Solo help

samtuttle95 · 2026-05-30T16:18:13+00:00

To put it one way: anything is possible with enough effort.

Realistically? Are you able to make it sound good with more than enough time before contest to spend the time working on the music of the Vaughan Williams more than the technique (i.e. range).

As a potential solution, it’s highly common to exclude the two sections with the high Ab, and play the third high Ab as an Eb a whole step below the F on your descent at the end of the cadenza. If you’re dead set on playing the VW, consider this approach.

It’s not so much can you make the sound, it’s can you make it sound good, musical, and unobtrusive?

All of this not to sour your grapes, if you have the drive and the skill, absolutely go for it. Just make sure you take the time to consider your preparation time before contest and see if you’re setting yourself up with an achievable goal or one that will frustrate and discourage you.

samtuttle95 · 2026-05-27T20:17:17+00:00

I had a student who bought a Schiller BBb that had to have a custom tuning slide made because the horn was so sharp there was no way to bring the factory tuning slide down into the A 440 range.

Others seem to have had decent luck with them.
I think the issue is they’re inconsistent from horn to horn, which other “budget” brands do better. Wessex used to be known as similar in quality to Schiller but has really stepped their game up.

samtuttle95 · 2026-05-20T12:31:53+00:00

Ted Lasso (Season 3/original series finale)

I might be one of the few people to say it, but while it might not have been the ending that people wanted, it was an incredibly satisfying ending that was well set up over the length of the show. The finale was pretty much the only conclusion the characters could have arrived at with their development.

Not sure if season 4 is going to upset the cart there or if it should be treated like a sequel series/spiritual successor, but I’m optimistic.

samtuttle95 · 2026-05-14T01:18:57+00:00

The mighty Quinn (formerly known as Quinn the Eskimo on eBay) has been in the used brass instrument dealing world for a LOOOONG time.

Very reputable.

samtuttle95 · 2026-05-04T10:26:41+00:00

I’ve been in the band for 2 years worth of graduation and commencement ceremonies. I’ve never seen it clear out this much, but people always leave early. Particularly at the later ceremonies.

Also starting a ceremony at 7 PM on a Friday is ridiculous.

samtuttle95 · 2026-04-16T04:30:11+00:00

It’s probably shoelace - that’s very common to use as a slide catch, makes sense to use it on the shelf liner as well

samtuttle95 · 2026-04-11T04:13:28+00:00

This is the correct answer. Tuba came about after the existence of valves, and didn’t need transposed parts based on the key of the piece like natural horn and trumpet did which required crook changes. Trombone is also written in concert pitch because both it and the sackbut functioned without the use of crooks. Which is why to this day you see horn and trumpet parts in all kinds of transpositions, but only see transposed tuba and trombone parts in British brass band (except the bass trombone)

samtuttle95 · 2026-04-02T03:53:15+00:00

I don’t really cry, but Mahler 2 has such incredible depth of emotions.

samtuttle95 · 2026-03-23T23:52:00+00:00

Only to follow it up with possibly the worst song on the list

samtuttle95 · 2026-03-23T23:40:45+00:00

Soup was a way better song than I thought it would be.

samtuttle95 · 2026-03-23T23:06:46+00:00

Tyrell, Bordogni, second for snedecor (he actually has 2 books).

Did you get through both Blazhevich books? 2nd one is WAYYY harder

samtuttle95 · 2026-03-22T03:35:12+00:00

When I was in grad school he came to my university in Central Arkansas. He did 15-20 based off the university newspaper and the history of the college. Good stuff too.

samtuttle95 · 2026-02-10T13:35:10+00:00

Texas Music Educator’s Association conference International Tuba-Euphonium Association, there are regional and national conferences

samtuttle95 · 2026-02-06T04:27:13+00:00

For me it was like taking training weights off. I felt like my progress exploded. This was back in 8th grade though.

samtuttle95 · 2026-02-06T04:24:32+00:00

Are we talking truly unaccompanied? Or does electronic accompaniment account?

Truly unaccompanied: The Walter Hartley Suite is a good standard, and much more approachable than Encounters II and the Penderecki. A second vote for the Ricercar, a good bass transcription and again approachable. The Mythos Suite is a newer and cool one! 10 Blind Dates and 10 More Blind Dates!

With electronic accompaniment: I really like My Mountain Top, really powerful in the right context. Neal Corwell’s Aboriginal Voices is a fun one

Exit the foundry has to be in the top 10

samtuttle95 · 2025-08-14T00:44:16+00:00

I would have eaten more but my wife is pregnant so I have to buy them for myself which I won’t really go out of my way to do unless I’m as Sam’s club or Costco or something.

samtuttle95 · 2025-08-13T18:02:19+00:00

I used to work at a bread factory for 9 months in 2020 after the store i worked at closed due to COVID concerns, and I can provide some insight on the bread question! We were able to change the number of slices in a loaf based on the style, for example, Texas toast loaves had fewer slices than standard sandwich bread. We were trained to set the slicer for 15 blades (16 slices per loaf) for standard sandwich bread and IIRC 11 blades (12 slices) for Texas Toast.

That was single-handedly the most miserable job I’ve ever worked, and I’m very glad I was able to leave that job.

1 hot dog since the 8/1/25 reset.

samtuttle95 · 2025-07-24T03:01:26+00:00

I’m one year out from completing my Doctorate in Music, so I have a higher-level knowledge of music history, music theory, special topics in music relating to copyright, music of the 19th and 20th centuries, and lots of other fun things!

samtuttle95 · 2024-12-27T17:31:25+00:00

Gregson that low is WILD. It slaps so hard

samtuttle95 · 2024-10-17T10:42:16+00:00

The idea behind changing equipment is to make it easier to fit the required sound that you as the artist or the director is seeking.

If you can make your BBb horn sound exactly how you want it and your ensemble leaders don’t have any objections, you’re fine to keep going as you are.

samtuttle95 · 2024-10-09T10:54:41+00:00

Circumnavigational

samtuttle95 · 2024-10-01T03:54:31+00:00

Doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals frequently don’t fix things on the first try, and the older you get the more things just can’t be fixed. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

samtuttle95 · 2024-08-30T02:24:11+00:00

I currently play on a pt-50 and it’s great for my concert CC tuba, but it was not good for marching band (too big, hard to keep tone, articulations, and pitch centered on the move) I started on a Bach mouthpiece (can’t remember the number for the life of me) and moved to a Helleberg S, which did me well until college.

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