Low-Brassism
as this page is being designed, the author has no real outline in her head. i want to somehow try to express what it means to be a low brass musician. i want to share my feelings on what it is like to be at the bottom, what it means to lend that voice to the ensemble, how our music is different than that of others, and what exactly it is that attracts weirdos like us to trombone, euph, and/or tuba. but how? how do i do that? i really am not sure, but i'll try something... we'll see how far i get.
the first day of sixth grade, i asked mr. brown what instrument i should choose. he was kind of vague, but he said that the band needed some trombones. ignorant though i was, i had the presence of mind to ask him "do they get to play as much as the other instruments?" oh yes, mr. brown assured me. okey-dokey said i, and that is how i got stuck playing the trombone.
at least, i viewed it as being "stuck" for awhile... then i finally realized how lucky i was. i guess it's a matter of personal preference. in middle school, of course, all the good parts go the woodwinds and the trumpets. i was quite dismayed with my trombone. i could play my Bb scale and i could fly through the technique excercises in the beginning band book. "i have it all figured out," i told my little sixth grade self. i guessed that the only thing left to do was to learn a new instrument. silly me, i volunteered to be the tuba player.
mr brown's idea of teaching a new instrument was "here, this is a tuba, and that's a fingering chart, have fun!" it was difficult i admit, and i developed some embouchure promblems like you would not believe, but i was forced to learn, and quickly. i soon discovered that i liked this instrument. sure, all i got to play in middle school was whole notes and the occasional rousing oom pah, but i liked it.
then i got an invitation to march as an eighth grader. this was really something. not very many middle schoolers were allowed to march with the high school. i missed my trombone severely, that slide thing was addictive, so i offered to march that. however, there wasn't a spot for me in the trombone section, so i got switched to a baritone hole. i felt out of place though, and i wondered about that shiny thing. was it a bloated trumpet, or a shrunken tuba? i tried it, played a few notes, fell in love, and that's how i was introduced to the euphonium.
now that i have been playing for several years, i am starting to understand that melody isn't everything. there is a certain feel, an underlying current, that the low brass provides that you just can't get from a trumpet. woodwinds are nice and pretty, they can carry a tune, but they don't seem very substantial. trumpet and horn can be heard, and again they are pretty, but they often seem shrill to me. the low brass, on the other hand, can carry a tune (contrary to many people's belief) and they are also vital to the band in general. it is the low brasses that keep the beat, the tempo, the pulse, you name it. the low brass gives that deep growling rumble that is essential to a good piece.
if you don't specialize in low brass, you probably don't understand a word i'm saying. or you may think you do, but take my word for it, you don't. it takes a certain type of person to play low brass well. you takes an even rarer sort to understand what low brass really means.
sometimes i think it is a shame that more solos are not given to low brasses. there are of course a few, but all too often they are cheesy, and only in the song because the composer felt sorry for us. but then i think to myself, maybe it's a good thing there aren't more solos. it's nice having a secret from the rest of the band. they can think i'm just a bumbling oom pah idiot, that's fine with me. i derive my satisfaction from knowing that they couldn't survive at all without the low brass. we would do just fine without all of them, but they would suffer without us. most likely they don't know that. that's fine. they can live in blissful ignornce. we know better.
suggestions for this page? i need them! mail me