even more boring blather about kaiser B-flat vs. 6/4 piston C playing
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2024 9:00 am
Don't misinterpret any of the following as "what I'm doing is harder than what you're doing".
That having been said, what I'm doing now is more difficult for ME than what I was previously doing...and I'm also getting older.
I've spoken privately with one of my (and a high-profile one) betters who is also playing a good bit of 6/4 (piston) B-flat, these days,
and - even though piston - they asked me (paraphrased) "...so how are you getting around the 'brrrrr' attacks that so easily occur when playing B-flat?"
which tremendously impressed me regarding their candidness and admission of being-a-real-person-ness.
I love the resonance of the additional two feet of tapered bugle (18 feet vs. 16 feet), as well as the resonance of the particular instrument that I (well...I waited a DECADE to find one of these used, so I'd better-the-heck like it
) have chosen.
So many of the rotary "kaiser" B-flat tubas offer really dubious scales (without pulling/tugging/alternates/etc.) and tend to be noisy (old valves/old linkage/etc.) that (with the "heavy lifting" that I'm doing with my instrument - compared to any 6/4 piston C I've ever played) I just couldn't imagine trying to play (well...) a "lesser" model of this style of instrument (which would demand even so much more effort, on my part).
There are several factors:
- two more feet of bugle (amazing additional resonance, but more effort to negotiate musically, and also more air required...again: from an old guy)
- larger bore (yes, the valves are farther down the bugle, but (so what?) all of that cylindrical tubing's area (25% more AREA, even though only 11% more DIAMETER) - even though only is not only much larger, but all of it is much longer - being B-flat lengths).
- rotary valves vs. pistons - Pistons offer what I think of as an "instantaneous half-valving" opportunity (for legato playing) which really isn't available with rotary valves. Thus rotary valve "slurs" are either good or they are (LOL: embarrassing) failures...nothing in-between.
The thing that pulls me to this (and I've never been this way...anyone who's read my very long history of posts knows that I'm a "hand me ~A~ tuba, as long as it offers easy intonation" person) tuba is its resonance. Its really fun (exciting) to be on the pilot end of a sound generator such as this one.
...so these things - technically speaking, regarding my own efforts - had to be pushed up a notch (again, while dealing with aging process)
- more accurate buzz (frequency) compared to C instruments. With C instruments (again: two feet less expanding bugle), "pretty good" is good. With this B-flat (and many other B-flat instruments) moving to another pitch with the lips buzzing at more than a handful of hz. off, is going to (as my friend and I both strive to avoid) result in "brrrr" attacks.
- Slurs also must land (nearly perfectly) on the correct lip frequency as well (all the same reasons/good-results/bad-results).
- EVERYTHING requires more air vs. a 6/4 piston C tuba...If there's an opportunity to take in air, I'd darn well better take it, and - if I want to avoid under-playing - I'd darn well better USE that air.
- Slurs not only need to be accurate, but I (absolutely!) must avoid falling into a bad habit of the (crappy) slur work-around of "huffing" the slurs...as doing that is NOT legato.
The rotors and linkage on this instrument are absolutely perfect, and perfectly silent. I just couldn't imagine (in addition to dubious intonation) attempting to negotiate some other old kaiser B-flat with clanky/slow/whatever rotors...what a horrible obstacle that would be, as well as a horrible distraction (on top of all of the additional required dialing in of my own playing - ie. concentration - required to play this instrument).
[insert summation sentence or paragraph - which adds zero additional useful content - here]
That having been said, what I'm doing now is more difficult for ME than what I was previously doing...and I'm also getting older.
I've spoken privately with one of my (and a high-profile one) betters who is also playing a good bit of 6/4 (piston) B-flat, these days,
and - even though piston - they asked me (paraphrased) "...so how are you getting around the 'brrrrr' attacks that so easily occur when playing B-flat?"
which tremendously impressed me regarding their candidness and admission of being-a-real-person-ness.
I love the resonance of the additional two feet of tapered bugle (18 feet vs. 16 feet), as well as the resonance of the particular instrument that I (well...I waited a DECADE to find one of these used, so I'd better-the-heck like it
) have chosen.So many of the rotary "kaiser" B-flat tubas offer really dubious scales (without pulling/tugging/alternates/etc.) and tend to be noisy (old valves/old linkage/etc.) that (with the "heavy lifting" that I'm doing with my instrument - compared to any 6/4 piston C I've ever played) I just couldn't imagine trying to play (well...) a "lesser" model of this style of instrument (which would demand even so much more effort, on my part).
There are several factors:
- two more feet of bugle (amazing additional resonance, but more effort to negotiate musically, and also more air required...again: from an old guy)
- larger bore (yes, the valves are farther down the bugle, but (so what?) all of that cylindrical tubing's area (25% more AREA, even though only 11% more DIAMETER) - even though only is not only much larger, but all of it is much longer - being B-flat lengths).
- rotary valves vs. pistons - Pistons offer what I think of as an "instantaneous half-valving" opportunity (for legato playing) which really isn't available with rotary valves. Thus rotary valve "slurs" are either good or they are (LOL: embarrassing) failures...nothing in-between.
The thing that pulls me to this (and I've never been this way...anyone who's read my very long history of posts knows that I'm a "hand me ~A~ tuba, as long as it offers easy intonation" person) tuba is its resonance. Its really fun (exciting) to be on the pilot end of a sound generator such as this one.
...so these things - technically speaking, regarding my own efforts - had to be pushed up a notch (again, while dealing with aging process)
- more accurate buzz (frequency) compared to C instruments. With C instruments (again: two feet less expanding bugle), "pretty good" is good. With this B-flat (and many other B-flat instruments) moving to another pitch with the lips buzzing at more than a handful of hz. off, is going to (as my friend and I both strive to avoid) result in "brrrr" attacks.
- Slurs also must land (nearly perfectly) on the correct lip frequency as well (all the same reasons/good-results/bad-results).
- EVERYTHING requires more air vs. a 6/4 piston C tuba...If there's an opportunity to take in air, I'd darn well better take it, and - if I want to avoid under-playing - I'd darn well better USE that air.
- Slurs not only need to be accurate, but I (absolutely!) must avoid falling into a bad habit of the (crappy) slur work-around of "huffing" the slurs...as doing that is NOT legato.
The rotors and linkage on this instrument are absolutely perfect, and perfectly silent. I just couldn't imagine (in addition to dubious intonation) attempting to negotiate some other old kaiser B-flat with clanky/slow/whatever rotors...what a horrible obstacle that would be, as well as a horrible distraction (on top of all of the additional required dialing in of my own playing - ie. concentration - required to play this instrument).
[insert summation sentence or paragraph - which adds zero additional useful content - here]
)