Re: Re: Balt. Brass visit plus King questions


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Posted by Rick Denney on November 07, 2001 at 19:00:26:

In Reply to: Re: Balt. Brass visit plus King questions posted by Tom B. on November 07, 2001 at 17:01:51:

He rebuilt the tuning slide on the fifth valve so that it had a wide tuning slide instead of the narrow, second-valve-type slide. This so that it would be more free-blowing.

I think the G-50's are equipped with rotors that allow two positions of the stop arm, so that they can be turned 90 degrees. He has set his up so that with the thumb trigger is not pressed, the tubing is used, and pressing the trigger bypasses the valve tubing. Thus, it is a BBb with the trigger not pressed, and pressing the thumb trigger shortens the instrument to a C. You get the following fingerings:

below the staff C 5
B 25
Bb open
F 5
E 25
Eb 14 (four is tuned really long)
D 124
Db 234
C 5 (now, a pedal)
B 25 (pedal)
Bb open (pedal)

The key to understanding the value of this is that the longest valve tubing used is the 23 combination, if you don't count the fifth-valve tubing. The fourth valve is only used at the very bottom of the register, and you can tune it long enough to bring those notes in tune. Also, the C in the middle of the register, the fifth partial that usually requires pushing in the first-valve slide, can be played on the fifth valve button as a fourth-partial open note, and sound like a C tuba's C.

Cool, eh?

The key is making the horn play well with the fifth valve tubing normally in play.

Rick "intrigued by this approach" Denney


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