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RE: Contra Alto

Author: Stephen Froehlich
Date: 2001-05-18 14:25

Ken, you're very lucky to be a natural contra player. I've been of the opinion for a while that contra players are born, not so much taught. I had horrendous squaking (contra's dont' squeak, they squak) problems every time I played the contra. However, what I've learned recently about working reeds might help that quite a bit. On the other hand, I want to buy an alto long before I buy a contra.
<p>My agreement with my college band director was that I'd play contra parts only as long as they were truly contra parts and not just doubling the tuba. During my two years of college band, there were perhaps three our four pieces that fit this billing. The most interesting by a long shot was the divided BBb contra part on a Gunther Schuller 12 tone piece. This was made all the more interesting by the fact that the grumpy old man himself was conducting from a wheelchair.

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