Now I'm guessing some readers that have been here since the beginning will remember my first post, Centering the High Bb. These two tips aren't just similar because they of the same name, but because they are more of a "trick" that I hope can work for you too.
My teacher, Wendy Hinman, told me last week that when she was in college everyone around her was playing Conn 8D's, but she has always been more of a Holton player. They were trying to tell that the "high G" would be better in tune if it was fingered trigger and one. Now she tried this on her horn and the response and intonation weren't as favorable as the "regular" open fingering.
After she told me this story, we knew that I'd have to give it a try to see if her college buddies weren't just full of baloney, because I'm playing on an H-series Conn 8D. I then gave it a try and it actually made it sound quite a bit better. I don't know if it's something about how the horn is made, or if it's in my head that I like proving my teacher wrong, but the "G" was very centered on the tuner and compared to the rest of the horn. In my opinion I also thought it had a better ring to it, but Wendy couldn't tell too much of a difference.
Finally, if you play a Conn 8D I'd highly advise that you at least experiment with this alternate fingering; just to see what happens at least. Also I wouldn't mind finding out if this works on other horns, like say Paxman, Finke, or Lewis. No matter what your results are--good, bad, or nothing at all--I'd really like to hear from you in either the comments section or send me an email.
I have been playing on a Paxman 20M for over 20 years now, and while I do not normally have problems with the high G, I often use the T1 fingering as an alternative to the usual T0. On my horn they are both well centered and in tune. But, believe it or not, so is the same note on the F side of the horn.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a horn player, but I understand how that finger could make sense. As a euphoniumist, we also have some choices for that same pitch (concert C). Usually it comes down to either open or first valve. The fingering you gave (trigger+1) is the same as just first valve on a euphonium, and many people I know don't use that fingering to play the C because it is less reliable and often flatter in pitch, as I've found. I normally use the open fingering for high C, which means that the note exists on horn in that fingering also (trigger open). Would you be able to try it and see what happens?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback, and what I've been realizing today is that the two different fingerings have a slightly different "color."
ReplyDeleteI've been experimenting with different options in the Adagio section of the Schumann sonata. This has both been for intonation and for finding the right sounds. I'm finding that I'm using the first finger for the G about half the time right now. I feel like having the first finger down gives it a more veiled sound, where open gives a projected sound (probably has to do the different lengths pipes).
Also this same idea holds true with the F, one step below the G. Both are about the same for intonation, and the sound became more veiled when the longer option is used.
...Just some food for thought. =)