And the original fingering chart:
If you can't make out the black letter font, it says:
"Grifftabelle für F-Tuba mit 6 Ventilen
System Gebr. Alexander, Mainz a. Rhein
1.2.3. Ventil (linke Hand) und 4.5.6. Ventil (rechte Hand).
Die Zahlen in Klammern bedeuten Hilfsgriffe."
and:
"Bei Benutzung des kleinen 3. Ventilzuges (3/4 Ton Länge) ändern sich folgende Griffe:"
It's a really fantastic tuba that I had to make room in my stable for (bye, Mirafone). Eventually I will probably get it converted to 4+2, but it is a fun project for now figuring out the fingerings. The way it is set up now, it's basically as follows:
Left Hand:
1= whole step (normal 1st valve)
2 = half step (normal 2nd valve)
3 = long whole step (normal fifth valve)
Right Hand:
4=minor third (normal third valve)
5=long half step (normal sixth valve)
6=perfect fourth (normal fourth valve)
A bit unusual, as most of these Vienna system tubas I've read about have standard 1-2-3 in the left hand and long whole step, long half step, perfect fourth in the right hand. I do have some extra slides coming in that will allow the typical Vienna fingerings, I think, but as it's all foreign to me I don't mind either way.
The raw brass is in fine condition with just a bit of surface oxidization. No red rot to speak of, but there is some old solder that probably needs touching-up, and the valves need alignment and the whole horn could do with a chem clean. Even with these issues it's got a really, really nice sound, incredibly fine intonation and lots of alternate fingerings to boot. The linkage is smooth and fairly quiet. After being without a German-style F for a couple years, it took me a few days to work out the low D to B range but it's not an issue.
I spent this spring learning Eb fingerings, so it will be a nice challenge to learn 3+3 fingerings for the rest of the summer until I start back teaching again.
Thanks for reading and looking! Time to practice.
