[email protected] wrote: > What I originally said was to use the 8th partial on either side of > the horn to tune it. Your case, an F on the Bb side is going to be > 6th partial, will be sharp, and is never a good note to tune. What > defines a best note? The horn? The partial? If so, what partial?
From time to time I hear folks talk about how the 6th partial is "never a good note to tune." In a perfectly-tuned harmonic series, the 6th partial (and 3rd partial) is only 2 cents sharp to equal-temperament. That means that--after perfectly in-tune partials 1, 2, 4, 8 & 16--the 3rd and 6th partials are the next-best in-tune partials! Of course no horn has a perfectly-tuned harmonic series, so this argument isn't necessarily a good one. I also haven't played many horns where the 6th partial c' on the B-flat horn was so sharp that it was useless for tuning. The 8th partial on the B-flat horn is high enough that many players (especially younger or weaker players) will sag on this note, even though it's "supposed to be" the in-tune 8th partial. Then there's the question of what note(s) on the horn is/are most useful to compare to the oboist's A? So which foot would you like to shoot? In my opinion, it's probably best to spend time getting your horn in tune with itself at home. It's impossible to set the valve slides so that every note on the horn is perfectly in tune. It's all a compromise. If the horn is fairly well in tune with itself, then you'll only have to make tiny changes to the main slide at rehearsal if the general pitch is different from 440. It's also worthwhile to make sure that other aspects of technique aren't affecting intonation. If you aren't using adequate air, chances are pitch will vary throughout the range. If your right hand position gets lazy and inconsistent, pitch suffers too. The horn is really pretty forgiving as far as intonation goes. If you haven't trained your ear to recognize what "in-tune" sounds like, you probably can't play in tune wherever your slides are. And, conversely, you can play pretty well in tune if your slides are merely "close enough" as long as your ear cues the rest of your body to make the necessary adjustments. Now, for the beginner who hasn't developed either ear or playing technique and wants to "tune" a double horn in just 8 or 9 easy steps: 1. Pull the main slide (the first one you get to as you follow the tubing away from the mouthpiece) about the width of your pinky. This slide affects every note on the horn. 2. Pull the F slide (the other big slide near the main slide) a little less than the main slide. This slide only affects notes on the F side of the horn. 2a. If you have a Holton Farkas, Conn 8D, Yamaha 668 (or similar) horn, the little slide that sticks straight up on the front of the horn is just and extra slide for emptying water. Leave it in all the way. (If you moved it, by the way, it would only affect the F side of the horn.) 2b. If you have a Conn 6D, the F slide is the tubing with a slide on both the top and bottom on the back of the horn. Only pull one end; use the other end for emptying water. The F horn valve slides are the ones on top: 3. Pull the first valve slide about the width of your pinky. 4. Pull the second valve slide a little less than the first. 5. Pull the third valve slide a little more than the first. The B-flat horn valve slides are the ones on bottom: 6-8. Pull each B-flat valve slide a little less than the F valve slides in front of them. 9. If you have a Holton Farkas or Merker (or similar) horn, there's a tiny slide that sticks out sideways near the thumb valve that only affects the B-flat horn. Pull it about the width of your pinky too. When you remove a slide to empty water, make the effort to return the slide to the same length of pull it had previously. Also, don't mix up the slides for the second valve (the F horn slide is longer). Once you get to be a more consistent player, then you can fiddle with these slides to help you play better in tune. (I bet you won't have to move them very far.) If you've got a good teacher, he or she can help you set your slides more precisely too. Greg _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
