The Concone Solfeggi Arrangement For Tuba: A Practical Look
I spent three weeks trying to figure out where to even find these exercises when I first got serious about improving my legato and breath control on the tuba. Giuseppe Concone was originally a voice teacher, so his solfeggi books are written for singers. But the arrangements for tuba are legitimate tools if you know how to use them. The complete set covers 50 lessons that gradually get harder. You start with simple exercises in C major and work your way through all the keys. Each lesson has a first section that stays in the same octave, then a second section that jumps around the range. That second part is where most people struggle.
Unlock The Secrets Of Concone Giuseppes Complete Solfeggi Tuba PDF A Comprehensive Guide
You can find the tuba arrangements as free PDFs on several music education sites and archive pages. I used to search for them individually, but the comprehensive guide version pulls everything together into one document. It includes the original Italian text with English translations of the breathing marks and phrasing notes, which actually matters more than you might think. Here is the practical approach I settled on after burning through beginner material too quickly. Start with Lesson 1 but slow it down significantly. Most arrangers mark a recommended metronome setting of quarter note equals 72 for the easier lessons, but at that speed the phrasing feels robotic on tuba. I found quarter note equals 54 gives you enough room to actually listen to the tone while moving. The first real problem most tuba players hit with these exercises is the breath marks. In the vocal versions, the rests are natural breathing points for a human lung capacity that dwarfs what a brass player has. When you try to apply the markings directly, you either run out of air or take awkward gasps that destroy the musical line. My workaround was to mark over the existing breath points with a pencil, replacing them with measures where I could actually take a full breath without breaking the phrase. For the longer passages in Lessons 12 through 20, this means adding breath marks that Concone never intended, and that is fine. You are not singing. The musical result matters more than historical accuracy.
One thing the PDF guides rarely explain properly is transposition. Some editions are written for tenor bass trombone clef, some are in B flat transposing, and some are concert pitch. I learned this the hard way when I picked up a "Complete Solfeggi" volume and started practicing notes that simply did not match what my instrument should be playing. Before you print or download anything, check the key signature and the clef marking. If it says tenor clef, that is for bass trombone players, not tuba. Look for alto clef or bass clef arrangements specifically marked for tuba or baritone. The progression through the 50 lessons takes most dedicated players about four to six months if they practice consistently. The real skill gain happens between Lessons 15 and 30. That is where the exercises start demanding clean articulation across register breaks, which for tuba means managing the transition between the fundamental and upper partials without the note cracking or fogging. The exercises force you to approach those transitions cleanly because the rhythm patterns do not give you time to adjust mid-note. A couple of things the materials do not emphasize enough. First, these exercises work best when you play them with a metronome from day one, even the simple ones. The vocal origin makes them feel like they should be free flowing, but the whole point for brass is rhythmic precision and even tone across the range. Second, the dynamic markings in most PDF editions are minimal or missing entirely. Add your own. Starting each exercise piano and ending mezzo forte builds control faster than just running through at one volume level.
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When you finish the main set around Lesson 50, you will likely be comfortable in the middle register but still uneven in the extremes. That is normal. The Concone book was designed for warm voices, not instruments that rely on a long tube and a huge mouthpiece. You need supplementary range work outside of these exercises to fill in the gaps at the top and bottom of the tuba range. The comprehensive PDF versions I have used typically run between 40 and 60 pages depending on formatting. File sizes range from about 2 to 4 megabytes. Some are just scanned images of old printed editions, which means the page orientation can be wrong and the note heads look fuzzy at certain resolution settings. I always print these double sided and trim the margins so the pages lay flat on the music stand. Anything else is just frustrating.
