Re: False tones...


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Posted by Rick Denney on November 30, 2001 at 12:04:31:

In Reply to: False tones... posted by Amateur acuostician on November 30, 2001 at 10:28:55:

I can't explain the false tones, but I know what they are not. They are not the pedal lipped up. They don't sound or feel anything like the pedal. The lips are vibrating at the note in question just as it would for the same note with regular fingering. But the horn is resonating a harmonic series that is not the fundamental vibration frequency. The harmonic structure isn't the same, but with practice it can be centered well enough so that it sounds pretty good, depending on how well the horn produces it.

The location of the false is, I'm sure related to the fraction of the harmonic being resonated.

I have heard it attributed to Fred Young that the false tone is actually a true pedal, whereas the pedal is not. I believe this attribution is false, and I'm convinced the statement is false. I play pedal F's on my F tuba routinely. It plays exactly the same way as a low F on my BBb tuba. It is definitely a real pedal that plays like a regular tone. On the other hand, the false-tone low Bb on my F tuba is nothing like the low Bb on my BBb tuba. Played with the valves at 1-5, the low Bb sounds and plays just like a low Bb on the big tuba.

Now, Dr. Young was probably saying that a spectral analysis of the false tones with an instrument and player that produces them well hase more fundamental in the sound than does the same note played on the valves. This is true for me on my big BBb horns, where my low register sucks and playing the low notes on the valves is really difficult. The false tones are comparatively easy, and I routinely use the false tone for the low Eb in lieu of fudging a 124 or 14 fingering. It doesn't sound the same, but at least you can hear it.

Rick "thinking it's time for some more spectral measurements" Denney


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