TubeNet

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Why should the brasses be any different from other instruments? A string contrabass has virtually no core to its sound compared to a violin.

If a tuba were to have mostly "core", which I take as fundamental and not overtones, it would be a very dull and disappointing instrument. The sensitivity of the ear drops off rapidly at low frequencies and pitch discrimination begins to get shaky.

I just don't get what Mr. Friedman is trying to say.

I am not very much in agreement with Mr. Friedman's points on the tuba and the relations between fundamental and overtones.

Dr. Young, RD, and I have often written on the topic on the old TubeNet. Even if the 3 of us are not clones of each other, I intend to be fair by reducing our plenitude of postings to the main point, that the aural impact of low brass notes to a high degree is determined by their partials, even if the "root" note may not be that strong at all, if measured by a meter. Within that frame there are wide differences concerning the effects of mouthpieces, leadpipes, bores, bell profiles, national schools of playing technique, and all the important factors, which have not been researched thoroughly yet.

As for euphoniums sounding like Bach 42 symph trombones: Will anybody stand up and say, that this is their ideal sound for euphoniums?

No matter how much I admire the musicianship of Steven Mead, I still found his sound too bright, when I heard him in 1998 in a very small venue.

He told me about his mouthpiece design ideas. And about being approached by euphonium friends working in British military bands, who had asked him about making mouthpieces creating a fuller and darker sound, the result being the SM2.

One of the euphonium players, whom I have to admire the most, appeared in a TV feature from a Danish military tattoo a few years ago.

The band was from the British Dragoon Guards (?). Anyway the uniforms were quite special. The band members wore dragoon helmets, while the drum corps wore guard type bearskin hats.

For reasons unknown to me, this 30-something-piece band against army regulations had only ONE euphonium player (the standard for that size of bands is two euphoniums).

The sound was not picked up from carry-on-mikes, but from mikes around the edge of the field. No matter which drill figurations done, this guy carried through with a huge, non-aggressive, and dark sound. It might be an exaggeration, but in my ears that guy actually carried the band. Hail to this guy, the name of whom is unknown to me!

Klaus

Chuck(G) wrote:I just don't get what Mr. Friedman is trying to say.

I don't either. It seems to me this topic came up once before and my response this time is the same as last: If all you want is core, then replace all of the instruments in the orchestra with sine-wave generators.

Wouldn't that sound great?