Re: Preferred position of tuba in quintet


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Posted by Jim Andrada on May 12, 2003 at 19:06:08:

In Reply to: Preferred position of tuba in quintet posted by Jim Andrada on May 12, 2003 at 16:11:56:

What motivated the question was a couple of comments from Dr Young on the "recording bell opinion" thread.

In it, he noted that the higher harmonics of the tuba escape in the direction in which the bell faces,while the lower harmonics tend to radiate at right angles (ie more or less "parallel" to the face of the bell.

So the orientation of the horn could have a big effect on the character of the sound. And I'm sure the same can be said for the other instruments as well.

So I was wondering about the "balance" among the instruments in the quintet and whether any particular seating pattern would produce a better blend.

It seems that the format ascribed to the Empire brass would perhaps have the instruments on a more equal footing "harmonic-wise" - except I think most people are used to hearing the French horn with it's bell facing away from them.


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