378
7 The Amazing Diversity of Brass Instruments
The construction of this cone and annulus readily gives two well-defined
measurements that can be used in taxonomic studies: cup volume V cup and cup
shape quotient Q cup , defined as
V cup = V cone + V ann ,
(7.3)
Q cup = 1 + V ann /V cone .
(7.4)
These parameters, together with the cross-sectional area of minimum bore, are
directly related to acoustical function.
Figure 7.56 is a scatter plot of these parameters for typical nineteenth and
twentieth-century brasswind mouthpieces. While mouthpieces for tuba occupy a
distinct area of the graph and have a well-defined acoustic function, mouthpieces
for other instruments have properties which overlap. Distinguishing mouthpieces
can depend on other characteristics such as the external diameter of the stem at the
end where it fits into an instrument.
7.8 Going Further: The Bass Brass Instruments of Berlioz
In the first few decades of the nineteenth century there were two major developments
in the design of brass wind musical instruments. The first was the introduction of
completely keyed wide-bore side-hole instruments, including the Royal Kent bugle
patented by Joseph Haliday in 1810 (although invented a little earlier). The catalyst
for the second was the demonstration of a successful brass instrument valve by
Heinrich Stölzel in 1814. Each of these approaches led to the evolution of families
of completely chromatic brass instruments, and composers such as Hector Berlioz
were quick to take advantage of the potential of the new instruments in orchestral
scores. This Section reviews the bass brass instruments which Berlioz employed in
performances of his music, exploring the relationship between acoustical properties
and musical characteristics.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the only commonly available lip
excited instruments capable of playing chromatically in the bass register were
trombones and serpents. The trombone, with its slide system for continuous
modification of the tube length, had evolved from the slide trumpet in the fifteenth
century, while the serpent, with toneholes covered by the player’s fingers, was a late
sixteenth-century invention. Berlioz was strongly attracted by the noble sound of the
trombone, and used it extensively throughout his career. He had a less enthusiastic
view of the serpent, which has well-known intonation difficulties associated with the
size and spacing of the finger holes. Many of these problems were ameliorated by the
application of keys to the toneholes, which led through intermediate stages including
the bass horn to the completely keyed ophicleide patented by Halary in 1821.
Berlioz scored for ophicleides in many of his major works, including the Symphonie
Fantastique. By the 1840s he came to recognise the potential of valved saxhorns and
7 The Amazing Diversity of Brass Instruments
The construction of this cone and annulus readily gives two well-defined
measurements that can be used in taxonomic studies: cup volume V cup and cup
shape quotient Q cup , defined as
V cup = V cone + V ann ,
(7.3)
Q cup = 1 + V ann /V cone .
(7.4)
These parameters, together with the cross-sectional area of minimum bore, are
directly related to acoustical function.
Figure 7.56 is a scatter plot of these parameters for typical nineteenth and
twentieth-century brasswind mouthpieces. While mouthpieces for tuba occupy a
distinct area of the graph and have a well-defined acoustic function, mouthpieces
for other instruments have properties which overlap. Distinguishing mouthpieces
can depend on other characteristics such as the external diameter of the stem at the
end where it fits into an instrument.
7.8 Going Further: The Bass Brass Instruments of Berlioz
In the first few decades of the nineteenth century there were two major developments
in the design of brass wind musical instruments. The first was the introduction of
completely keyed wide-bore side-hole instruments, including the Royal Kent bugle
patented by Joseph Haliday in 1810 (although invented a little earlier). The catalyst
for the second was the demonstration of a successful brass instrument valve by
Heinrich Stölzel in 1814. Each of these approaches led to the evolution of families
of completely chromatic brass instruments, and composers such as Hector Berlioz
were quick to take advantage of the potential of the new instruments in orchestral
scores. This Section reviews the bass brass instruments which Berlioz employed in
performances of his music, exploring the relationship between acoustical properties
and musical characteristics.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the only commonly available lip
excited instruments capable of playing chromatically in the bass register were
trombones and serpents. The trombone, with its slide system for continuous
modification of the tube length, had evolved from the slide trumpet in the fifteenth
century, while the serpent, with toneholes covered by the player’s fingers, was a late
sixteenth-century invention. Berlioz was strongly attracted by the noble sound of the
trombone, and used it extensively throughout his career. He had a less enthusiastic
view of the serpent, which has well-known intonation difficulties associated with the
size and spacing of the finger holes. Many of these problems were ameliorated by the
application of keys to the toneholes, which led through intermediate stages including
the bass horn to the completely keyed ophicleide patented by Halary in 1821.
Berlioz scored for ophicleides in many of his major works, including the Symphonie
Fantastique. By the 1840s he came to recognise the potential of valved saxhorns and