Posted by Volker on May 11, 2003 at 13:01:18:
Those engineers please may point out if there is some kind of formula / calculation (maybe even a rough scheme) for at least estimating this.
A tuba mate of mine with some heart problems felt, that he should change over now from his 5/4 Alex Kaiser and new Fafner tubas to downsized BBbs in the range of 4/4 or 3/4.
After the large bores BAT playing he usually felt quite bad lately, whereas the smaller horns obviously don't make him so exhausted. Now he is going to trade his tubas in that way at some loss of course; I only hope he made the right choice in his case (in regard to his health). On the other hand, smaller wind instruments with small bores (like French horns or even oboes and bassoons) require a lot of air pressure restistance - probably also not too easy as well (considering the players' red faces at times). So what is more exhausting, the latter - or emerging those huge qantities of air (but few resistance) for a .846 or so BAT bore and the huge volume and mass of a 5/4 or even 6/4 dinosaur to feed with sufficient amplitudes?