Christmas Tubas

[cybereye (Mario)]

Hello!!

Every Christmas, the Robertson State School choir, along with the Sunnybank Brass Band, provides a concert for the residents of the Brooklands retirement village here in Brisbane.

Last night was the 2013 concert and I've attached an image of a section of the band...

Cheers,
Mario

[astronobob (Bob)]

Looks like Whilley, from Hey Hey Saturday, but he wouldnt give up his Sax for a Tuba : )
Dig the B/W mate . .

[Liz]

I like it, great image Mario.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

The nearest two have one valve down but the far one looks to have two down. Are they playing harmonies or are they slightly out of time in their hand movements? (I imagine they could be slightly out of sync with their hands but still blow the note at the same time.) Any tuba experts?

[Pi]

Sorry to be a party pooper but those aren't tubas.

The two on the right hand side are euphoniums and the left hand side is a baritone (and likely the same next to her).

They are almost certainly playing harmonies, in fact the two euphoniums (both with their 1st valve down) are probably playing in harmony as opposed to in unison. As for air flow, generally speaking, you will continue with your air flow over an entire phrase and using your tongue to articulate the change in pitch and rhythm. Think of it in terms of singers, they don't stop their air flow for each individual note/word they sing or the phrases would sound disjointed. In summary, for each note change, your fingers need to change valves, lips need to change embouchure and tongue needs to articulate simultaneously.

Below is a link to my favorite Xmas brass band track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqhoQzvBgDM

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by Pi

.... for each note change, your fingers need to change valves, lips need to change embouchure and tongue needs to articulate simultaneously.

Strewth!! I'll stick to bass and octave mando - though even with them there are certain phrases where I do have to get my tongue in just the right place to play it.

Originally Posted by Pi

Sorry to be a party pooper but those aren't tubas.

The two on the right hand side are euphoniums and the left hand side is a baritone (and likely the same next to her).

Baritone Euphonium?

[Pi]

I've heard the phrase "baritone euphonium" but I honestly don't know what it refers to, I've always assumed "baritone" in that phrase was a description of the voicing the instrument the "euphonium" is playing/singing. It could be something the yanks say, I'm pretty certain they have their own nomenclature.

In the picture above, there are two distinctly different instruments. A Euphonium with a conical bore and a baritone with a cylindrical bore. This is similar as to how the trumpet (cylindrical) and cornet (conical) are completely different instruments. A conical bore produces a more "mellow" tone.

With reference to the picture, here are some differences I think I see:

• The Euphonium have 4 values vs the 3 on the baritone.
• Notice the length of tubing above the eupho players fingers, the baritone lacks that because it can accommodate tighter turns in the tubing due to the cylindrical bore.

[gary]

Nice eye-catching image!

[cybereye (Mario)]

Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts. I guess I showed that I'm not very musical calling them tubas. I think I'll just stick to taking pretty pictures!

Cheers,
Mario