It's been my impression that the more years you go back, the higher the switch point was thought to be. I've wondered if, when the double horn first came into use, if it wasn't thought of something like the descant horn is today. Primarily a horn in F but with the Bb horn available for particularly touchy notes. If you play on some of the early Kruspe and Alexander doubles, you find that the thumb lever is not really ergonomically designed for facile use and a lot of people still find the Schmidt design a little difficult to operate. Maybe it didn't have to be too easy? I'm not sure how early, but Schmidts (Kings too) came with an alternate piston that would make the horn stand in Bb so it's clear that at least some people preferred playing primarily the Bb side back in the day. Of course with the descant horn, there are now quite a few players who use the high F side primarily, even in the mid range, and use the Bb side only for certain low notes. Times have changed by at least one octave! - Steve Mumford
_______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org