Tuba Stand- revolutionary or a mixed blessing?

Let's face it. The tuba is a design disaster. Ergonomically speaking, it's completely and dangerously impractical. I mean, if you made an instrument out of metal which weighed 15kg, where would you plan for it to sit? On the floor, right? Not on your bloody lap, to be cradled and balanced at all times!

Most tuba players I know have lower backs which are utterly and irrevocably {*^%ed. I myself have a slipped disc (or, as it's casually referred to over here, a herniated disc situated between vertebrae 3 and 4). Actually, I'm not absolutely sure if the tuba was entirely to blame for it. It could have been too many long haul flights in 2009, a stressful run of gigs in the UK, or the fact that I'm 189cm (6'2") tall and everything in Japan, from chairs to kitchen surfaces to sinks, is 40cm too low for me. Anyway, one thing is for sure, carrying and playing the beast full time doesn't help.

Also, as I play the tuba in many contexts, not just sat down in an orchestra, many bands would prefer me to stand. And in a lot of energetic musical contexts, so would I, rather than being sat at the back of the stage like a grumpy old man. But frankly, it's been doing me in of late.

So I found this K+M tuba stand. It's designed to be used in a standing position. And it has made an amazing difference. Now when I play, the instrument is at the perfect height and needs next to no support from my arms. Since I'm now standing up straight, I can breathe much more effectively. And I realised that when I'm in a sitting position, my right hand is taking some of the strain of supporting the instrument. I suddenly noticed while using the stand that I can play technical stuff much more easily.

It has made a huge difference. So what's the downside? It's bloody heavy! So although onstage I'm now much more comfortable, dragging the tuba AND stand home after the gig is that much more hard work. Cue comment from comic genius in the street: "bet you wished you played the piccolo mate! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Never gets old, that one......

Here's a video of me using the stand the other day in Nagoya.