instrument review: Schiller 4-valve (rotary) tuba

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There were lots of surprises during my first few years of teaching. The year that our new school building opened, I discovered that there were not one, but two, tuba players who were coming to SCPA, and they both happened to be in the same grade. This posed a problem since I hadn't put any thought into getting tubas for the school without anyone to play them. I had already spent my budget on other needed items (a bari sax, bass clarinet, and an oboe), so I did two things:

  1. Beg for more money
  2. Find the cheapest tubas

#2 is what got me started on looking very seriously at Chinese imports. Postings at TubeNet and David Werden's forum convinced me that there some things worth looking at, and so I picked out two models: a smaller, 3-valve piston tuba, and a larger, 4-valve rotary tuba. The cost? Just under $3k, delivered. You can't even get one Yamaha tuba for that amount new!

Those first tubas have seen five years of daily use, and they have held up great. The rotary valve tuba is fine mechanically, plays in tune, and just went in for its first ultrasonic cleaning this spring--no major issues. Students lost a couple stop nuts by the rotor paddles and they were replaced no problem. My only complaint is that the case has not held up as well—but it is clear from the tubas I've purchased since then that suggestions to the company about case design have been taken into account, and I think the newer cases are holding up much better.

What else do you want to know? Leave a note in the comments or send me an email.

sightreading at a concert

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FEAR.

That was the theme of the concert, and aside from the things the students knew about that related to the theme, I wanted at least one thing that would surprise and perhaps even instill fear in them. The concert already included all the bands from 5th grade through high school, student narrators with incidental music, and some drama from lower school students. The closing numbers with the combined older bands were solid: Michael Sweeney's arrangement of Grainger's The Lost Lady Found  and Brian Balmages's Apparitions (which, by the way, is a pretty vibe to end a concert with). So what else could I do to shake things up?

I spent a good deal of time focusing on strategies for sight-reading in the weeks and months before the concert and I wanted to see what the groups could do if they had something brand-new thrown at them during the concert. So I wrote a piece, Nothing to Fear (not published yet, it still needs to be cleaned up), specifically for the concert. I planned on both of the older bands reading it, and at the time, that meant mostly 7th and 8th graders with about half as many high school students. I incorporated a number of elements in it that may have been risky--it was in the key of C Major and relatively fast (q=144), there was a section with strong dissonances, and some of the accompaniment rhythms included off-the-beat eighth notes.

When we got to the appropriate moment in the concert, I announced to the audience and band simultaneously what was about to take place. Pulling the music out (concealed beneath the podium), I passed stacks of parts to students to hand out while I told the audience that this would be the first time any person heard a band play the music. I was counting on the band to use the time as we had practiced in class, and I had been specifically targeting some of the elements in Nothing to Fear during our warmups in the week prior to the concert.

In the end, the group did as well as I expected. There were some sour B-flats, a few students got lost, and the group certainly didn't play at the same expressive level as the rest of their music. That moment, however, remains one of the most memorable for students and families in the program, and I was very satisfied with how things turned out.

It's been a couple years now since trying this, so maybe it is time to do it again soon...

instrument review: Anthem A-2000 alto sax

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Updated 10/21 – This seems to be a popular page--see some added info at the bottom, and comment or email me if you have additional questions.

Every year I've been to the Eau Claire Jazz Festival with my school jazz band, I hope to win an instrument from their raffle. It has been disappointing in the past that my students haven't always tried to complete and turn in their clinic cards to have a shot at doing so, so I was pleased this past April when everyone actually did what I told them to. There was no drawing at the evening performance, however, so I was surprised when a few weeks later I heard from a rep from the festival that said we had won a new alto sax!

What is Anthem? From what I can gather, the company appears similar to Accent instruments. The horns stamped with their label are only available through certain stores throughout the US. Instruments are made overseas (in Anthem's case, in China), and are purported to have a high degree of quality control. In the case of this Alto, it was provided as a prize by Schmitt Music. You can find Anthem's web presence here.

On to the saxophone itself. First off, it reminds me to some degree of the Cannonball student alto in its weight. It's heavier than the used Yamaha and Vito models commonly found in student hands. It's clearly labeled "Made in China" by the serial number (something other newer brands seem hesitant to mark) and has the brand and model stenciled on the bell. The case is not fancy but seems sturdy and definitely adequate. The body of the sax is secure, and there's a designated place for the neck and mouthpiece as well as a compartment for miscellaneous items.

The saxophone I have been playing with students for the past six years was a Buescher, and I can safely say the Anthem feels better and plays better than the Buescher. The key action is nice, I didn't notice any issues with pads sealing, and I was satisfied with the tone--not as bright as I fear with a student saxophone.

As you'll hear, it plays reasonably well in tune. Again, for a student model, I think it is acceptable (the notes I expect to be sharp or flat are). Since I've only had the horn for a couple months, I can't speak to its long-term prospects. I'll update here if I have any issues.

Updates 10/21

I've been playing the Anthem saxophone several times a week with students in lessons. Nothing has broken or gone wrong so far, and I find that as I've grown used to it, I like it more. I still have no out of the ordinary issues with pitch, and no problems with response (other than my own lack of aptitude on the saxophone). If anything, I like the tone better than at first. One thing I do despise: the design of the case includes a nylon strap connection the upper and lower sections so that it opens to a 90° angle and no further. Even if the floor is flat, the case often closes on its own because the strap is just a bit too short. Oh well.

An aspiring young saxophonist...

An aspiring young saxophonist...