Physics of Tubas


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Posted by Cook on March 01, 2004 at 09:53:15:

I am an engineer and it is bothers me how a horn cannot be in tune with itself. How can a low Bb be out of tune with a high Bb. The tubing length is the same, so the fundamental frequency that is produced should be the same.(?) Along the same lines, how can two different tubas of the same design have different sounds if the length/diameters of the pipe are the same? What in the construction process can make such a difference? Maybe slight protrusions into the piping? Inaccurate pipe lengths should be able to be fixed by the tuning slides. What effects does the location of bends in the pipe produce, localalized null points? I appreciate any insight that can be given. I am basing my understanding on radio frequency/antenna theory, but I think it would be very similar to sound waves.


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