DISCLAIMER: This ended up being quite a bit less concise than I wanted it to be. But then again, isn't that what first posts are for?
Well, here goes nothing. I am a sixteen year old high school student from Arkansas. I also happen to be a euphonium player and music lover faced with many difficult choices that need to be made in the next year to two years. Thankfully, I have the big one out of the way; I do NOT plan on going into music ed/performance after highschool. It's not really that I don't want to - going to college for music-related things would probably be one of the most fun, exciting, enriching, etc. things in my entire life. It's more that doing so in today's society could be compared to shooting oneself in the foot. The reasons for said foot-shooting have probably been discussed on this forum (and TubeNet :p) more times than can be accurately counted, so I'll go ahead and skip my take on that can of worms. With that being said, I'd like to continue being a musician after high school, but since I won't have a degree, it seems like my options are limited to local community bands, local (British style) brass bands, and military bands (if I can audition and manage to make the cut).
On a less serious note, I have a few options in terms of instruments. My plan is to get a job this summer and save up as much as I can to be put towards a horn, whatever that ends up being. I've read many, many threads lauding the Dolce, saying it's wonderful for the price and such. Not to discredit Mr. Hodgetts, but the only reason I am even slightly skeptical of these accounts is that I played a Wessex BR-140 baritone for a few months, and its intonation was rough to say the least. Having to play second line G and third line B (TC) with first and third wasn't very fun. It's also entirely possible that that was all me, and the horn is actually as top-notch as I'm sure everything else in Wessex's catalog is. Another possibility is a used Willson (unknown year and model) for sale by a past bandmate of mine. All I know about the horn is that it's lacquered and sounds heavenly...or maybe that was the player, not the horn. I could buy it for about twice as much as the Dolce's cost, but am unsure if the extra price would be worth it. My third option is an Eb tuba. A teacher and good friend of mine (who happens to be a pretty superb tubist) recommended I buy an Eb bass. I've always wanted a tuba of my own, partially because of how versatile bass tubas are when compared to a euphonium. The specific model he recommended was the Wessex Champion because of the larger bell and subsequently larger sound. However, after reading several posts on the site it seems like one of the two smaller models (Bombino, Solo) might fit my preferences slightly better in terms of prospective tuba playing.
With all of that exposition of the way, here are my questions:
Where can a euphoniumist like myself go (in terms of music) without a post-secondary degree?
Dolce, used Willson, or one of the Wessex Eb basses?
This is all worth it, right?
I appreciate any and all advice, criticism, life lessons, etc. you guys can throw at me. You're my people after all!
Regards, Paul
Well, here goes nothing. I am a sixteen year old high school student from Arkansas. I also happen to be a euphonium player and music lover faced with many difficult choices that need to be made in the next year to two years. Thankfully, I have the big one out of the way; I do NOT plan on going into music ed/performance after highschool. It's not really that I don't want to - going to college for music-related things would probably be one of the most fun, exciting, enriching, etc. things in my entire life. It's more that doing so in today's society could be compared to shooting oneself in the foot. The reasons for said foot-shooting have probably been discussed on this forum (and TubeNet :p) more times than can be accurately counted, so I'll go ahead and skip my take on that can of worms. With that being said, I'd like to continue being a musician after high school, but since I won't have a degree, it seems like my options are limited to local community bands, local (British style) brass bands, and military bands (if I can audition and manage to make the cut).
On a less serious note, I have a few options in terms of instruments. My plan is to get a job this summer and save up as much as I can to be put towards a horn, whatever that ends up being. I've read many, many threads lauding the Dolce, saying it's wonderful for the price and such. Not to discredit Mr. Hodgetts, but the only reason I am even slightly skeptical of these accounts is that I played a Wessex BR-140 baritone for a few months, and its intonation was rough to say the least. Having to play second line G and third line B (TC) with first and third wasn't very fun. It's also entirely possible that that was all me, and the horn is actually as top-notch as I'm sure everything else in Wessex's catalog is. Another possibility is a used Willson (unknown year and model) for sale by a past bandmate of mine. All I know about the horn is that it's lacquered and sounds heavenly...or maybe that was the player, not the horn. I could buy it for about twice as much as the Dolce's cost, but am unsure if the extra price would be worth it. My third option is an Eb tuba. A teacher and good friend of mine (who happens to be a pretty superb tubist) recommended I buy an Eb bass. I've always wanted a tuba of my own, partially because of how versatile bass tubas are when compared to a euphonium. The specific model he recommended was the Wessex Champion because of the larger bell and subsequently larger sound. However, after reading several posts on the site it seems like one of the two smaller models (Bombino, Solo) might fit my preferences slightly better in terms of prospective tuba playing.
With all of that exposition of the way, here are my questions:
Where can a euphoniumist like myself go (in terms of music) without a post-secondary degree?
Dolce, used Willson, or one of the Wessex Eb basses?
This is all worth it, right?
I appreciate any and all advice, criticism, life lessons, etc. you guys can throw at me. You're my people after all!
Regards, Paul
This post first appeared on Euphonium-Tuba And General Music Forums - Recent B, please read the originial post: here
