1.2 The Musician’s Interpretation of the Brass Playing Experience
17
sixth members of the series with a compass of one and a half octaves. Baroque
natural (valveless) horn and trumpet parts employ a much wider compass extending
to the 24th natural note, more than three octaves. Particularly on the horn, subtle
adjustment of the position of the player’s hand in the bell is used to improve the
intonation of ‘out-of-tune’ members of the series, such as the 7th, 11th and 14th.
Hand technique, in which the bell is partially closed by the hand, makes it possible
for the player to sound additional notes on the natural horn, required in some
passages (see Sect. 4.5.6).
Various mechanisms have been devised to fill the gaps in the series of natural
notes. They shorten or lengthen the sounding length of the tube: this has the effect of
shifting all the natural notes up or down. The simplest device is to drill toneholes in
the side of the tube in such a way that they can be covered by the player’s fingertips
or covered by keys, as on many woodwind instruments. We will see in Sect. 4.4 that
the seven finger-holes of a cornett or eleven keys on an ophicleide allow a complete
chromatic compass from the lowest natural note upwards. Other instruments such
as the keyed bugle mostly have fewer keys, but have a regular playing range only
from the second natural note upwards.
All trombones and most valve instruments (modern band and orchestral brasswind included) employ mechanisms which lengthen the air column. A trombone
with a slide which can be extended incrementally by distances which lower the
natural notes by six successive semitones has a complete chromatic compass from
the second natural note (slide fully extended) upwards. The commonest system of
valves has three valves, conventionally described as first, second and third, which
lower the natural notes by two, one and three semitones, respectively. One reason for
the placement of the semitone valve second is that the loops of additional tubing can
often be most conveniently arranged with the shortest in the middle of the cluster.
These three valves used singly or in combination lower the natural notes by up to
six semitones and also give a complete chromatic compass from the second natural
note (three valves operated) upwards.
Some instruments with only one or two valves are used in repertoire for which an
incomplete compass is sufficient; other instruments (such as tubas) have more than
three valves and a chromatic compass from the lowest natural note upwards. The
mechanism of a valve can be equally arranged to shorten an air column: although
most valves are ‘descending’, some instruments employ ‘ascending’ valves. The
fourth valve of a modern french horn can either lower the basic pitch from 9-ft B
to 12-ft F or the opposite, depending on the model and the setting chosen by the
player.
1.2.5 Intonation Control
Playing in tune is the concern of every musician, but what ‘in tune’ means is not
always clear-cut. Equal temperament is widely used in tuning modern keyboard
instruments and so is generally necessary when brass and keyboard instruments
17
sixth members of the series with a compass of one and a half octaves. Baroque
natural (valveless) horn and trumpet parts employ a much wider compass extending
to the 24th natural note, more than three octaves. Particularly on the horn, subtle
adjustment of the position of the player’s hand in the bell is used to improve the
intonation of ‘out-of-tune’ members of the series, such as the 7th, 11th and 14th.
Hand technique, in which the bell is partially closed by the hand, makes it possible
for the player to sound additional notes on the natural horn, required in some
passages (see Sect. 4.5.6).
Various mechanisms have been devised to fill the gaps in the series of natural
notes. They shorten or lengthen the sounding length of the tube: this has the effect of
shifting all the natural notes up or down. The simplest device is to drill toneholes in
the side of the tube in such a way that they can be covered by the player’s fingertips
or covered by keys, as on many woodwind instruments. We will see in Sect. 4.4 that
the seven finger-holes of a cornett or eleven keys on an ophicleide allow a complete
chromatic compass from the lowest natural note upwards. Other instruments such
as the keyed bugle mostly have fewer keys, but have a regular playing range only
from the second natural note upwards.
All trombones and most valve instruments (modern band and orchestral brasswind included) employ mechanisms which lengthen the air column. A trombone
with a slide which can be extended incrementally by distances which lower the
natural notes by six successive semitones has a complete chromatic compass from
the second natural note (slide fully extended) upwards. The commonest system of
valves has three valves, conventionally described as first, second and third, which
lower the natural notes by two, one and three semitones, respectively. One reason for
the placement of the semitone valve second is that the loops of additional tubing can
often be most conveniently arranged with the shortest in the middle of the cluster.
These three valves used singly or in combination lower the natural notes by up to
six semitones and also give a complete chromatic compass from the second natural
note (three valves operated) upwards.
Some instruments with only one or two valves are used in repertoire for which an
incomplete compass is sufficient; other instruments (such as tubas) have more than
three valves and a chromatic compass from the lowest natural note upwards. The
mechanism of a valve can be equally arranged to shorten an air column: although
most valves are ‘descending’, some instruments employ ‘ascending’ valves. The
fourth valve of a modern french horn can either lower the basic pitch from 9-ft B
to 12-ft F or the opposite, depending on the model and the setting chosen by the
player.
1.2.5 Intonation Control
Playing in tune is the concern of every musician, but what ‘in tune’ means is not
always clear-cut. Equal temperament is widely used in tuning modern keyboard
instruments and so is generally necessary when brass and keyboard instruments