TubaTinker wrote:tubeast wrote:I´m just guessing, but I can´t help but notice the piston trumpets´ triggering system:....... The rest would simply be a transition of fingering patterns throughout the brasses. Sounds logical ?
Sounds logical but quite demeaning that the fingering patterns for the far more noble tuba was influenced by the much lesser trumpet!
It's a chicken and egg thing. I have not studied this and don't know your answer, but considering the natural progression, it may be that the trumpet did indeed follow the tuba.
Remember that the invention of the valve is what made the tuba possible. Before that time, brass instruments (trombone excepted for obvious reasons) could only provide a reasonably selection of notes when played high in their harmonic series. When the valve was invented, this restriction was relaxed and that is what made a tuba possible. Before that time, note selection between partials was accommodated using tone holes, and these were impractical on a large tuba. Thus, we had instruments such as the ophicleide and serpent that used tone holes for all note selection outside the harmonic series, but that were relatively narrow.
The ophicleide was the standard predecessor of the tuba, and was held similarly to a bassoon. The first tuba by Wieprecht was also held similarly to a bassoon, with valves operated by both hands. I wonder (but do not know) if the Wieprecht and Moritz valves did the same things under the same fingers as did an ophicleide of the day.
It may also be, as has been suggested, that the horn played the pivotal role. But I don't think it was the trumpet. I suspect trumpets were played using crooks and few valves well into the middle 19th century, after tubas had been introduced.
Rick "also curious about the connections" Denney
