Re: Re: Helicon fingering


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Posted by Klaus on March 14, 2002 at 05:43:27:

In Reply to: Re: Helicon fingering posted by Gus Pratt on March 14, 2002 at 03:26:09:

You have the part about the rotor being 90 degrees off just about right.

The very same situation is also the reason for the "basic" pitch problem:

When the un-activated valve lever leads the air to pass through the 2nd valve slide, then the pitch shall be in A concert.

So when the valve lever is activated, then the rotor turns 90 degrees and lets the air pass straight through the open bugle. Hence the "2nd finger Bb".

In all rotor instruments, that I know of (I have 46 rotors sitting on 16 instruments myself), the end of the rotor axis and the piece of metal connecting the axis and the link arm have been drilled and filed to an exact match.

I might guess, that it after some wear is possible to make that connection in the wrong way. Especially with the involvement of a hammer.

So my advise would be to have a qualified repairman unconnecting the rotor axis from the connector piece (the English name for which I have forgotten). That might call for knowledge as well as a special tool.

And please keep the hacksaw off the helicon until the valve has been fixed. I am quite sure, that the pitch will prove itself just about right. Older instruments from continental Europe have fewer pitch level oddities, than British and US band instruments can have. Probably because the orchestral and band pitch standards have had less tradition for deviating from each other here on the continent.

Klaus


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