Posted by Klaus on February 01, 2003 at 13:41:49:
In Reply to: Re: which takes more air - bass bone or tuba posted by Brian Frederiksen on February 01, 2003 at 08:24:33:
Thank you for the quote, Brian! It was a good refreshment of my earlier readings of it.
However there are factors making the the comparisons between the air consumptions of bass trombone and tuba even more difficult, than Mr. Yeo tells it to be and than appears from the results of Mr. Jacobs's scientific experiments.
I tend to make up my own strategies, when it comes to productive exercises. As it is known, I do not consider myself a brass player, but a brass collector playing his collection. I don't have a C piccolo trumpet, and equally a G contrabass bugle is missing in my collection (I wouldn't be able to hold the latter any more due to age inflicted wear of my body). But from Bb piccolo down to my often hailed Conn 40K all sizes of brasses are fairly represented even if not all increments of pitch changes are there.
When I try to prepare myself for being a bass trombone player relevant to my musical environment, then I have to center on the main problem of the bass trombone: to cross the barrier between the range below the open pedal and the range just above. That is why I have no understanding at all for Mr. Yeo's "one valve-is-better-than-two" strategy.
My solutions for fighting the barrier mentioned are twofold: making true slurs from notes below the gap to notes above the gap. The hardest one being the slur from open Bb to Bb with 2 valves (F and Gb) plus an almost full slide extension. I can NOT make these two versions of the same note sound alike, but if I can make the shift in tune and without having my buzz stopping, then I feel ready to continue. Which happens with playing a certain scale pattern (encompassing a ninth and a major ninth broken chord) that I have learned from jazz sax players. I play all scales down to the sub pedal C or B natural in the most extreme staccato and in a legato as flowing, as I can manage.
That has taught me, that Mr. Jacob's findings do not hold up in all situations. The full extension Bb calls for much more pressure, than does the open pedal . And it calls for a much more precise intonation to avoid cracks. The long tubing is offering a "slot" that is immensely more narrow, than is the halfway-so-long tubing employed by the open pedal Bb.
On my valved conical brasses I do not have the option of lowering the open tuning a full octave. The compers, euph and Eb, offer a major seventh (the euph needs a main tuning slide trigger for doing that in tune, the Eb magically allows for an in tune E natural, even if that should not be possible at all). The non-comp BBb's only allow for a C.
Even between my two bassbones (King 7B and an old 1st edition B&H Sovereign with the 2nd valve elongated to Gb) there are great differences. The King has no progression of bore through its valves. It has the least resistance and the greatest projection and dynamic range in the 2-valve range. The Sovereign has a fairly large progression of bore through the valves, but needs a hard fight to work properly in that range. I make my workouts on the Sovereign, but most often take the King for performances (which is kind of sad, as the Sovereign has extreme potentials of beauty, as long as it is not played with both valves, and the extension is not the problem).
What I like about my tubas and most of my euphs/baritones is the fact, that they don't need any fighting. When I practise seriously, my embouchure makes them so efficient, that I can play one or two dynamic increments below the rest of the band, and they will still project and fill the hall. To keep the bassbone in balance with the 1st trumpet is a much harder task.
Despite the fact, that my findings might diverge from those of revered deities of the low brass stellar constellations, I must confess that I play the Yeo signature mouthpiece on my bassbones, on my YEP 641, and on my A. Eser of Gütersloh Kaiserbariton in C. I have not found better options. That I have opened the backbore to avoid an undesired edge to the sound, has been reported to Mr. Yeo long time ago.
Klaus