Hi, Klaus. I believe that he was saying that without a compensating system the lowest notes combining all 4 valves will be sharp, similar to the fact that on a Bb/F trombone the 7 positions become only 6 on the F side. I doubt that he literally meant an "octave key," but having played a 3-valve compensating Eb tuba I understood exactly what he meant. And it had nothing to do with partials, just with adding tubing by adding valves.

John


At 8:30 PM -0700 5/10/10, Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre wrote:
Sad that you persist, because you reveal ignorance about the partial system of brass instruments. Your upper reference notes are played as third partials. Your lower reference notes are played as second partials.

There is a fifth between the 2nd and 3rd partials. The 4th valve is one third of the (theoretical) length of the open bugle and lowers the instrument the interval of a fourth. The sum of a fifth and a fourth happens to be an octave but that doesn't make the 4th valve an octave valve. The visual proof is, that an octave valve would have to be as long as the open bugle. It isn't so.

Klaus

--- On Tue, 5/11/10, Williams, Jim <jwilli...@franklincollege.edu> wrote:

 From: Williams, Jim <jwilli...@franklincollege.edu>
 Subject: Re: [Finale] Slightly OT: Tuba Transposition
 To: "finale@shsu.edu" <finale@shsu.edu>
 Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 5:02 AM
 To me it is an octave key in that low
 register.
 Look at the fingering:
 Eb 1 low eb 1-4
 d 1-2 low d 1-2-4
 Db 2-3 low db 2-3-4
 c 1-3 low c 1-3-4
 B 1-2-3 low b 1-2-3-4
 So from eb down, pressing 4 lowers the pitch an octave

 Sent from my iPhone, so please pardon all the typos.

 On May 10, 2010, at 10:40 PM, "Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre"
 <yorkmaster...@yahoo.com

  > wrote:

 > The Franco-Flemish band tradition writes for Eb and
BBb tubas and > for euphonium/bass trombone in transposed bass clef.
 >
 > On compensating low brasses the 4th valve is not an
octave key. It > is a fourth valve, as in the interval of a fourth. Like with a > compensating horn the 4th valve loop is rerouted through the valves, > and compensating loops are added to improve the
 pitch.
 >
 > The pitches of the two notes right above the open
pedal note are > sharp on compensating instruments unless one has a main tuning slide > trigger like I have had mounted on my YEP-641 comp euphonium or a > push rod like on my Marzan comp euph. Hirsbrunner and Miraphone have > issued models with triggers on the valve slides.
 >
 > For technical reasons it is very complicated to apply
triggers to > compensating tubas, so I don't have triggers on my
 compers in F, Eb,
 >  and BBb. The compensating F tubas are extremely
rare and were only > made in 1923, 1961 and a some point of time before
 2000. My sample i
 > s from 1923 and it was one of these Vaughan Williams
 wrote his conce
 > rt for. There also are a few 3 valve compensating
 tubas in CC, but I
 >  haven't come by one yet.
 >
 > Klaus
 >
> --- On Tue, 5/11/10, Williams, Jim <jwilli...@franklincollege.edu>
 > wrote:
 >
 >> From: Williams, Jim <jwilli...@franklincollege.edu>
 >> Subject: Re: [Finale] Slightly OT: Tuba
 Transposition
 >> To: "finale@shsu.edu"
 <finale@shsu.edu>
 >> Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 3:38 AM
 >> More tuba trivia:
 >> A four-valve non-compensating tuba is not fully
 chromatic
 >> in the low
 >> register.
 >> With an Eb tuba, 4 valves, no compensating, low a
 is 2-4,
 >> ab is 1-4, g
 >> is 2-3-4, gb is 1-3-4 (and sharp), f is 1-2-3-4
 and very
 >> sharp and low
 >> e natural doesn't exist. For a BBb tuba with 4
 valves, move
 >> everything
 >> down a fourth.
 >> With 4 valves and the automatic compensating
 system, tubas
 >> are fully
 >> chromatic down to the pedal note and the 4th valve
 is an
 >> octave key.
 >> So with the compensator, on an Eb tuba, low a
 natural is
 >> 2-4, ab
 > >> is1-4, g is 1-2-4, gb is 2-3-4, f is 1-3-4, and
 low e
 >> natural is
 >> 1-2-3-4 and still a bit sharp. Again, for BBb
 tubas with 4
 >> valves and
 >> compensation, move everything down a fourth.
 >> In British brass bands, all the tubas and
 euphoniums are
 >> four-valves
 >> with the compensating system.
 >> In your case, it depends upon the band.
 >> The compensating 4-valve tuba in BBb weighs as
 much as a
 >> Citroen.
 >> I could also say it sounds like one but I won't.
 >> Right now I am going to pick up my compensating
 four-valve
 >> euphonium
 >> and practice it instead of posting.
 >>
 >> Sent from my iPhone, so please pardon all the
 typos.
 >>
 >> On May 10, 2010, at 9:20 PM, "John Howell" <john.how...@vt.edu>
 >> wrote:
 >>
 >>> At 5:15 PM -0700 5/10/10, Ryan wrote:
 >>>> When a writing for tuba, the part should
 be
 >> written at sounding
 >>>> (concert)
 >>>> pitch, correct? If the performer is using
 an Eb
 >> tuba, they don't
 >>>> need a
 >>>> transposed part, do they?
 >>>> Here's the situation, a group in France
 wants some
 >> of my band music.
 >>>> However, they use Eb horns and Eb tubas.
 No
 >> problem to transpose
 >>>> the horn
 >>>> parts for them, but I thought that Eb
 Tubists read
 >> concert pitch
 >>>> parts and
 >>>> just learn different fingerings for the
 notes. Any
 >> low notes that
 >>>> are out of
 >>>> range (Ab and below) are automatically
 played an
 >> octave higher.
 >>>> Perhaps in France the current practice is
 >> different? Would the
 >>>> transposition
 >>>> be similar to that of the Bari Sax?
 >>>> It's a community group and I don't think
 the
 >> volunteer person (the
 >>>> "librarian," I think) I'm dealing with is
 >> particularly musically
 >>>> inclined.
 >>>> Also, I'm sure that some things are
 getting lost
 >> in translation.
 >>>> Anyone have any idea what they're looking
 for?
 >>>
 >>> There are questions you need to ask, or else
 produce
 >> alternate parts
 >>> for.
 >>>
 >>> Orchestral and band tubas in the U.S. all read
 from
 >> bass clef at
 >>> concert pitch, yes.  British brass band
 tubas,
 >> however, read from
 >>> transposed parts in TREBLE CLEF.  A
 French band
 >> could need either
 >>> kind of part; it isn't possible to guess in
 >> advance.  And yes, it
 >>> would similar to a bari sax transposed part.
 >>>
 >>> As to the low range, it depends entirely on
 whether
 >> the Eb tubas are
 >>> 3-valve or 4-valve.  And you can't guess
 that
 >> without asking, either.
 >>> With a 3-valve Eb tuba A natural is the lowest
 clear
 >> note, but notes
 >>> below that, down to the pedal Eb, can be
 forced by an
 >> experienced
>>> player--not fun and not a great sound. With a
 >> 4-valve Eb that range
 >>> is filled in and possible, but it's getting
 pretty low
 >> for an Eb bass
 >>> as opposed to a BBb contrabass.
 >>>
 >>> John
 >>>
 >>>
 >>> --
 >>> John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
 >>> Virginia Tech Department of Music
 >>> College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
 >>> Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
 >>> Vox (540) 231-8411  Fax (540) 231-5034
 >>> (mailto:john.how...@vt.edu)
 >>> http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
 >>>
 >>> "We never play anything the same way once."
 >> Shelly Manne's definition
 >>> of jazz musicians.
 >>>
 _______________________________________________
 >>> Finale mailing list
 >>> Finale@shsu.edu
 >>> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
 >>
 >> _______________________________________________
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 >>
 >
 >
 >
 >
 > _______________________________________________
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--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411  Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:john.how...@vt.edu)
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html

"We never play anything the same way once."  Shelly Manne's definition
of jazz musicians.
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