[Trombone-l] Going out on limb. Was: do you object to teachingeuph/baritone?

[thetubameister@roadrunner.com]

I disagree a bit...

The "'cello of the band" model is one I can identify with, though I consider the euphonium a jack-of-all-trades.  In America, the divisi of tubas is not well adhered to at all except in the best bands... and even some of them have tuba sections fighting about it.  And rarely do they use a bass tuba at all (the Blossom Festival Band, I'm happy to say, uses one bass tuba (me) and divides parts 1 top to 3 bottom; it works very well).  However, I think the Euphonium has an underappreciated lower register, and can be a very effective additional bass instrument (Adolph Sax did refer to it as the "bass" member of the family).  Unfortunately, I rarely hear Euphers with great low registers who can treat that aspect of euph playing with great dignity and efficacy (again, I'm glad I work with a few who do!).

There are so many composers and arangers of faaaarrrrr greater calibre than I who've used the octave Euph very well... I myself wouldn't questions it - it simply has worked for quite a while!

J.c.S (who still might be a eupher first at heart... I can never tell)

---- Adrian Drover <slide at adios.co.uk> wrote: 
> 
> 
> > From: Jon Brummel
> > 
> > - I would rather play Euphonium in a band ANY day over trombone -
> > c'mon- you get Trumpet, Flute, and MELODY parts, and the rest of the
> > time, you're a tuba up an octave- what's NOT to love?
> 
> 
> Well, Jon, I'm not overjoyed about playing in octaves with the tuba on euph.
> I think this is an outmoded idea stemming from the classical 'cello-bass
> relationship in older scores.  In the band, if you feel the need to write
> the bass line in octaves, a better solution is to divide the tubas into bass
> and contra-bass.  Then there are other instruments in the band which are
> much better suited to play the bass line such as bass 'bone, bass clarinet
> and bassoon.   
> 
> When the euph is not soloing or doubling the melody or playing a
> counter-melody line I would rather hear them divided to fill out the
> mid-register harmonies.  The euph is a singing instrument, not one for
> playing um-pahs.
> 
> Just my humble opinion of course, I hope you understand.
> 
> A.
> 
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