TromboneChat

Anyone here played any arrangements of any of the "big name" tenor solos for bass that aren't just literally taking the whole piece down an octave? I found a couple of arrangements of Morceau Symphonique for bass and was intrigued. Also found the David Concertino.

EOlson9 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:00 pm Anyone here played any arrangements of any of the "big name" tenor solos for bass that aren't just literally taking the whole piece down an octave? I found a couple of arrangements of Morceau Symphonique for bass and was intrigued. Also found the David Concertino.

I'm playing the Weber Romance which I think works very nicely.

JCBone wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:23 pm

EOlson9 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:00 pm Anyone here played any arrangements of any of the "big name" tenor solos for bass that aren't just literally taking the whole piece down an octave? I found a couple of arrangements of Morceau Symphonique for bass and was intrigued. Also found the David Concertino.

I'm playing the Weber Romance which I think works very nicely.

Nice! I just ordered Morceau so we'll see how that goes. I played the living crap out of that in solo/ensemble in high school, so we'll see how this bass arrangement messes with my head lol.

There's a Bass Trombone version of the Defaye - Two Dances. Dee Stewart has a nice recording of it.

Jim Scott

Actually, taking a tenor solo down a fourth is even more appropriate. Tenor down an octave is more geared to BBb tuba. You need solos geared to an instrument in F.

Three of the Mozart Horn concertos are in Eb and if you play them as written they go into the bass tessitura nicely. I play them up an octave to put them in the same tessitura as would be played on a Horn.

Technically, the Sasche Concertino already is one, but it's mostly considered a bass trombone piece. The original is in Bb, and the bass version is in F.

It's not a tenor trombone piece, but the Hindemith Alto Horn Sonata is a really nice 'substitute' Hindemith piece for bass trombone- it's like a more lyrical, less aggressive cousin of the trombone sonata. It's in Eb treble clef, so just read it as if it's in bass clef and add three flats to the key signature, and it sounds down an octave from the original horn register. Reading all of the accidentals gets a bit hairy, but you get used to it.

Some players also play the Hindemith - Alto Horn Sonata on Alto Trombone (in the written octave). Good piece, but the poem to recite during the performance is a little off-putting. Maybe it's just the English translation that makes it feel awkward.

Jim Scott

BGuttman wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:59 pm Actually, taking a tenor solo down a fourth is even more appropriate. Tenor down an octave is more geared to BBb tuba. You need solos geared to an instrument in F.

Three of the Mozart Horn concertos are in Eb and if you play them as written they go into the bass tessitura nicely. I play them up an octave to put them in the same tessitura as would be played on a Horn.

Bruce, the arrangement I found of Morceau is down a 4th so it's exactly what you're talking about.

CalgaryTbone wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:49 am Some players also play the Hindemith - Alto Horn Sonata on Alto Trombone (in the written octave). Good piece, but the poem to recite during the performance is a little off-putting. Maybe it's just the English translation that makes it feel awkward.

Do you know if the Hindemith French Horn & Piano sonata could work on alto? Maybe transposed a few steps if necessary? I've always though that was a cool piece.

I've done the Hindemith tuba sonata on bass and I think it basically works. Piano part is really hard (in a different way than the trombone sonata).

A while ago I was working on a bass trombone transcription of Benny Sluchin's version of Gra, down a fifth I think? But I never finished it. Maybe someday.

I've never heard anyone play the Horn Sonata on alto, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done, or couldn't be done for the first time by an enterprising player. French horn works often have a wide range, which could make it a problem on the alto because of low range. Most french horn solos that I've heard performed on trombone were on tenor (w/valve) which fit the range demands.

Jim Scott

I think an alto with Bb attachment might have a better chance. The only note missing is E below the bass staff (whatever that translates to in the Horn part).

Does anyone know of a recording of the hindemith sonata for alto being played on bass trombone?

I’m playing this with a band in a couple weeks. https://musescore.com/user/19075006/scores/10283044

I have a set of criteria I use in determining how to re-pitch a tune from tenor to bass.

1) It must sound convincing or "right" in the new key
2) I won't take a tune to - say, the key of A - just because that puts it down a 4th
3) The tune has to lay nicely on the horn
4) I need to either avoid keys that make important low B's (tough for me on my single-trigger bass) OR I need to find and write in alternate notes to the low B's that make melodic sense.

I've posted my "adaption" of Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei. Keith Brown made a transcriptiion for tenor trombone, but I made it a touch more approachable for bass trombone. Also, there's a Russian arrangement of von Weber's (attributed to him, but probably not actually by him) of the piece for bassoon, cello or trombone. Using some of the alternate suggestions in that part, it's actually much more approachable for bass trombone that current versions for tenor trombone.

https://5d832781b3df5.site123.me/free-trombone-music