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Re: Brass in school etc.

In message <37F1EBFE.EA5374D5@xxxxxxxxx>, Steve Anker
<steveanker@xxxxxxxxx> writes
>JohnMabon wrote:
>
>> One problem that I have recently encountered in the Scottish Borders
is
>> that all trombonists are taught to play in bass clef, which means
that th
>> ey
>> proliferation of bass trombonists (what could be worse?!?!?! ;)
>
Where are they?? I've been serving as bass bone for both Wantage and
Swindon over this last summer, as neither band has one. City of Oxford
(not far up the road) are currently using a tenor player on a tenor
instrument who has a good low range. The university band hasn't had a
real one in the time I've been there either. My experience is that most
young tenor players who only read bass clef don't bother with brass
bands as they can't play the low notes in the bass part and can't read
the tenor parts!
>
>Is it about time we started moving to ALL trombone (and for that matter
>Euph,
>Baritone and Bass {Tuba}) parts in bass clef ?

Oh, please no! Have you ever played a high Euphonium part in bass clef?
Brass band top C is on 4 leger lines. I've seen bass clef parts with up
to 7 lines above the staff! There's a passage in the Year of the Dragon,
last movement, where the wind band Euphonium part wibbles about on high
F G A Bb C - in treble clef this is okay, but in bass it's illegible!
Tenor clef maybe, which would also involve less actual learning of new
notes - just change the key and read as treble for Euph pitch, but it
would create a big problem when teaching young players - (some of) the
teachers wouldn't know how to properly read the clef that they were
teaching.
Tenor trombones, of course, used to play in tenor clef, but this was
abandoned, presumably to standardise the band. Perhaps publishers could
supply parts in both band treble and concert bass pitches to help
encourage orchestral players to get involved - this is standard practice
in wind bands.
>steve anker
>bass trom (brackley & District Band)
>
>p.s. I had to learn to read bass clef after playing from treble clef for
>25
>yeras and I'm sure I would have learn't a lot quicker when I was
>younger!!

The answer is to learn both (not necessarily at the same time) quite
early. Better still, to learn the general principles of the clefs, and
then to be able to play off any of them - it's not so hard, once you've
got your first note:) Joining an orchestra is a good motivation - you
can't play unless you know bass clef.

Dave Taylor
>
>
>--
>
>       unsub brass-band
>       end

-- 
David Taylor


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