Mechanical Noise

[Uncle Buck]

I'm curious how many of you have ever discussed this issue seriously in a university or private lesson setting.

Several years ago when I was in graduate school, I was in the audience of a solo tuba recital sitting next to the university's flute professor. After one piece, he commented to me how the horn (an older B&S Symphonie f tuba) had a beautiful sound, but he found the valve noise distracting. He asked me if tuba players just lived with mechanical noise.

I told him of a concert I had attended a couple of years previously. The Utah Symphony was performing The Planets. I was about halfway back, and spent a bit of time watching the tuba player (who I knew to be breaking in a brand new instrument - the newest, hottest 6/4 that had just come out in the market at the time). The performance was phenomenal, but I remember that every time the tuba player pushed in the first valve slide, I could hear an audible "clink."

So, I told that story and answered, "I guess we accept more than we should."

So, TNFJ*, how much is acceptable? This flute professor was probably coming from the position that NO mechanical noise is ever acceptable. Should we have the same goal? Should we allocate our time to allow for time spent on equipment to reduce mechanical noise? (Obviously, we'll never come close to spending as much time on equipment as, say, double reed players.)

* This term is used completely without the permission of Bloke.

[timdicarlo]

As a tuba player who, until about two months ago, didn't own his own horn, mechanical noise was more or less an unchangeable fact of life. The school instruments I was accustomed to in high school were in pretty good shape-- don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here-- but the valves were extremely noisy. I was hardly about to spend what little money I had fixing a school horn, so I lived with it. However, excessive mechanical noise can really detract from the overall quality of a performance. If you have the means to lessen or, better yet, eliminate mechanical noise, you should do so.

[Neil Bliss]

Noisy valves drive me crazy if I'm the one playing, and are very distracting if I can hear them in the audience. I take every effort to make my valves and slides silent.

[Wyvern]

With the requirement for fast moving valves, a mechanically silent tuba is not practical, but at the same time excessive noise is not acceptable. A listener should not be distracted by the mechanical noise from the tuba - so would say if it can be heard from more that say 4 yards away during the music, that is not acceptable.

[Rick Denney]

Some thudding is unavoidable. Valves are heavy (with respect to flute keys especially) and thus require the application of power to get them moving and then to stop them.

But my piston tubas all have nylon valve guides, and bloke and I even spaced out the caps on the Holton a bit to allow thicker felts (he's going to send me something synthetic soon, I hope). My rotary tubas have well-fitted ball-joint linkages. The rotors in my Miraphone are a little loose, but that's the worst case among my tubas that get used. A certain amount of thudding is inevitable, but I cannot abide a sharp clank that indicates something that is rattlingly loose.

I was once sitting next to a college teacher at the recital of one of his students. The student's euphonium valves were clanky as hell, and the teacher told me, as he shook his head, that he'd already badgered the kid about getting it fixed. I don't know what happened, but it seems to shame to work that hard on the music and have a goofy mechanical fault (that is usually very easily corrected) to undermine the result.

Rick "who has never heard clackity valves from high-end soloists in recent performances" Denney

[tubatom91]

It makes me crazy to hear things like this. I tolerate a bit but after awhile I can't take it. I have started oiling Trombone player's thumb-trigger rotors (for them). Let me tell you, Hetman's Ball Joint Oil goes a long way on a Bach Stradivarious rotor, and bearing oil will silent them right down. I am only saying this because IF a trombone player is told to oil that valve they use Al Cass valve oil and dump it into the rotor...other trombone players dont even know that the back rotor plate comes off! I am in the business of fixing other people's instruments just because it bothers me that they tolerate the problems for so long! And as we all know, we shouldn't have to compensate for our instruments (I.E. don't play different if your valves don't go up and down)
enough with that...
The one thing that I cannot help doing on stage is releasing the pressure that my valves build up, that little "pop" noise. I am actually considering have my valves vented, that's not the only reason but it is an extra incentive to get it done. I am not pulling out my slides and then depressing the valves, but when my horn sits for awhile (an extended rest or whatever) pressure +/- gets trapped in the valve slides and as soon as I push down a valve I get a little pop, it might not bother the average tuba player but I am a bit obsessed with my equipment operating silently/consistently.
EDIT: for clarifacation.

[Dan Schultz]

I don't even like to remove a slide or rotate an instrument on stage, much less make unsolicited/unnecessary noises.

Hell.... with F horn players that's all part of the act, isn't it?

[Uncle Buck]

I think I agree with Rick's distinction.

Thudding = unavoidable.
Clanking = never acceptable.

Is that a correct summary?

[k001k47]

I hate mechanical noise...
but live with it anyway

[The Jackson]

When it comes to recordings, I actually like a little bit of that "thudding" as well as hearing the performer's breathing. It brings a sort of real-worldism to a professional player's recording. It lets me know that this person is taking breaths, just like I have to do and mashing the buttons down, just like I have to do. That helps me know that I, too, can have success like that.

In my own playing, I'm not a fan of the noise, but it doesn't really bug me. Especially not like Khan's pets. **shudder**

[tubatooter1940]

I don't even like to remove a slide or rotate an instrument on stage, much less make unsolicited/unnecessary noises.

Hell.... with F horn players that's all part of the act, isn't it?

I suppose, regarding euphonium players in particular, they can use any clanking to keep track of the beat or the measure.

With acoustic wind instruments, I equivocate all of this mess to electric guitar/keyboard/bass players who have hums/clicks/pops and microphone users (or their sound engineers) who create feedback.

Hey, hums, clicks and pops with a tad of feedback constitute my whole act.