Customer Reviews

Play Along with The Canadian Brass - Tuba: Book/CD (Brass Ensemble)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is hard to beat the Canadian brass. As other reviewers have remarked, this is an excellent and fun CD for play-along and learning purposes. I think that two things would improve it.

First, there are a few places where the written tuba part departs from what you hear. This is no huge deal, and if you first listen to it and follow the score you will see these. But it's a little puzzling.

Second, I find it difficult -- when listening to the tracks with the full ensemble -- to pick out the tuba part in a number of cases. By and large the tuba part is quite subdued -- as it ought to be in a genuine performance. But the type of tuba Daellenbach favors, combined with the tuba dynamics on these recordings, at times make it challenging to actually hear the part. Since this CD is intended specifically for tuba players, it might benefit from enhancing the tuba part a bit.

I am reluctant to think of these as "intermediate pieces". For the most part I think they would count (in terms of the tuba part) as no more difficult than grade 2, and so should be thought of as "easy" rather than "intermediate". But they are a lot of fun to play, and a lot of tuba parts for this type of music are in fact "easy".

In any event, I recommend it highly.

It's nice to be able to step in and replace Chuck, which i've done on a number of occasions (pretty much every time i pop in the CD). These are decent pieces to play, the songs aren't technically challenging for the most part. Playing along with the full Brass and trying to exactly match Chuck's playing can help develop your skills as a tuba player. Trying to continue that match when you're the only tuba will help tone your skills even further. And it's fun too.

I just recently (April) started playing tuba with a community band, after not having touched a horn since high-school. A matter of 40 years. I have always loved the Canadian Brass for their artistry and excellent musicianship, as well as for the fun they so obviously have making music. This CD has worked right into my daily practice session. The tunes are 'intermedite' yet are varied and technically demanding enough to teach me better playing habits. And at the same time, I have been able to keep up with and enjoy the music. An excellent format: 25 tunes, laid out with the quintet playing all parts first, then repeating the number with the tuba part missing. The sheet music provided is easy to read. I play the CD on a Bose WaveRadio, can turn it up loud enough that it sounds like the guys are in the room with me. Well worth the purchase price.