Performance Tips

NOTE: this advice is good for "normal" times, too (but right now our choices have been unusually limited). If your available band/music opportunities have a long hole in the schedule for any reason, this is good ongoing maintenance. I think many of you have continued with a good practice schedule, but HOW you practice is just as important as how long...perhaps more so.

I think we're all trying to remain positive during the shut-down situation, as we assume bands will be back in our ...

If you are a member of the International Tuba-Euphonium Association (ITEA) you may have already seen this review. It covers my "Advanced Fingering Guide" very thoroughly (and positively!). ITEA allows me to reprint reviews of my content, so here it is! If you are not already an ITEA member, I strongly encourage you to join. There are great articles in the Journal and you are helping the organization support the instruments we love!

ITEA offers print or digital subscriptions, and they ...

I just finished recording the 2nd movement of Vaughan-Williams' tuba concerto, the "Romanza." That is the one movement from the original publication that is recommended for euphonium.

In two places, the melody goes down to a low concert B natural (just above pedal Bb). That is the one note that is unsatisfactory with the 4-valve compensating system. Even with a trigger it is not going to be in tune without lipping down, and I did not have a trigger for the recording. The publisher includes ...

As most readers already know, the Holst Second Suite in F for Military Band is a great piece for euphonium players. The first movement has a particularly nice solo - in my mind it is an example of ideal euphonium scoring. The melody is lyrical and singing, and the band is scored very lightly behind the solo. For those who want to play this solo, even when your band has not programmed it, I wrote it as part of a 2-movement suite for euphonium and piano. The sheet music is available here:
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In this video I go through some of the logic for using alternate fingerings. I'll show some specific examples and explain a bit about the advantages alternate fingerings can offer (technique or intonation). More information is available from my book Advanced Fingerings for Euphonium:
http://www.dwerden.com/eu-books-fingering.cfm

YouTube direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nklNJEj_Fk0

Or view it right here:

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Many previously-available items come back online now and then. Fortunately for us, three classic euphonium books are now available.

The first are the two volumes of Arthur Lehman's "The Art of Euphonium." These were originally distributed with an LP, but the printed books themselves are still quite useful. If you also want the recordings, there are high-quality MP3 files available in the links below. The recordings are with the U.S. Marine Band, Arthur's "home" for 20 years.
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When I was growing up I used to love Looney Toons cartoons. One of the visual themes that was used in various ways was a person with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The two mini characters would try to convince the main character to do something bad or something good. That was an effective tool for the stories, and its use dates back millennia (in somewhat different forms!). An early Disney Pluto cartoon used it as well. It continues to be useful to today's audiences, as shown ...

I was just asked for a list of pieces suitable for an amateur quartet. The particular question in this case was about using them at an OcTubaFest, but these suggestions should work for several situations. Note that all are available as printed music or immediate download.

The title of this post mentions "Starter" but these are not for raw beginners. I'm referring to tunes to help get your group's repertoire started, although I have tried to stay within a fairly easy realm. If you can ...