Posted by Mark Heter on March 07, 2004 at 23:53:19:
In Reply to: Re: Treble Clef Fingering Charts posted by Question? on March 07, 2004 at 21:24:38:
Dan, let's try a little history lesson here. In the Biritsh Brass Band, "fingering", as a skill, is something that is learned "once". That's why all the parts are transposed for the vairous instruments. The idea is that if the band needs someone to cover 2nd "tenor" (which is actually an alto), after adjusting to the new mouthpiece, if you were a cornetist before, you're now a 2nd tenor. Or, if you're formerly an EEb tuba player, but the band needs you to play BBb, after a short adjustment to the new horn, you're doing it without learning any new fingerings for the notes on the staff.
Remember, they don't have "high school bands" like ours in the UK as a rule. Brass Bands are "extra-curricular".
That said, here's the easy way to pick this up. On your instrument of choice, try it this way: EEb treble clef tuba parts are just like bass clef (so is bari sax) - just change the sharps... BBb treble parts (or old time "B-flat Bass" parts in American editions) read just like Bb cornet parts.
Fingerings (and alternate fingerings) for brass instruments don't change that much, as related to the alteration of the tones - a Bb scale fingering on a CC tuba gives you a "C" scale, a Bb scale fingering on an EEb tuba gives you an e-flat scale, a Bb scale fingering on an "F" tuba gives you an "F" scale, etc., and so forth adjusted by the differences in the horns' basic pitch. The valves perform pretty much the same function in all brass. The best reason for using differently-keyed tubas is not the fingering - it's the timbre. Musicians use F and EEb tubas in the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique because they "cut" through the mass of sound, not because they "finger" better. even though the parts were originally wirtten for the now obsolete ophecleide in concert key in bass clef. You can (if you possess a really good upper register) play those parts on the big CC abd BBb tubas, it's hard to achieve the same MUSICAL effect...
As a practical matter, I would encourage you to learn to read the different clefs, AND to become familiar with solfeggio and moveable "do".