Trombones were the-odd-men-out. Some say they often were recruited among ex-service-bandsmen. And the bassbone was even more odd. It was pitched in G like the Brit orchestral bassbone was up to somewhere between 1955 and 1970. After that the one valve Bb bassbone entered the scene. It happened to have the exact same bottom limit as the G variant namely the the cellos lowest C# cum Db. I have played Eric Leidzen's Sinfonietta on a such trombone. The middle movement was written in E major (or was it C# minor) with 4 #'s in my part, whereas the cornets had 6 flats in their parts. My playing in tune on the low C# was a novelty in that band. Wonderful piece by the way.
This brought me up short, Klaus. The "one valve Bb bassbone" or Bb/F bass has a natural range down to the cello's low C, not C#, and down to the B with the tuning slide extension pulled. Obviously you know this instrument well, so a little more detail would be appreciated.
Through the last few years I have been able to acquire 3 Brit bassbones in G, all to be played with a slide handle, as the 6th and 7th positions are out of reach for even players, who like me, suffer from the orangutan syndrome.
I once worked with a Bb/F bass player in Toronto who had very short arms, and had had a handle fitted to his "normal" Bb/F instrument. The real monster is the Eb bass sackbutt, which absolutely requires a handle.
John
-- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
