h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Playing the Tuba in Grade School - A529300
Author: Fortune Cookie - U170881

Bossel's Scouting Enterprises (BSE) just found another jewel down there

Hey, cool entry! Big brass instruments are the best! (I'm a trumpet player, not a tubist, but hey, I was barely 50 pounds when I started playing it at the age of 10 so the instrument was big enough! Anyways, I have just a few suggestions for you:

I noticed a few first person references, and while they sound good in the piece, only third person entries are usually accepted into the guide, so I'd recommend a bit of rewording. (Don't take the ideas in those sentences out completely though... they add humour.)

Also, one sentence needed a bit of tweaking:
"Contrary to popular belief, tubas are not just for "fat guys with pimples," as in Mr. Holland's Opus, and nor are they necessarily dull musicians who have been demoted from other instruments, although some band directors sometimes do this."
should read:
"Contrary to popular belief, tubas are not just for "fat guys with pimples," as in Mr. Holland's Opus, nor are they necessarily for dull musicians who have been demoted from other instruments, although some band directors sometimes do this."

Both minor changes... this was a pleasure to read

Cheers!

While there are a couple of first person references, only Fortune Cookie could make these changes to the piece - and he seems to be in absentia. So I'm going to recommend it, and hope that the PTB wave it through - it's a fun read, especially for anybody who's been in a concert or marching band (or both!)

And I have some sympathy for his position, as well. I played a bass clarinet in the symphonic band (as well as a clarinet in the concert band and sax in the jazz band!) and really enjoyed the rich, baroque sound of the instrument. There's no shame in it, as long as you do it well.

Interesting piece.

Not being a musician, I was a bit confused by the following sentence:

"student must usually choose between baritone and tuba"

A baritone what? Seems there might be something missing after baritone.

Stuart

A baritone is a brass instrument, a bit like a euphonium. It's just called a baritone, so it's not anything like a baritone saxophone or a baritone singer...

Well, there you go. You live and learn. I thought baritone was just a description of pitch. I suppose it is similar to the double bass in relation to string instrumets.

Stuart

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Fortune Cookie here, after an extended absence due to not being able to log on. Thanks so much to all of you for taking such care of my little entry! I appreciate it.

--And just for the record, I'm very much a 'she,' and not a 'he.'

Welcome back then