Morton Chalfy's Blog: It's Tuba Time

My son is a professional tuba player. Why he chose this heaviest of luggable instruments is beyond me. Why he chose to carry it in a marching band for much of his career, wearing wool uniforms even in summer and stepping out on feet that hurt is much further beyond me. He doesn’t march much anymore and he’s traded the uniforms for tuxedos but he still plays the tuba and this time of year he’s playing all the time.

Parents of other tuba-playing musicians will all dread this time of Holiday Cheer because every venue that ever has music wants it now. And they all want Christmas and holiday music. Almost all that genre needs a good tuba or two in the mix. All over America this is the time of year that tubas and musicians are piling into minivans and being carried across town to congregate in malls and churches to play the old songs.

My son has been driving himself for decades now and in December he’s constantly on the go. From symphony hall to shopping mall, from church to corporate private parties, he and his brass buddy and his musician buddies are kept hopping. The dearth of dates for tuba players during the year is replaced by the most crowded calendar imaginable during the holidays.

And the audiences are varied. There’s a video on YouTube of a tuba player next to a field full of quietly grazing cows. When he and his trumpet-playing friend strike up a tune the reaction of the cows is startling and amazing. They look up alertly and walk over to the fence next to the musicians. They listen in apparent appreciation and occasionally nod as though in approval. They do not cough, or squirm or walk away. A great audience.

Probably the cattle respond to some low note the tuba puts out that resonates with them, but I prefer to believe they are responding to the music. I think they see in musicians a kindred spirit, cooperative, harmonious and pleasant sounding, and the tuba as a sort of cow spirit calling to them.

Music can do that for many animals and most people. Music touches the emotions and can calm and soothe or excite and activate. Music is indeed the universal language. Even cows can understand it.