Posted by Rick Denney on February 03, 2004 at 12:40:34:
In Reply to: Playing a 3 valver in tune? posted by Frankie ThreeFingers on February 03, 2004 at 10:45:13:
When I played a three-valve instrument, I tuned the third valve to be quite flat. It was unusable in that configuration as a replacement for 1-2, and was flat on the 2-3 combinations, which would have to be lipped up. 1-3 would be about right for the low C. The low B required a slide pull, and the low E below it even more of a slide pull. But with all three valves down, you at least didn't have to worry about which slide to pull.
I suspect that the guys who play three-valve instruments for a living are either in the ceremonial military bands or they play jazz. The jazzers choose what notes they are going to play and thus avoid those that are unworkable. The top-end military guys in the E-6 ceremonial bands probably can lip what they need to lip, but I'd bet that they don't see low B-naturals that in the cemetery. The guys in post bands probably struggle with it like the rest of us. If all the tubas are playing that B equally sharp, it will make it sound like the trumpets are the ones out of tune, heh, heh.
Rick "who had bigger troubles with the intonation tendencies of the three-valve instrument he's played rather than of the lack of the fourth" Denney