Valved Bugle-Horns

[windshieldbug]

Yes, but only if tubists play them...

[Art Hovey]

Yes, a flugelhorn is definitely a soprano tuba. Somebody published an article to that effect in a music journal about 40 years ago, advocating a 4-valved flugel as the ideal brass teaching instrument.

[Anterux]

If Tubas, Euphoniums and Eb-Altohorns are members of the Valved Bugle-Horn family, does that mean that the Bb-Soprano Flugelhorn and Eb-Piccolo Flugelhorn, members of the Valved Bugle-Horn family, could they be looked upon as Soprano and Piccolo versions of the Tuba? I've had this notion in my head this afternoon and evening.

Boanerges

In my opinion, yes.

The sound has something in common. The smoothness of the sound perhaps. Maybe due to the conical caracteristicas of the instrument.

[windshieldbug]

It is a combination of the bore, mouthpiece, and person playing. No doubt that some performers have a pronounced mellowness to their sound, but also the mouthpiece has a great impact. Take just the mouthpieces suitable for tenor trombone, baritone, and euphonium. In their common forms, they are all Bb instruments, yet their mouthpieces range from relatively shallow to almost horn-shaped. The more conical the bore [or mouthpiece!] and the darker, more mellow the sound.

Use of air comes into play, too. Thus a "French" horn does not sound like an F tuba does not sound like a baroque low F trumpet- even though they are all the same length!

[windshieldbug]

Apropos the Horn - Have you ever been behind a Horn section at full toot? The sound is remniscent of trash cans being kicked around, the trash cans that were once used for household trash to be picked up

I maintain that such is the result when you have the business end of an instrument behind the player...

(just a payback for the violas being in front of the trombones!)