Chasm Studies for Tuba

Chasm Studies
Exercises to the very lowest depths of the tuba range…and beyond
 

Foreword

Chasm — a deep, steep-sided opening in the earth’s surface; an abyss or gorge.

Years of practicing in the low and extreme pedal registers encouraged me to write a book to make what can be a tedious process more fun and rewarding. I’ve always been of the opinion that if you're not having fun, you won’t be able to make beautiful music nor reap the full benefits of your hard spent practice time.

Older players (and hopefully some younger ones too) will recognize most of the melodies I have chosen. Playing familiar melodies lends itself to achieving better intonation and beauty of sound as opposed to just playing random pedal tones. For each exercise, I first provide the melody in the standard register so it can be easily played, heard and learned. Directly below, I provide the melody an octave lower in the pedal register (way down into the chasm!). All these leger lines can look strange at first and may take you some time to get used to them. When playing the pedal versions, don’t “cheat” by looking at the top melody and simply playing it an octave lower. We make most of our money in the cellar, and this book is intended to provide multiple benefits to your playing.