JensenW
Regular Member
Joined: 12 Dec 2012
Posts: 67
Location: Raleigh, NC
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 Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:46 am Post subject: |
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| Craig Swartz wrote: | Just a bit more information on the above OP and some of the answers. Hope it's clear, it's much easier to demonstrate.
Actually, all "3 valve" brass instruments use the same fingering progressions. That includes trumpets in all keys, baritone/euphonium, tuba, even french horn, including double. (The thumb valve on horn and 4th valve on baritone and tuba, as well as the thumb on trombone actally place the instrument in Fl which doubles the possibilities below.)
When one breaks the tubing down, we've really made 7 different "bugles"out of the instrument in question, progressing downward from "open horn" (no valves depressed) by half steps when the valves are pressed in the following order: 0, 2, 1, 12 (or 3), 23, 13, 123.
Looking at the length of tubing from each valve, the length of the middle valve lowers pitch from open horn by a half step. This is true from any partial. The length of the 1st valve tubing is a whole step lower from open horn, looking at it the tubing/slide appears twice as long as the middle one. The third valve tubing lowers pitch 1 1/2 steps and appears to be three times the length of the middle (1/2 step) slide. For most purposes we use a combination of 1 and 2 which add up to the same length as 3 and is a compromise to allow better pitch in the range in which the instrument plays most of the time.
Continuing on, 23 combination adds yet another half tone, lowering pitch 2 steps, 13= 2 1/2 steps lower and 123 together lower pitch 3 whole steps. One can easily see how this works by starting on any open tone and playing through the partials, then progressing downward through each other fingering playing the same partials which will sound exactly the same except for being a half step lower. These 7 valve combinations correspond with the 7 slide positions on trombone and I often taught fingerings as "positions" which made it easy for baritone and horn players to double on trombone in Jazz Band. (I always needed trombone players...)
The genius of all this is that there become many ways to finger the same tones once we are into the 3rd and 4 partials; eventually we can play an entire scale with extra half tone steps on the same fingerings when we're high enough. Start on F#, top of the staff (Bb trumpet) and you should be able to play an entire scale (+ tones) if you can get to the F# above "high C". While we don't often use many of these fingerings they are possible because of the overtone series. I suppose everyone has also noticed that while we use the 0, 1, and 2 fingerings all over the instrument, we usually use 123 and 13 for only two pitches each.
As for jazz players (I consider that small group and not "Big Band-type playing) just using C trumpet rather than Bb, it wouldn't be much of an issue except that most of us who started on Bb learned to play most of the standards in "those keys" already.
Hope this all makes sense- when I've explained it to young students and can demonstrate by pulling slides, etc, it seems pretty clear to them. |
Thanks, Craig. I was aware of some of this, but having it explained the way you do is marvelous.
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Wade
Yamaha YTR 737
The goal is to be a better trumpeter today than I was yesterday. |
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