Re: Courtois Tuba Range


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Posted by Frederick J. Young on June 02, 2001 at 16:16:01:

In Reply to: Courtois Tuba Range posted by Matthew Ledger on May 29, 2001 at 09:10:11:

Whilst in Paris in 1973 I played a French tuba that had an ascending third valve. Such tubas are built one tone higher than their nominal pitch. In other word an Eb would be built in the key of F and only when the third valve was not depressed would it add enough tubing to make the instrument yield the open tones of the Eb tuba. When the third valve is depressed the tubing would be removed raising the pitch one whole tone. Lets say you are going down the Eb major scale on an Eb tuba. Would play open (4th partial), 2 which would be a semitone lowering of the Eb (4th partial) and then 3 to get C. However, that C would not be a lowering of the 4th partial but would be the open 3rd partial on the F tuba obtained by depressing the 3rd valve. The reader can carry this line of reasoning through the expected range of the Eb tuba and see some inherent advantages and also notice that there are gaps in the range of the instrument where no fingering exists!
It is not so obvious but calculation tells us that the intonation problems of ascending and the more common descending tuba are exactly opposite. Thus making the use of both kinds of instruments in the same ensemble very risky as far as intonation goes. To complete the range on the descending instruments more valves must be added.


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