Low Brass, and other shiny things

Following on from my last post about brass, I wanted to point out that I actually do have a euphonium hero:  this guy.

Who is he?  Well, he's just some guy, you know?

(Please excuse the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy quote, sometimes I just can't resist).

 Peter Opaskar is an arranger and a music teacher who gets around the Internet under the name Tuba Peter - and in addition to playing and teaching tubas, euphoniums and baritone horns he also arranges music specifically for low brass instruments.

Euphoniums and tubas are kind of like the double bases and cellos of the brass world.  But, while cellos frequently get to play centre stage, low brass tends to get stuck with the supporting roles.  The really interesting music is usually given to trumpets, cornets and trombones (which are actually in the same range as baritone horns and euphoniums, but for some reason get to come out and play more often).

Tuba Peter arranges music for solos, duets, trios and quartets consisting almost entirely of lower brass.  Imagine a brass quartet consisting of two tubas and two euphoniums.  If you are wondering what that sounds like, the answer is "awesome".

So, he arranges the music for low brass, and then plays all of the parts of an ensemble himself, which admittedly treads a fine line between "that takes a lot of talent" and "don't you have any friends?"

But, yeah, I like what he does and I like the fact that he does it.

Sousaphone by Tyler CC BY SA

I'm still thinking deep thoughts about euphoniums (I've been doing it for years, and will probably do it for years to come).  But I've also been thinking of late about a sousaphone.

This isn't exactly new, either.  I've often looked at sousaphones and though "man, I'd love to play with one of those..."  I just love the look of them.  They are basically tubas, though.  And oddly, I've never really been interested in a tuba.

Show me a tuba, and I'm all like "okay, so that's a tuba."  Wrap it around your body so that it's part instrument and part wearable art, and suddenly I'm all "Ooooh!  Can I have one?"