Re: "Partials" Defined?


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Posted by Steve Dedman on January 06, 2001 at 03:34:27:

In Reply to: "Partials" Defined? posted by Steve Inman on January 06, 2001 at 00:06:02:

Yes, it is the 3rd line D.

Most of the players I know push their 1st valve slide all the way in, and still have to lip it up a little. On a BBb, it would be the C in the staff. And, as with any other partial, the more valves you add, the more pronounced the intonation problems seem to get. On a CC tuba, the 1|2 C# is usually more out of tune than the D.

To me, figuring out as many alternate fingerings as I can for each note is part of the fun. Who cares how you finger the note, as long as it sounds good and is in tune?

If you push your 1st valve slide all the way in, and that D is still flat, you could try it as the 6th partial of the 1|3 combination and pull your 1st valve slide if needed.

As far as the partials go, (and I'm sure someone will correct my mistakes) the intervals are as follows:

Fundamental (1)==> octave (2) ==> fifth (3)==> fourth (4)==>Maj3rd (5)==>min3rd (6)==>flat min3rd(7)==> Maj2nd (8)==> Maj2nd(9)==> Maj2nd(10)...after that, they're so close together that you can almost play chromatically. These are true for any valve combination, and you got the partials right in your post, so I guess you know this. AKA the harmonic series. So if you know the fundamental for a given valve combination, you can figure out any partial.

FWIW,
Steve

PS...does anyone know where the terms "partial" and "harmonic series" came from? I have a WAG, but it's too complicated to explain at 3:30AM.


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