Musicman195 Gaming because the shorter you are, the less you typically weigh, and then the tuba is a greater fraction of your weight, making it harder to balance. I'm a 5'3" contract player and it's about 1/3 of my weight.
I am so happy I'm marching contra as a freshman to get a early head start for the corps. "I marched sousaphone last year" but the only thing that sucks is that I have to hold it a mouthpiece level (meaning right in front of my eye), it's also straight and a fist away from my chest. Not only that, IT'S A JUPITER QUANTUAM :P
Frozengames i know, they're fucking garbage Ok, they sound as good as any other sousa, but the piping configuration is retarded And then my director makes me march a four valve Percussionist band directors
who remembers that one episode of the BD tour, documentary series thingy.... The banana wonders into the Contra and lives their for a week while on tour.
My euphonium section leader from the Ashley Ridge High School band in South Carolina does the Contra lined at the Crusaders and he is only a junior right now
As someone who's marched Contra and currently marching Baritone, your brain instinctively slows down the instrument immediately before hitting the shoulder, and when you do hit yourself to hard your shoulders already numb from carrying it.
LOL, I love this! BAC CBS!!! So true about valve oil - oh God did those Dynasty 4 valve G contras eat a ton of it, I think mine went through a bottle a week. For the second valve. Nice Waldo tattoo on the contra player at 1:07 - I'm guessing he marched Spirit as well?
Is that the beautiful Jupiter Quantum MK2 Marching Tuba with the ergonomic first valve tuning slide trigger allows for quick tuning while the extended range main tuning slide offers greater tuning range and a uniform bell thickness that they thinned out to make the horn 5 lbs heavier!?
He said MARCHING brass. Anyone who would try to march Big Carl would literally explode like the eardrums of anyone who is in front of a trumpet screamer. Then again, Purdue's AAMB marches a huge bass drum, so I guess you could just wheel it. The one cocky flute player around the corner: dude it isn't even that heavy. WATCH THIS JIMMY! (*freaking explodes*)
Also Jupiter sousaphones are ok at best. Never tried their contras though. Their University model Sousa is a great idea done wrong. Having 4 valves makes it easier for students to use that 4th valve when concert season rolls around. Can't tell you how many times I had to release a seized 4th valve when I tried a different horn at school. However those Sousaphones are torture to say the least in terms of weight. A Conn 20K weighs less and sounds huge by comparison.
What is your opinion on the tempest 4/4 size Bb contra. It's around $2,900 compared to a like $5,000 one from Yamaha. I don't want to pay 5,000 to play the thing for about 3 years
Held a contra once, looks cool but doesn't sound anywhere near as full as a Conn 20K. Different sound concept I suppose. People like to brag how they march these things, try marching a 6/4 front action piston BBb tuba with no strap, that is hell and I'll never do it again.
That's nuts. You should have had a strap. Never will tire of these corps geeks talking about how a shoulder horn with a 21 inch bell and a .689 bore sounds better than a Conn 20K . Not physically possible. Not enough metal on board or air being moved for that. If held properly, they do look pretty sharp but they sound thin and brittle. Sousaphones blend better with woodwinds. Always have, always will.
As far as I know, sousaphones still aren't allowed in DCI. When they used only G bugles, there was nothing in the sousaphone configuration. It was always the contra. They kept that when they switched to Bb. They have started to allow other instruments in, so we MIGHT one day see a sousaphone. I doubt it though.
Does anything besides going horns up and down actually require much arm strength? Not trying to bash anyone who plays it i'm sure it's hard as hell to play, but is it all shoulder?
Contra player in a drum corps here. By far the two things that require the most strength for me are 1) getting the tuba up off the ground to set, and 2) the absolute worst part of playing tuba: when you have to stand at set for a few minutes. Absolute hell, requires a lot of strength.
Question (from a sousaphone player) if you want to do drum core and hope to play contra will I need to own one or will it be provided as am instrument to use only during the drum core season
I'm a sousaphonist myself. Email the corps you are auditioning for and ask if they have contras for the auditon camp. 9/10 times they wil, and they give it to you for the weekend. In the meantime, PRACTICE THE PACKET!!! It doesn't' matter what tuba you use to practice. If you don't practice, YA DON'T GET IN. (sidenote. Don't bring your sousa. They should have contras. That's why you email! To make sure. They will work something out if they don't have one) If you get a contract, I'm pretty sure they give you your horn, but im not 100% sure. When you go to spring training, you will know what horn you have for the summer. Once the season ends, all equipment is returned, including instruments. Hope this helps.
Anyone can. There's like 3 international corps. One in Japan, one in the UK, and one in Canada. Some guy traveled all the way from INDONESIA just to march with the Blue Devils B. Anyone can auditon. You just have to be willing to sacrifice time, money, get really fit, and learn to play a drum corps instrument to an intermediate/ professional level. Remember, they look for people who can make changes to do something better. If they ask you to do something, do it. Change something? Change it! Do it again? FREAKING DO IT AGAIN 1000x BETTER. (not that serious, but show improvement) anyone can auditon, but few can make it. Go out there and show the world your talent. Hope this helps
Could be worse. With as much as they're sweating, their nipples would bleed all the time from chafing if they wore shirts (and from what I've seen/heard, that is a really painful thing to endure).
I was taking my mouthpiece to go wash it today and my friend asks me "Why are you carrying around a doorknob?" as I'm walking through the halls.
AHAHAHAHAHAA NORMAL PEOPLE PROBLEMS. 😂😂😂😂
DUDE SAME THIS HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS WASHING IT IN JAZZ BAND
those are some big trumpets
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Kira Kildal that is the thing that made me like it instantly, and when it takes away your soul
Yes
My section leader had a giant moth fly into his bell where it lived for two weeks before finally flying out
Well then.
LMAFOOO
I had a wasp fly into my bell. It came out the tuning slide pipe when I went to empty all the spit. It was painful
Being a 5'2 contra girl was hell through all 4 years... God, I miss it. :(
What brand did you march as a contra player?
Why does tallness matter?
Musicman195 Gaming because the shorter you are, the less you typically weigh, and then the tuba is a greater fraction of your weight, making it harder to balance. I'm a 5'3" contract player and it's about 1/3 of my weight.
5'2" Contra girl....... =dream woman
In my band, im the smallest guy tuba at 5”6
I was at Band Camp and people were to watch our performance and this 5 year old comes up to a sousaphone and said, "That is a nice TROMBONE"
Weird that I play both...
Put the kid in the sousa
at pep band students threw hot dogs into our contras... we couldent get them out
time to beat that ass
I Play tuba lol
Somebody in our band poured acorns into a Sousaphone once.
Dog885 we try to throw acorns in each others horns at practice lol
Shit I forgot to cover my bell last night
Such a majestic mating call
Whoever disliked this clearly doesn’t understand the humor it took to put this together. I love it!
I think the baritones need a Bari-mentary
I agree
KevoTheReaper ask and ye shall receive...
+KevoTheReaper damn baby tubas trying to do us :)
I am so happy I'm marching contra as a freshman to get a early head start for the corps. "I marched sousaphone last year" but the only thing that sucks is that I have to hold it a mouthpiece level (meaning right in front of my eye), it's also straight and a fist away from my chest. Not only that, IT'S A JUPITER QUANTUAM :P
I saw you in the 2 year old DCI audition video lol.
0:54 that's my horn!
Jupiter Quantums=death
agreed
jupiter sousas m8
can't get the same quality of sound from a sousaphone tho
Frozengames i know, they're fucking garbage
Ok, they sound as good as any other sousa, but the piping configuration is retarded
And then my director makes me march a four valve
Percussionist band directors
our corps matches jupiter quantums(with detachable bells) and holding them at carry does indeed = 💀
who remembers that one episode of the BD tour, documentary series thingy....
The banana wonders into the Contra and lives their for a week while on tour.
Gotta love the crocodile hunter feel to this. This definitely put a smile on my face
In my opinion, this is one of the best videos David made
I brought my old tuba home for practicing and a framed copy of minecraft for the PS4 fell into the bell, it's still there after nearly 2 years!
By the way do you think the next one you could do be about the marching baritone and Euphonium? =)
Please
Please do Euphoniums next
Your vids Crack me up. Lol. I love you! Thanks for posting. I plan on marching at phantom regiment in 2017
Kaitlyn Hicks did you?
I LOVE CONTRAS SO MUCH
Please do more of these. Please.
Joining marching band in my freshman year. I remember carrying this and man is it heavy. But i can maintain. Im 5'7
Contra players get all the respect i can give
Best videos on marching band, these are goood
It eats trumpets alive.
Fantastic. A++
Please make more!!! Euphonium should be next!!!
Priceless
My euphonium section leader from the Ashley Ridge High School band in South Carolina does the Contra lined at the Crusaders and he is only a junior right now
Those are some big trumpets
The horns up with this looks painful. Much respect contra players
As someone who's marched Contra and currently marching Baritone, your brain instinctively slows down the instrument immediately before hitting the shoulder, and when you do hit yourself to hard your shoulders already numb from carrying it.
Oh yassss this is beautiful
BRUH "Those are some big trumpets" OML
LOL, I love this! BAC CBS!!! So true about valve oil - oh God did those Dynasty 4 valve G contras eat a ton of it, I think mine went through a bottle a week. For the second valve.
Nice Waldo tattoo on the contra player at 1:07 - I'm guessing he marched Spirit as well?
In 2022 I found out they’re no longer contrabass bugles. They’re actually tubas.
These videos are amazing
Now the implications of this video suggest you must do one of these for each instrument. Yeah?
Is that the beautiful Jupiter Quantum MK2 Marching Tuba with the ergonomic first valve tuning slide trigger allows for quick tuning while the extended range main tuning slide offers greater tuning range and a uniform bell thickness that they thinned out to make the horn 5 lbs heavier!?
My uni band director called them over-the-shoulder-blast-o-phones.
My school finally bought contras
Jdfuncorps: Contra-tuba is the biggest tube of all time
Big Carl: *Am I a joke to you?*
He said MARCHING brass. Anyone who would try to march Big Carl would literally explode like the eardrums of anyone who is in front of a trumpet screamer. Then again, Purdue's AAMB marches a huge bass drum, so I guess you could just wheel it.
The one cocky flute player around the corner: dude it isn't even that heavy. WATCH THIS JIMMY! (*freaking explodes*)
Do all about the battery!
1:24 priceless
me watching this at 1 am nodding along, taking notes
At 1:10 what was that thing that fell off?
I'VE BEEN SPOTTED!!!
Please, do the pit next
I guess it would be a pit-umentary.
I play both contrabass trombone and sousaphone, so I approve of this.
I bet it must hurt a lot.
I wish my high school had them ╯﹏╰
Ah yes. My sweet, yet abusive contra. Sometimes it likes to eat bugs during practice.
Also Jupiter sousaphones are ok at best. Never tried their contras though. Their University model Sousa is a great idea done wrong. Having 4 valves makes it easier for students to use that 4th valve when concert season rolls around. Can't tell you how many times I had to release a seized 4th valve when I tried a different horn at school. However those Sousaphones are torture to say the least in terms of weight. A Conn 20K weighs less and sounds huge by comparison.
"Those are some big trumpets" XD
Tuba rules
Any Euphoniums?
Yas
I'm using a Yamaha YBB-201MWC convertible tuba and man those contras do seem more fit for marching. My wrist is hurting a lot from the weight :(
Hey David! I'm marching with the Cascades this summer and would love to meet you! Are you going on full tour with BC?
Yay
I love it.... And that explains why I have no soul...
Where my tubas at tho
DENIED
That's painful
This is my favorite band instrument, but I play piccolo
my director marched contra with the academy
Lol first! I absolutely love your videos! Keep em coming!
as a freshman contra player.. i love this
I'm a contra and that made me laugh so hard.
This is great 😂
I have no idea what you mean by mild temper, when it gets going and gets tired it’s a bitch to stop
is a 4th valve allowed yet?
+mesirpez 4 valve contra = death
+hank tank I'm guessing it adds even more weight?
yes
it would becom proble a 45 pound instrament which = death
yea im fine with 3
I wanna play the contra when I get into college lmao
What is your opinion on the tempest 4/4 size Bb contra. It's around $2,900 compared to a like $5,000 one from Yamaha. I don't want to pay 5,000 to play the thing for about 3 years
Or should I get a marching euph. I can play either one
Well shit, here comes 4-8 years of pain and suffering, the sausophone was bad enough
Do a split-umentary for bass drums.
Can't stop laughing!!!
I thought it was a marching tuba....
Those are tubas, NOT Contrabass Bugles. You can't call those contras because they are not.
Jeff K They're BBb contras. I know the old contras were in G but things have changed.
+Samuel Cai (no i havent marched in a drumb corp... yet) isn't it a Contra bass Tuba, which is a bugle?
+mesirpez drum corp
+mesirpez drum corp
Held a contra once, looks cool but doesn't sound anywhere near as full as a Conn 20K. Different sound concept I suppose. People like to brag how they march these things, try marching a 6/4 front action piston BBb tuba with no strap, that is hell and I'll never do it again.
That's nuts. You should have had a strap. Never will tire of these corps geeks talking about how a shoulder horn with a 21 inch bell and a .689 bore sounds better than a Conn 20K . Not physically possible. Not enough metal on board or air being moved for that. If held properly, they do look pretty sharp but they sound thin and brittle. Sousaphones blend better with woodwinds. Always have, always will.
The sad thing is, that most people don't know who Carmen sandiago is 😳
Why use a contra when the Susaphone exists?
As far as I know, sousaphones still aren't allowed in DCI. When they used only G bugles, there was nothing in the sousaphone configuration. It was always the contra. They kept that when they switched to Bb. They have started to allow other instruments in, so we MIGHT one day see a sousaphone. I doubt it though.
and then Ghostlight happened. A violin made a guest appearance too
Contras sound better, are better for visual stuff, and I find that they're easier to play. Wait, this was commented 4 years ago, why am I responding
I have a 2 valve contra 😭😭
My corps uses there ancestors😂😂😂 my horn is one of g horns that has three valves in my corps😂😂
All of this is true.
2 TRUE
Does anything besides going horns up and down actually require much arm strength? Not trying to bash anyone who plays it i'm sure it's hard as hell to play, but is it all shoulder?
Definitely also requires a lot of chest/back/core strength too!
I didn't even think about that! I play a marching euphonium and my shoulders and arms hurt 24/7. I can only imagine how much it would hurt for contra.
Contra player in a drum corps here. By far the two things that require the most strength for me are 1) getting the tuba up off the ground to set, and 2) the absolute worst part of playing tuba: when you have to stand at set for a few minutes. Absolute hell, requires a lot of strength.
How bout trombone?
"Just Don't use LOUD MOUTHPIECES CONTRAS!"
#Loudmouthpiece
Trombones???!?
1:10.
That shouldn't have flown off
Tuba forever
I laughed so hard that I snorted
Question (from a sousaphone player) if you want to do drum core and hope to play contra will I need to own one or will it be provided as am instrument to use only during the drum core season
I'm a sousaphonist myself. Email the corps you are auditioning for and ask if they have contras for the auditon camp. 9/10 times they wil, and they give it to you for the weekend. In the meantime, PRACTICE THE PACKET!!! It doesn't' matter what tuba you use to practice. If you don't practice, YA DON'T GET IN. (sidenote. Don't bring your sousa. They should have contras. That's why you email! To make sure. They will work something out if they don't have one) If you get a contract, I'm pretty sure they give you your horn, but im not 100% sure. When you go to spring training, you will know what horn you have for the summer. Once the season ends, all equipment is returned, including instruments. Hope this helps.
So cute
I wish I could audition for a drum corp. *sigh* xD
Anyone can. There's like 3 international corps. One in Japan, one in the UK, and one in Canada. Some guy traveled all the way from INDONESIA just to march with the Blue Devils B. Anyone can auditon. You just have to be willing to sacrifice time, money, get really fit, and learn to play a drum corps instrument to an intermediate/ professional level. Remember, they look for people who can make changes to do something better. If they ask you to do something, do it. Change something? Change it! Do it again? FREAKING DO IT AGAIN 1000x BETTER. (not that serious, but show improvement) anyone can auditon, but few can make it. Go out there and show the world your talent. Hope this helps
i dont even play contra, why am i watching this
Tuba…
Omg lol! 😂😂🤣🤣
These are tubas. Contras have two valves and are in G. They don't have any bugles in drum corps anymore.
Although they might not be "contras" but the name just stuck and we use it now XD
There were 3 valved G Contras for a time.
20j is dominant
Y are they all naked, thats disturbing
Could be worse. With as much as they're sweating, their nipples would bleed all the time from chafing if they wore shirts (and from what I've seen/heard, that is a really painful thing to endure).
Im a tuba and i would rather be a sousaphone instead of one of those but, o whale
Sousa is better. Change my mind.