A tuning question.....

[Bob Mosso]

Mark,

Your observations seem spot on.

I find it necessary to make adjustments to the main slide several times during rehearsals and/or performances. It is temperature related. Once I notice "questionable intonation" I'll try to lip it in until the next opportunity to give the main slide a little push or pull.

[windshieldbug]

My main symphony horn was a Marzan CC which had the main tuning slide UP where it was easier to reach, and the valve slides all DOWN. After having gotten used to this style of playing, I wouldn't have even considered anything else.

First of all, there are notes in the overtone series which are NOT in an Even-tempered OR Pure scale. You're going to be making some adjustments somewhere (even with a "compensating" horn). See "Art's Tuba Logic Website" for a reasonable explanation of things that effect pitch.

Being able to easily adjust the main for ANY note relieves one of the worry of compensating for temperature, length, or partial. Trombonists are able to do all of that naturally (if they have the ear), so why shouldn't we be able to do likewise.

And, besides using Pure intervals, I have seen the just the pitch make amazing jumps UP and DOWN in orchestral playing, and the ability to so simply adjust saved my rear many a time.

Of course, this is just my opinion, your mileage may vary, not legal in Idaho or California, etc, etc.

[tubeast]

Well, I don´t know, people. Maybe I´m just an ignorant, but it seems to me that the "center" of a tuba is a very fuzzy expression. Using a tuner, I´d try to define it as the arithmetic means between the highest and lowest possible note produced by lipping at a given tube length, before the horn makes you shift partials. In my case, that´ll be more than half a step up and down at most pitches. (Bad sound allowed here)
Within about 20 cents of this "Center" (+/- 10 to 15 cents, that is) all notes feel and sound the same to me (set aside pitch), so this would be a range where I´d not be inclined to mess with slides. Lipping is much faster and seems safer and more accurate to me than a less-than-one-inch slide pull.
There are notes that are even more out of pitch on my horn, and I´d rather use alternate fingerings on those.

To get back to the topic: yes, I´d think a main slide trigger (or, preferrably as it involves less moving parts, an accessible main tuning slide) would be my choice rather than pulling individual valve slides.

[tubatooter1940]

I hate to pull slides in the middle of a tune because this may worsen the problem. You may help the note that is bugging you and foul up the rest.
My slides do not pull very easily and over correcting is a good possibility.
As Bloke mentioned playing dynamically may make the horn seem "out" when it isn't that bad.
I try to lip the offending notes until we get a chance to check tuning and correct with the main slide only.

[windshieldbug]

As Bloke mentioned playing dynamically may make the horn seem "out" when it isn't that bad

I may be wrong, but I think Bloke (quite properly) was saying the opposite. Especially if one is already compensating.

[windshieldbug]

My question is about whether or not it is desirable to alter the traditional design of one’s tuba so that the main slide could be continually adjusted while playing from one note to another, such as two quarter notes in a row that are not naturally in tune with each other on a particular tuba---- also on an extremely low or high note which has to be played very softly and then very loudly. Would it be better to have the option of adjusting the slide some and then do the fine tuning with the embouchure as opposed to having to make all of the adjustments with the embouchure alone?

As I mentioned, Dr. Marzan also had this idea, and for myself, it was very successful!

[Arkietuba]

Yeah...my tuba professor added a device to allow him to change the length of his main tunning slide on his Hisbrunner F tuba. I asked him about it during one of our lessons. He said that he noticed that the horn had some weird tunning problems but the price was too good to pass (especially for a Hirsbrunner) and he thought that the "rod-and-handle" device he put on it would fix it. He's had it for years and he seems to prefer that horn over his others.

[Art Hovey]

I used to have a Bohm & Meinl (aka Marzan) with every slide accessible on top. At first I tried using the main slide on the fly for pitch correction, but after a few years I found myself using it less and less. It takes some time to pull it, and I wanted the tubing length to be correct immediately, not later. Eventually I became accustomed to using alternate fingerings for certain notes that weren't quite right on that horn, and using either the second or fourth valve slide to correct the 2&4 combination. On rare occasions I found the 1st valve slide useful, and I never did find a reason for manipulating the 3rd slide. In my humble opinion the most useful slide is the 4th; unfortunately that is often the least accessible one. On an intelligently-designed tuba the 4th slide could be long enough to give you anywhere between a major third and a pefect fifth.

[ThomasDodd]

Take a look at the "tune-any-note" feature on Kanstul marching tubas/bugles.
These horns have inaccessable valve slides.

Given that on any horn some valve combinations are not going to be in tune, you are left with 3 choices to play in tune:

1) lip it, and suffer sound degradation (current method for many, or when other options don't work. perhaps the slides are inaccessable or not aligned well)
2) pull one or more vale slides to tune the combination (current method of pros)
3) move the main tuning slide.

I like the idea of #3, particurlly if it returns to a set position. You only have one slide to adjust for any note. Having enough movemnet on the slide could be difficult though. So basic tuning is like normal, except you adjust the retun position of the main slide. Now any note that you might move a valve slide for, you pull the main instead. No more pulling 1 or 3 or 4, always the same one.

Perhaps a secondary slide made like a trombone slide would work too, but I'd still want a return device for it. not sure how often a flat note is an issue, but sharp notes are very common.

It's more of an issue on a tuba too.