Posted by Kenneth Sloan on June 17, 2001 at 10:22:54:
In Reply to: Re: Eb or EEb / Bb or BBb posted by Eve on June 17, 2001 at 00:23:50:
Be careful when you invoke the system of naming pitches! If our
terminology for tubas *exactly* matched our terminology for pitches,
then contrabass tubas would be called BBb and CCC (find the chart in any
recent issue fo the TUBA Journal)!
Here is my understanding of the naming convention, as actually used in
contemporary material:
BBb - contrabass tuba in Bb
CC - contrabass tuba in C
Eb - bass tuba in Eb
F - bass tuba in F
EEb(the oddball!) - bass tuba in Eb, built with a relatively large bore
The idea is that an Eb tuba is a frank "bass",
while an EEb (while pitched IDENTICALLY) has a
sound quality which is close to the contrabass.
Bb - not often used. If used casually, it probably means a BBb. If used
by someone very knowledgable, or someone known for being very
precise, then it *may* mean a tenor tuba in Bb (pitched one
octave above the contrabass tuba in Bb, or exactly the same
as a Euphonium)
C - the French "teakettle" - a 6-valve anachronism. Pitched one tone
higher than a euphonium, but with enough extra tubing to reach
down into contrabass territory.
GG -
-Ken Sloan