Re: Eb in orchestral setting


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Posted by David Carter on April 25, 2003 at 17:11:25:

In Reply to: Eb in orchestral setting posted by Rob on April 25, 2003 at 13:34:11:

Yes you can and there are a few exponents of the E flat in the orchestra. Wes Jacobs has long used one in the Detriot Symphony. Somethings might work better on a small F, such as Midsummers Night Dream, or high Berlioz parts. Still a fine player could play these parts effectivly on a small E flat, like the Yamaha 321.
A good place for a large E flat in the orchestra is for parts where a large tuba sound is wanted but the tessitura is high. For example I've been in orchestras where the tuba player has brought in the F tuba for the Meistersingers Overture. Many fine players play this on a CC, but this player decided to do it on the F. I felt that the breadth of tone would have been better on a Large E flat, such as the 19 inch bell Bessons or the large Yamaha. These large E flats are a good compromise between a high pitched tuba and producing a large sound. They work well in brass quintet, and I hear that the British player use them in the orchestra all the time. The practice in the USA is to have a large CC, an F, and if you can really afford it then a small CC, although if you can handle E flat fingerings, an E flat would have some advantages over the small CC.


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