Posted by Tom on March 11, 1999 at 17:14:06:
In Reply to: Re: 4 valves or 5 valves posted by Jay Bertolet on March 11, 1999 at 13:23:32:
In theory, there is a fundamental or pedal tone for each valve or valve combination. The longer the total tubing involved, the lower the fundamental. This would put the lowest note well below the pedal C that is normally considered the bottom note for a CC tuba. A fifth valve allows a longer total tubing length than you have with a 4 valve tuba. Therefore, a 5 valve horn should allow for a few notes lower than a 4 valve. Donald Knaub's "Modern Techniques for Tuba" has some nifty fingering charts that show this.
However, in practice your lips will probably stop vibrating well before you reach these super low notes. I've never been able to play anything below the C pedal. Nor can I tell you if there are people who actually can, but the physics says that it should be possible.