Hi David, I'm not sure what the specific situations are that limit your expectations, but in a professional setting I expect the nomenclature to be adhered to, or that someone will notify me of a needed change. When I write for bass trbn I have a fairly particular sound in mind: that resonant, fat sound that is only really achieved with a large bore instrument. Substituting a large bore tenor like the 88H will change the texture of the score, at least to some degree. Use my Selmer with it's stuffy little F-attachment, and all bets are off.
The more specific a requested sound or style (especially if exposed or featured) and the further it is from a perceived norm, the more specific the attempt should be in specifying the desired instrument and/or player. In studio work this sometimes necessitates discussing personnel with the contractor, making sure he and the player(s) know what is needed. I've also called players directly, when I know who has been booked, to check their comfort level with something I have in mind. I feel like there is a perceived norm for bass trbn when I ask for it, but contrabass trbn seems to be much more specialized, though that may be due to the fact that I haven't written for CBT and don't know of one locally. Don Hart on 6/24/06 6:57 AM, dhbailey at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Christopher Smith wrote: >> >> On Jun 23, 2006, at 5:16 PM, John Howell wrote: >> >>> At 4:42 PM -0400 6/23/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >>>> In a message dated 6/23/06 3:27:17 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >>>> >>>>> 1. The only modern contrabass trombone I've EVER heard of is in >>>>> BB-flat, >>>>> though some today add an F trigger. Both of these are an octave >>>>> lower than >>>>> the tenor-bass instrument used today, regardless of its boresize. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Actually, Mirafone makes one that is pitched in F. >>> >>> Gentlemen, we are arguing semantics, and my only concern is with sound. >> >> >> Actually, nomenclature is very important when specifying instruments for >> a score, which is what we all do here. >> >> So yes, it is helpful to know what instrument will be used when we >> specify bass trombone or contrabass trombone. >> > > But even if we use the nomenclature that we think is clear, we still > don't know what instrument will be used when we specify bass trombone or > contrabass trombone. > > Many people play bass trombone parts on large-bore tenor trombones with > f-attachments, while many others play them on trombones with F and D > attachments (did I get that second one right?) which have larger bores > and give a fatter sound. > > But specifying Bass Trombone only guarantees that you might get an > instrument with an F-attachment -- I've even seen those parts played on > obvious tenor trombones even without particularly large bores but with F > attachments to enable them to get the lower notes. Not great tone, but > the pitches were there. Not the sound the composer had in mind, I'm sure. > > Specify contrabass trombone and you may get a tuba playing the part. > The musicians playing the parts will determine what instrument plays > that part, not the nomenclature we put on it. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
