Posted by K on October 16, 2003 at 20:56:43:
In Reply to: Viennese system F questions posted by Sam Gnagey on October 16, 2003 at 08:36:13:
Your tuba does not have the original Vienna 6 valve set-up. At least as I read your description.
As I have read it (in German in a magazine) the Vienna tubas among other features have two valves very close to, what we call a 1st valve. One lowering a little less than a whole step, the other lowering a bit more than a whole step. By far not comparable to the 3/4 and 1 and a quarter steps, that you mention.
The benefit of the original Viennese tuba should be, that it offers an i tuning fingering for every note. The back-draw should be, that fingering is immensely complex.
The first tubas had left facing bells and three rotors for the right hand. That shape was kept, when more valves were added to fill the low range gap.
The old designers had a good sense of a progressing bore through the valves. Hence the "normal" valves ## 1,2, and 3 were closest to the mouthpiece and the longest valve lowering the tuba a fourth was closest to the branches.
It would be possible build the tuba with the "normal" valves ## 1,2, and 3 for the right hand in a high position and the longer valves for the left hand in a low position.
I will not encourage you to hold your precious left facing instruments that way for a simulated stand up playing position. The instrument will tilt over to the left, and you might easily drop it.
The old designers put the hands in the positions, where the demands of elementary static balance and of acoustics were all served well.
The Viennese tuba didn't origin from the Wagner tuba, and its players had not started out as horn players.
By the way: there were very few tubas made according to the original Viennese concept. They were passed on from generation to generation. When they hardly could be kept in playing condition any more a decade or two ago, a design with a slightly larger bore was made to adapt to the increase in trombone bores. The original fingering system was kept.
In Bevan one also can read about the rather new Viennese cimbasso, which has the same bore and air-path through the valves, as has the "new" Viennese F tuba.
In Denmark quite small F tubas with a valve set up similar to the one of yours were used by orchestras and by the military around WWI. Also by the tubist(-s) in the nine piece mounted regimental bands. The tubist had the reins mounted to his stirrups. He could turn the horse that way, but he could stop the horse. Hence he rode in the center position, so that the other 8 horses could close the ranks, should the tuba horse get unruly. One of my old teachers rode that position, after he had finished his apprenticeship as a military musician.
Klaus