Turning the Tuba

Mac Connaghan-McPherson is a tuba player for the Charlevoix High School Band. This instrument is normally played with the right hand. Last weekend, Mac broke his right wrist making it impossible to play the tuba. It so happens that a local repairman, Paul Bianche, from Harbor Springs was visiting Charlevoix High School and took a look at the tuba situation. He studied the problem and ended up turning the tuba around in the stand, facing the bell backwards and turning the lead pipe around and resoldering it so that the mouthpiece could be reached from the opposite side. This allows Mac to be able to play the tuba with his left hand instead of the right. He found it easy to change the fingerings mirroring them as he plays. Thank you to Paul Bianche for this innovative approach to the playing problem and to Mac for having the drive make the necessary changes to be able to play the tuba left-handed! Great Job!