. but changing notation to play something louder or to make the part easier sometimes takes away from the song.
it's like turning a part written like 1e&a to Tri-pa-let ..
Know what, Its really b/c alot of HBCU tubas sections sound great without the band on fanfares, but with the band they get out powered by the upper voices b/c the sound wont travel nowhere. Its how most tuba players play. I know alot of tubas players in the HBCU circuit only think in two modes......soft, and then LOUD as all get out. They dont ever work on tone to carry their sound ACROSS the 50 or downfield.
In the section I marched for, (White Whales.....holdin it dine since 55' yessir!!), we prided ourselves having a good sound naturally. When most HBCU tuba players pick up the horn, they think "oh...let me tongue as heavy and hard as I can so I can heard as loud I can!!" and what ends up happening is u get a loud SPLATing noise from the horn, and not its true sound.
You gotta start with the embochure (spellcheck, lol) and aperture, then develop a natural sound for the horn, or how it should sound. A tuba has a naturally mellow, deep, warm, regal sound with a lasting ring. Then, and only then, do you increase the sound, and I mean by that the airflow. (great time for some push ups or six inches, huh lol) Six inches on the ground till ALL the crabs either cry or vomit will MORE than greatly do the trick! (its also a great way to haze on the sly lol).
All in all, with everything I just typed, the result should be a bass sound that will be heard at triple piannissimo and will shut a stadium up at 4x Forte. That about 68% of what make the FAMU tubas section so doggone raw. Dont believe me? just youtube or find the vid with the whales playing white whales fanfare at the Florida Classic 2008.
I feel that most Swac tuba sections get lost on the song or cake out b/c they dont focus on the music in the aforementioned manner, so they dont know how to use tone or good air control to make those 16th notes and complex intervals come out clean and with the same intensity and wholeness as other parts of the song.
Or maybe the late Prof. Charles Bing shoulda conducted a clinic with the SWAC world on the finer points of being a low brass instrumentalist.
For me, it's more about feeling the bassline (not necessarily hearing them).
A nice stong bass section can EASILY overpower a band and throw things awry if they are too powerful. IMO, the BEST sections know how to be FELT.
~Same opinion applies for bass drums~
Now there are times when you want that heat from the bass section (usually when they are the main feature of an arrangement, or if they have an important moving part). When that time comes, I want to HEAR them basses.
Take the bassline out of the song, and there is no drive. Every arranger is different and has there own redition of that particular song. The bass line makes the song groove and slam. Its keeps pace with the drums, but its the true heartbeat of the band(the Tuba Section...Thats is)
I can agree with the tubas being the foundation of the band's sound (gotta have something solid for the rest of the band to sit on). But the HEARTBEAT? Naw...The bass drums and cymbals are the REAL TRUE heartbeat of the band.
But I will roll with your opinion just to make a point.
This is all the more reason why yall should be felt and not heard. If the basses really ARE the heartbeat, you don't want the band to sound like they are having a heart attack.
Aundre said:
Take the bassline out of the song, and there is no drive. Every arranger is different and has there own redition of that particular song. The bass line makes the song groove and slam. Its keeps pace with the drums, but its the true heartbeat of the band(the Tuba Section...Thats is)
Tuba Phi Tuba .... 4 LIFE
for all tuba section's
Is it me or am I trippin,that sometimes these tuba section's actually cake out on some parts of songs .The reason I'm asking is because i just heard…
And what's up with some of these tuba sections trying to play in the super upper register...like they want to play baritones? That just takes away from the mature sound of a solid marching band.
Replies
it's like turning a part written like 1e&a to Tri-pa-let ..
In the section I marched for, (White Whales.....holdin it dine since 55' yessir!!), we prided ourselves having a good sound naturally. When most HBCU tuba players pick up the horn, they think "oh...let me tongue as heavy and hard as I can so I can heard as loud I can!!" and what ends up happening is u get a loud SPLATing noise from the horn, and not its true sound.
You gotta start with the embochure (spellcheck, lol) and aperture, then develop a natural sound for the horn, or how it should sound. A tuba has a naturally mellow, deep, warm, regal sound with a lasting ring. Then, and only then, do you increase the sound, and I mean by that the airflow. (great time for some push ups or six inches, huh lol) Six inches on the ground till ALL the crabs either cry or vomit will MORE than greatly do the trick! (its also a great way to haze on the sly lol).
All in all, with everything I just typed, the result should be a bass sound that will be heard at triple piannissimo and will shut a stadium up at 4x Forte. That about 68% of what make the FAMU tubas section so doggone raw. Dont believe me? just youtube or find the vid with the whales playing white whales fanfare at the Florida Classic 2008.
I feel that most Swac tuba sections get lost on the song or cake out b/c they dont focus on the music in the aforementioned manner, so they dont know how to use tone or good air control to make those 16th notes and complex intervals come out clean and with the same intensity and wholeness as other parts of the song.
Or maybe the late Prof. Charles Bing shoulda conducted a clinic with the SWAC world on the finer points of being a low brass instrumentalist.
Peace.
A nice stong bass section can EASILY overpower a band and throw things awry if they are too powerful. IMO, the BEST sections know how to be FELT.
~Same opinion applies for bass drums~
Now there are times when you want that heat from the bass section (usually when they are the main feature of an arrangement, or if they have an important moving part). When that time comes, I want to HEAR them basses.
Tuba Phi Tuba .... 4 LIFE
I can agree with the tubas being the foundation of the band's sound (gotta have something solid for the rest of the band to sit on). But the HEARTBEAT? Naw...The bass drums and cymbals are the REAL TRUE heartbeat of the band.
But I will roll with your opinion just to make a point.
This is all the more reason why yall should be felt and not heard. If the basses really ARE the heartbeat, you don't want the band to sound like they are having a heart attack.
Aundre said:
GET BACK TO THEM LOWS BASSES...lol