Posted by Mary Ann on August 27, 2003 at 15:16:49:
In Reply to: Question for you scientific types. posted by Tom C. on August 26, 2003 at 17:52:54:
For the layman, the concept can be arrived at by looking at a mute. The mute sticks out the end of the tuba just far enough to keep it in tune, so that would be the effective "end" of the air column. If you try different mutes that stick out different lengths, you should be able to hear intonation differences due to the different lengths of the air column. That's why not all mutes work with all tubas.
Mary Ann