terms: "slot" / "articulation"

[Worth]

Threads like this and the knowledge within are why I'm here. Thanks to all.

[Donn]

Articulation I have never heard applied to a mouthpiece.

Put this search term in google - "sharp rim articulation site:chisham.com"

[swillafew]

I did the search. Right away you see "My articulation" vs. "The articulation of (mouthpiece)".

One is right, and one is not.

It is just an unfortunate way to apply a term.

[Donn]

If the complaint is about the semantics, sure. No one thinks a mouthpiece articulates notes. But when people talk about this, the point is not far from that - the mouthpiece does help or hinder one's attempt to produce that articulation.

[swillafew]

I spoke about this with my wife, the expert saxophonist. Her observation: reed players readily speak about the articulation of the mouthpiece. She also allowed that the mouthpiece was in the mouth and on the tongue. I think that's enough of a difference to make a distinction.

[Tom]

"slot/slotting" (as it pertains to the playing characteristics of a tuba)...
My best guess is that this refers to how easily pitches are stretched (intonation-wise) on a particular instrument without losing very much resonance and/or it refers to (perhaps: the same thing...) how easy it is to "target" pitches on a tuba

I'm no authority on any of this, but I will throw into the hopper that I once owned a tuba on which I found some pitches absurdly easy to "stretch," to the point that it was hard to, as you say, "target" pitches (if by that you mean something like predicting what apperture and wind speed will give the desired pitch.) I had picked up the term "wide slots" on here and figured this was what was meant.

I agree with this and I'll use Alexander tubas as my example. I am of the opinion that Alexander tubas have "wide slots" and by that I mean that the resonance will be there almost regardless of where the player places the pitch. Play it way sharp or way flat, and chances are an Alexander tuba isn't going to fight you...it's going to resonate away on your sharp of flat pitch just as if you'd played it straight down the middle as in-tune. Some players like this, while some interpret it as making a tuba "hard" to play. Others yet would chalk the whole experience up to "pitch problems." Then there is another group of players that struggle with pitch placement but tolerate those types of tubas for their often unique sound and resonance. I think it forces more active and intense listening to oneself and that the potential is there for it to force better pitch on the player.

That doesn't mean that anyone that can't/won't play or doesn't like an Alexander tuba has terrible pitch, it just means they prefer to not have to actively manage that aspect of their playing quite so intensely and would rather play an instrument that doesn't have to be managed like that. Or maybe they prefer a different sort of sound.

Continuing for a moment on my Alexander tuba tangent...I am of the opinion that most Alexanders are not actually as bad as they're made out to be - they are just so different from what most players are familiar that they don't understand what that kind of tuba "needs" - not entirely unlike what we read here all the time about a different blow being needed for F tubas, low range in particular.

All of that said, the pitch of some tubas does just plain suck. Wide slots or no, sometimes the lengths of bugle or valve circuits just isn't right. Maybe the tapers are off. Or the leadpipe is wrong. Buzz the pitch accurately, use any number of regular and alternate fingerings and it just doesn't work - those are tubas with pitch problems. But sometimes, maybe, it's just because that particular tuba's design is of the "wide slot" variety which is less forgiving of player pitch input and maybe not well suited to that player's approach. And, well, some tuba players just have a terrible sense of pitch

[windshieldbug]

...And, well, some tuba players just have a terrible sense of pitch

[williamp]

I find this thread interesting, because it again shows me that often when you think others are understanding what you're saying, there's a good chance they're coming away with a different interpretation than what you intended. I've always used (probably incorrectly) the term "slotted" to mean that a horn plays in tune intrinsically, with minimal slide pulling or distortion of your most comfortable embouchure. It's one of the things that I most consider when picking out a tuba. The B&S GR55, the Willson Eb 3400, and even the King 2341 all seemed to be in this category of what I considered to be "well-slotted" horns. I have played on numerous other horns that have had nice, resonant sounds, but when I play through scales, I find pitches throughout not centered without manipulation. Those were horns that I considered "less-slotted." Like I said, interesting post.

[timothy42b]

If I'm understanding the term correctly, it's the same definition...

"WELL-slotted" would mean "centers of most pitches are in tune"
"WIDE-slotted" would mean "pitches can be bent very far - probably either way - without much change in resonance"

The two could (??) apply to the same instrument.

Wide slotted could mean you can easily lip a note into tune without pulling slides. If it's well slotted, you wouldn't have to lip much, or pull slides.

It seems to me that wide slotted also must mean less responsive - you have to work harder.

Thinking out loud, a couple of ideas.

In tune to what? Are we assuming equal temperament? There are times when we are playing in chordal or melodic temperament, might need to adjust more for either of those depending on the horn design.

Any given fingering has a range of possible notes above it - frequencies at which the horn responds. This is not the same set of frequencies above any given note you are playing. Now, I don't really know, but it seems logical that notes which are more responsive (and narrower slotted) are that way because there is reinforcement from more than just the fundamental frequency for that note. Or, the individual spots may have wider slots. This could affect the way you color a note - playing habitually above or below pitch center excites different overtones, depending on what the horn reinforces.

[timothy42b]

In tune to what? Are we assuming equal temperament? There are times when we are playing in chordal or melodic temperament, might need to adjust more for either of those depending on the horn design.

I seriously doubt that you really want to enter into a discussion along these lines with me.

The TNFJ, though, is ready-and-waiting.

Yeah - what was I thinking??????????? Sorry!