Dumb Eb Fingering/Range Question

[Mister JP]

I have never actually played (seriously) an Eb horn, but I'm fixing up my beater King sousy. It's a 3v, and I'm wondering about the range. Looking at fingering charts, it would appear that the lowest note that can be played chromatically is A natural, below the staff. Is that correct?

Are there any other tricks to play below that without the 4th valve?

I doubt I'll ever play this anywhere seriously, (tuba christmas perhaps) but any knowledge for the future would be helpful.

[imperialbari]

Yes, the lowest note is that A natural. Aside of the peadal notes of course.

If your King works like my Conns there is a privileged open Ab a semitone below that A. From there you may play chromatically down to the open pedal Eb:

Ab: open
G: 2
Gb: 1
F: 12
E natural: 23

Klaus

[J.c. Sherman]

On the later, full-loop King Eb sousies, those false tones are very good!

J.c.S. (who's still shooting himself for letting his go!)

[eupher61]

where's Bob when he's needed? Out playing GI Joe...

[iiipopes]

I concur with Klaus. Especially if you use a good deep funnel mouthpiece like a Wick 3 (if it has the older smaller receiver) or 3L (if it has a "standard" receiver).

I have tried this mouthpiece on a couple of different medium to small-ish bore old 3-valve eefers, and it does really well with the inherent compromises necessary between tone and range.

Since you have a 3-valve, consider setting the tuning slides as follows:

Pull 1 just a hair, but not so much you have trouble centering the whole step down from open notes, especially top space G, since this is an eefer.
Pull 2 about half a hair, again, not so much that that centering is a problem.
Pull 3 so that 2+3 is a hair to a hair and a half flat, so that you can slightly arch the back of your tongue to increase air velocity to center the pitch.

Then 1+2 should not be so sharp that thinking a good "Oh" should center it, and likewise with 1+3 should take only a little bit of lipping, and 1+2+3 E nat and low A nat, well, it's an eefer.

[imperialbari]

Yes, there ar etwo fingerings for the pedal Eb and the D one semitone below. I don’t use these notes for making real music, but I use them for embouchure training in form of triple and double tonguing plus lip trills. Slow ones that is.

All probably know the fifth trill between the 2nd and 3rd partials and their fingered derivates. There also is a fifth trill possible between the fake Ab (on an Eb instrument) and the 2nd partial Eb (the same trill exists an octave lower). And a fourth trill between 1st partial Eb and fake Ab. They take (and give) control. And they are good for the blood supply of the lips. The last residuals of lung capacity also are exploited and improved.

Klaus

[Mister JP]

Thanks for the advise, all. Once the horn is in better shape, I'll employ some of these techniques, see what works best.