Im a Tuba player in high school and Im wondering what basson players think should be the loudest bass instrument in a concert band. If you have a bass clarinet, basson, bari sax, and a tuba, which do you think sholud be loudest? I DO NOT mean blasting away like for pep band, I just think that the tuba is the smoothest sounding bass instrument and so it should be loudest. I love every band instrument I think the woodwind instruments add "color" since they have a reed sound compared to a buzzing sound i guess. Now I know that there are sometimes when the woodwinds should be louder, but I mean just most of the time. Thanks

In my opinion, there really shouldn't be a "loudest" (except for solos, etc.) because the bass instruments should blend together. .

I know that a bassoon can get very loud in the low register, and that is sometimes the effect that the composer wants. Bari sax can also get loud, but the sound can become overpowering easily. Tuba can of course get loud, but it seems to bend better than bassoon or bari sax. Bass clarinet really doesn't seem to be able to get very loud. Maybe it's just the players that I'm around.

The bassoon is not meant to be played very loud, and if it is, the tone quality usually suffers. The lowest instruments (tuba or contrabassoon) should be loudest, but everyone else should blend into them.

"The lowest instruments (tuba or contrabassoon) should be loudest"

Why do you say that?

I love to hear the low instruments (string basses included) providing a good rich, solid bass for the rest of the group to sit on but they don't have to be the loudest - there should be a good blend & balance throughout the whole ensemble. It's not a competition.

I know a tuba can drown me out but a contra can do things a tuba can't & vice versa. I really enjoy trying to support the brass section in the chorale like moments of the last movement of Brahms 1st Symphony (Which has only contra & no tuba) for example. The challenge is to get the volume without losing a full, rich tone & becoming coarse.

Ian

If you're having a competition then i reckon the tuba would be louder. However, music is not a competition to see who can play loudest. Which ever instrument should be more pronounced is down to the piece of music you're playing and what it requires, so there is no *most* of the time.

you know i really don't know... i think that my bari is too loud (pretty much blasting) and my bassoon needs to be louder...

well in my opinion i guess it depends on how well you play. i say either the bassoon or the bari but since i love the ari like my my child i say that.

In term of potential volume, I think Bass trombone (well contrabass, but you dont see them often) is the winner (although it absolutely does not mean bass trombonists or any other musicians should try to play louder than the rest of the ensemble).

The reason is simple. I think brass instruments generally are more apt to play loud. Cylindrical bore brass instruments have more projection than conical bore instruments. The biggest cylindrical bore instrument is bass trombone (excluding of course rare instruments).

The bass trombone can play so loud without cracking its sound, and it projects so well...Played by a good musician, it can be really powerful. Last summer I heard a concert in the Notre-Dame cathedral in Montreal, with the NYOC (National Youth Orchestra of Canada) playing Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition...Their bass trombonist was just awesome and sometimes you could barely hear the tubist. Specially in the 8th movement (Catacombs)...Sheer power

yeah you can't talk about loudest anything without running into a couple of trombone players . The trombone is buy far the loudest instrument in the band. the horn is built to have the least amount of wind ressistance so it's potential power is unmatched. but who really give a crap about loudness. the tuba is the most inprotant istrument in a wind band. it is suposed to provide the foundation. not because it's loud but because of it's sonority and resonation. a wood win can't make that big of a sound because it's not that big.

even though it seems to get lost, it is still essential to the sound of the band. most people do not appreciate the sound of a bass claranet. it's not made to be a fetured instrument