Posted by M on February 01, 2003 at 10:04:53:
In Reply to: Re: Re: which takes more air - bass bone or tuba posted by Sean Goldberg on February 01, 2003 at 01:16:32:
This all makes sense and IS true except for the air-quantity.
**You need the same air-speed for a given note on any instrument. But the aperture varies. To achieve the same speed, a greater quantity of air must be passed through the aperture.**
The iner-oral pressure and vibrations etc are the same for the same pitch on any brass instrument.
However, instruments are designed in such as way as to help 'support' their designated playing-ranges.
Achieving high inter-oral pressure (for a higher note) is made easier when one blows through a trumpet; small bore, small mouthpiece throat and cup diameter = high resistance. This is obvious when one switches to a smaller mouthpiece...
I think people sometimes forget this when drawing comparisons and occasionally assume it's an equal situation in this respect.
A bass trom has, I expect, less resistance through the open horn than your average tuba given its open-wrap design. However, once the variable of the mouthpiece is introduced (specifically the throat), I'd venture that the same pitch would require more air to 'support' on a tuba than trom. (?)
M