Contrabass Digest |
| To subscribe or unsubscribe, email gdgreen@contrabass.com |
From: "Terry Ford" <nole13@earthlink.net>
Subject: Additional Valves
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 18:15:34 -0500
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comWhere would I find information about tubas with 5 or six valves. All my "horns" have 4 valves or rotors, but I have seen other CC's, F's, Eb's, and occasionally a BBb with additional valves. I personally have never used them and only ponder such things when I see other people conjuring up Octosubcontra this and Superdoublepedal that. Does it extend the range or is it used solely for intonation? Just pondering. Thanks!
Terry Ford
Tuba/Bari/Basso Profoundo---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 19:42:12 -0700
From: Grant Green <gdgreen@contrabass.com>
Subject: Re: Additional Valves
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comAt 06:15 PM 6/19/99 -0500, you wrote:
> Where would I find information about tubas with 5 or six valves. All my
>"horns" have 4 valves or rotors, but I have seen other CC's , F's, Eb's,
>and occasionally a BBb with additional valves. I personally have never
>used them and only ponder such things when I see other people conjuring up
>Octosubcontra this and Superdoublepedal that. Does it extend the range or
>is it used solely for intonation? Just pondering. Thanks! Terry Ford
>Tuba/Bari/Basso ProfoundoThere is a decent summary at the Woodwind & Brasswind site - if you look under "Full Catalog" for the brass catalog, and go to the tuba page, you'll find a summary. My understanding is that 5th and 6th valves are typically tuned to intervals like a flat fifth, or a flat step, for use in combinations with the other valves. Mainly for intonation reasons, but probably available for extending the range down at the same time.
Grant
________________________________________________________
Grant D. Green gdgreen@contrabass.com
http://www.contrabass.com/
Filling in on sarrusophone
________________________________________________________
---------------------------------------------------------Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 10:48:45 +0800 (SGT)
From: seikoesd@pacific.net.sg (Joel Koh)
Subject: Re: [Contra digest]
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com>I just happened to notice, y'know. I was wondering, firstly, if anyone
>knows of anyone using a few Asian instruments in an orchestral work, sort
>a "Ravi Shankar with the Symphony" sort of idea. And as everyone was
>attempting practically every possible sort of sound covered, the fact
>there weren't one or two instruments from outside Europe (though the gong
>is pretty Turkish) seemed rather odd. Taking the observation a small bit
>further, I am inclined to ask if anyone on the list has more than cursory
>training in any Asian or African instruments. Thank you for your time.Was it 1997? Anyway, Hong Kong Music Academy ( not sure of this name now )
played a Sheng concerto in Singapore Victorial Concert Hall accompanied by
their wind symphonic band. It was very good and certainly made deep
impression on the audience. The Sheng is a multi-pipes reed instrument. The
piece was Tianshan (Mt. Tian ) Rasphody.I guess it is difficuit to put together such act. Naive instruments are
good in western music as special effect. Group that put together this is
still very isolated. I was playing in a community club wind symphonic band
and there was a chinese essemble practising in the next hall weekly. We
never mixed. It is just impractical.Occasionally, local bands do try and give the music a special touch but
basically that is on the individuals. We have flutists that substitute
parts with an oriental flute for a few bars of music in 'Miss Saigon'. By
the way, the soloist who play the Tianshan Rasphody, is a regular Boehm
system flutist.But........
Cheers to all western percussionists that already play Asian and African
instruments! Gongs, temple blocks, congos and bongos just to name a few.Joel
-Woodinds
including
EEb Clarinet---------------------------------------------------------
From: "Aaron Rabushka" <arabushk@cowtown.net>
Subject: Re: [Contra digest]
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 23:34:54 -0500
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comDoes not the Yellow River (Piano) Concerto feature a Chinese flute in an
otherwise European-style orchestra?Aaron J. Rabushka
arabushk@cowtown.net
http://www.cowtown.net/users/arabushk/---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 21:36:37 -0400
Subject: Re: Additional Valves
From: mgrogg@juno.com
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comThe 5th and sometimes 6th valves are added for intonation purposes. The
fifth valve also theoretically allows you to play a fully chromatic scale
all the way down to the pedal note. The only instruments this has any
real practical application is on are the Eb and F tubas, where it is
useful to have a low E natural or F# available. On a CC horn it is the
very low C# that becomes available, which is a nice theorectical
exercise, but there still is no written low C# in any standard orchestral
parts, the same goes for the low B natural that becomes available on the
BBb tuba.There are two schools of though on the proper length for a fifth valve,
up until the mid '70's the fifth valve was almost always a slightly flat
two whole step combination equal to a 2-3 valve combination plus some
extra tubing to make it play in tune. In the 70's a flat whole step
valve equal to the 1st valve plus extra tubing for intonation became
popular. Many makers offer new horns with the flat whole step as
standard, and an add on slide to bring it down to the two whole step
length.Sixth valves are almost exclusively found on F tubas, and are almost
always a flat half step equal to the 2cd valve plus a little extra for
intonation. I will say almost always in that I have never seen one other
than a half step, but there is always the possibility someone has one
built differently somewhere in the world.One book that covers the subject some, and a great source for other tuba questions is the
"Tuba Family" by Cliff Bevan. There is also some information on line on
the Tuba/Euphonium FAQ page that is associated to the T.U.B.A.
organization and the tuba/euphonium list.Michael Grogg
Player of tuba and other perverse instruments.
>Where would I find information about tubas with 5 or six valves. All
>my "horns" have 4 valves or rotors, but I have seen other CC's , F's,
>Eb's, and occasionally a BBb with additional valves. I personally have never
>used them and only ponder such things when I see other people
>conjuring up Octosubcontra this and Superdoublepedal that. Does it extend the
>range or is it used solely for intonation? Just pondering. Thanks!
>
>Terry Ford
>Tuba/Bari/Basso Profoundo___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
---------------------------------------------------------Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 10:42:14 -0400
From: Bob Ryan <bobryan@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Contra digest]
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comOn Fri june 18, Rbobo wrote
Does anyone know the formula for converting a musical note into hertz. I
know that A above middle C is 440 hertz, but i can't find the formula for it.
Thanks in advance.
Hi,
each note increases in frequency at the rate of the 12th root of two each
semitone, (1.0594631), so after 12 semitones you have gone up an octave and the
frequency is doubled.
so A= 440, Bflat = 466.164, B= 493.883, C = 523.251, Df = 554.365, D = 587.33, Ef=
622.254, E = 659.255, F = 698.456, Gf = 740, G = 794, Af = 830.61, A = 880 and so
on...You can do this in a spreadsheet, or as my brain wasn't working, you can do it the
hard way on Windows Calculator. Start Calculator, View - Scientific, type "2",
Click the "Inv" function box, Click x^y, type "12", click "=", the number
"1.059463094359" should appear in the display, you can store it to memory and then
multiply by 440 (A) to get the frequency for Bf, then again for B, etc....
Good Luck.
Bob
---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 20:55:23 +0100 (BST)
From: Dafydd y garreg wen <mavnw@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Formula for Hertz?
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comOn Fri, 18 Jun 1999 jamoore@mindspring.com wrote:
>Does anyone know the formula for converting a musical note into hertz. I
> >know that A above middle C is 440 hertz, but i can't find the formula for it.
> > Thanks in advance.
> >----------------------
> >end contrabass list
> >
> All the semitiones differ in our tuning system by a factor of (2)^(1/12).
> For example, the semitone above 440 Hz A is 440*(2)^(1/12) = 466.16 Hz (Bb
> or A#). Of course, the 440 Hz designation for A is arbitrary and differs in
> Europe. Hope this helps.Is that right? Speaking as a resident of Europe(ish), I'm fairly certain
that I normally play in ensembles to A=440, which is certainly standard
here in Britain. I always thought that it was the same on the continent,
except for odd things like pianos made in Berlin (tuned sharp for effect).
My reference books seem to think so too.Puzzled,
Dave Taylor
Seismic Bass Trom/Euph/random low brass
University of Warwick Maths undergraduate---------------------------------------------------------
From: RBobo123@aol.com
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 15:58:41 EDT
Subject: Re: Formula for Hertz?
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comIn a message dated 6/20/99 7:55:47 PM, mavnw@csv.warwick.ac.uk writes:
>Is that right? Speaking as a resident of Europe(ish), I'm fairly certain
>that I normally play in ensembles to A=440, which is certainly standard
>here in Britain. I always thought that it was the same on the continent,
>except for odd things like pianos made in Berlin (tuned sharp for effect).
>
>My reference books seem to think so too.
>
Well, i seem to remember finding a bassoon tuned to A=445 (I don't know
where it was made), and my tuner has a function where you can adjust from
A=440 to A=445 to A=435 so, it must change in some places (Don't know where)
Next Digest ->
Previous Digest <-
Index
Top