Posted by Tim Cary on October 30, 2000 at 10:29:55:
In Reply to: A theoretical question posted by Mario on October 30, 2000 at 09:05:50:
The reason that you can use the alternate fingerings is because these notes fall into the overtone series of the 1-3 combination. For example of a BB-Flat tuba, F can be played 1-3, and Bb (second line Bb) can be played 2-3. An even better example: In Semper Fidelis (Sousa) the cornets need to emulate bugles in the first part of the Trio section. This part (a unison in the Cornets) should be played 1-3 for all notes. Bands who have cornet/trumpet sections that are not "overtune pitch impaired" will perform the march in this manner. The overtone fingerings can come in handy when the pitches from the natural fingerings are inadequate. For example, on my Kalison CC, the E-flat in the staff has a natural fingering of 2, but the pitch is too far off to be usable, so I use 2-3 on the E-Flat.