Good heavens! Don't tell tuba players their 4th valve is a parlor trick.
That could lead to fisticuffs! Actually there have to be more than a few
pieces that would be nice on the single Bb that go below low Bb. How's about
the Haydn 2nd concerto? I have a recording of Alfred Brain playing it and it's
obvious that somebody else is playing the low As (bworff tutututututu Bworff
etc.) it's not entirely seamless. Alfred only had 4 valves. Wendell Hoss had
5. Don't despair though, you can plug the 1st slide from an F horn into the
thumb position and use it to get a nice low A.
It's all pipes. I've built a few 6 valve Bb horns, well OK, by that
point I might just as soon have the double but some people like a challenge.
Jeez you can get bored playing a double horn every day.
- Steve Mumford
Larry wrote:
If you are interested in a single Bb horn, I suggest
finding one that you can play in tune on and and
produce the tone you want from low C to high C (3
octaves) without an F extension. The F extension is a
Rube Goldberg contraption (of very limited use), and
if you think you need it, you would be better off
staying on a double. The larger the volume of mpc you
can use, the darker the tone will be.
Using the stopping valve (4th valve), you can play
down to Bb below low C. How often do you need to play
below low Bb (2nd line bass clef) in concert?-- when
you do, take your double.
Regards,
Larry
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