Posted by Chuck(G) on November 01, 2002 at 12:10:42:
In Reply to: Re: String Bass vs. Tuba posted by Frederick J. Young on October 31, 2002 at 11:16:40:
...being the worst of the fundamentalless noise makers...
Not necessarily a bad thing, is it? A bassoon has very little fundamental and lots of harmonic content and is thought of very highly for its ability to blend with other instruments, particularly strings and other woodwinds. I can't imagine what a Danzi woodwind quintet would sound like with a tuba instead of a bassoon, but I don't think I'd like it as much.
Now, if we could control the type and distribution of harmonic content of a tuba (say, include lots of odd-order harmonics), we might have a more generally applicable instrument.
One problem with listening to a tuba-euphonium quartet, as opposed to a bassoon quartet is that there is very little high-order harmonic content in the brass. Gives one the feeling of listening with cotton in the ears. Not so with the reeds.
MOHO, as usual.