I'm not sure yet what to do in studio. All that I have that is truly ready is carryover from last semester, and not much of the new stuff is ready yet... I think I am going to go practice and figure that out. Easy way out would be to play the muted movement from Civ, but the Marcello 2nd movement is pretty easy both tonally and technically. I guess that means it's time for practice so that I can figure that out. Also, I think today I'll remember to do my high range stuff for lessons, where I will be doing the Romanza from the VW Concerto, which basically sits at the top of the staff and higher.

Also, you have to watch the second of these...

Mouthpiece Search

I have realized over the past couple of weeks of getting used to the new horn that I need a new mouthpiece. Actually, mouthpieces. I have loved the way that Perantucci's german-stye mouthpieces have reacted with my horn from what little I've tried, and I think I am going to start looking for 2 or 3 mouthpieces that fit really well with the horn. What I am thinking are cup-shaped mouthpieces in various depths to affect the presence of overtones in the sound. I am really bummed out now that Tubonium isn't going to take place this year, because I was really hoping to try out a bunch of PT's back to back to back. Now, it looks like I will have to order a bunch and send some back. Refund checks never come soon enough.

Also, for those of you who haven't seen this yet...

Tired chops and dent removal

Pep band sure can have a toll on one's chops, especially with two nights of double headers in a row. Practice this weekend took a less traditional approach - singing and listening to recordings of the Hindy and VW. Of course, time away from the horn gave me the opportunity to replace the rest of my cork bumpers with neoprene, as well as give the pig a bath. Yay for a bathtub that now smells of vinegar.

Recital material is set, somewhat. Looks like the program will be something along these lines:
Cello Sonata no. 5 - Benedetto Marcello
Civilization and Its Discontents - Richard Wilson
Concerto - Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sonata - Paul Hindemith
Music 4 Tubas - John Stevens

In addition, I am supposed to premier the new Charles Liu concerto sometime in the next year as part of the 2010/2011 North American Tuba Repertoire Initiative, and would prefer to do it at school... not sure yet how that will work out. Also, an article will be published in the ITEA journal about the project, so yay for professional recognition.

Today, Josh gave me an intonation tendency chart to fill out for my new tuba, as it is a very different beast from the ones I have played recently. More on this to come as it affects my ability to play in tune (which has taken a decline recently, due to the still unfamiliar horn and mouthpiece).

Favorite video recently has been this one. I definitely want this for myself, as I am somewhat clumsy and very paranoid (which is due in some part to the fact that somebody once set a chair leg on the bell of the tuba I played at the time... and then sat on said chair).

New Tuba

First thing's first: I bought a tuba over break.

I have been playing tuba since the seventh grade, which at time of posting amounts to a very little bit over 11 years. This is the first real tuba that I have bought (The first 'fake' one was essentially an antique - 1907 Conn Eb - although it does play, and seems to be fairly close to modern pitch when put to the tuner somehow). It's pretty awesome to own my own instrument finally. Here's the bizarre part - I bought it without playing it first (this made me incredibly nervous at first) or even seeing so much as a photo of it in poor lighting. We shipped it UPS, against which I was strongly advised, and almost none of the packing advice was followed. The tuba was shipped in a gig bag, which was wrapped in paper, surrounded by packing peanuts, wrapped in a plastic bag, surrounded by more peanuts, in a tall cardboard box with one of those metal beams across the top. It somehow arrived unharmed (and unflattened), much to my surprise upon seeing the packing.

This tuba is awesome. I love the sound it has when I play it. I feel that it similar to the sound I had with the Perantucci horns i fell in love with three years ago at HRTEC when I was first trying out horns, but only cost a third of the price. It has awesome response, and can actually pop out the low notes with relative ease. I initially bought it with the mindset of "if i don't like it, I can easily sell it for as much as I bought it, and it will get me through the recital just fine." Now it's just flat out going to be MY horn (until circumstances require otherwise). I am now waiting for my refund check from student loans so that I can buy a bunch of mouthpieces to try out, as none of my mouthpieces fit the euro shank receiver.

I will be uploading pictures soon, but it is my guess that most of you reading this have seen it in person...

I definitely love my Cerveny Piggy 603.
(for those of you who didn't understand the blog's address, yes, it's a play on words - when have you ever known me not to make ridiculous puns?)

Lastly, who knows what I can do with 15 cubic feet of styrofoam packing peanuts?