I practice with 3 different Euphoniums, a brass-instrument like a small tuba. One of them - a Yamaha training instrument with 4 valves in a row - has a bad intonation at the natural fifth (upper G) actually the f ... which can hardly be compensated by lip tension or embouchure. I have no idea what could be the reason of this phenomenon as this tone is part of the overtone series.
asked Mar 3, 2019 at 9:44
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1The euphonium has its own particular set of problems. I suggest you search online for euphonum pitch problems. You will discover many useful articles, e.g. dwerden.com/CompensatingSystem.pdf ... merbrassresourcefile.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/5/8/40583795/…– chasly - supports MonicaCommented Mar 3, 2019 at 10:29
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1 Answer
A perfect air column contained in a perfect, straight tube, plays the notes of the harmonic series.
A real-world instrument, with all its twists, bends and constrictions, doesn't.
Part of the art of designing a good instrument is minimising these imperfections. Or the designer may have taken the attitude 'Ok the open note is out of tune, but it's fine with an alternate fingering'. Try 1+3 or 4.
(I think that's right. We're talking in 'Bb transposed' notation? Anyway, try SOME alternative fingering.)
You think THAT's bad? Look at the overtone series of a church bell. It bears very little resemblence to the theoretical harmonic series. It isn't a simple tuning fork, designed for purity of pitch, it's a very complex resonant system. The 'hum note' may be a major 7th below the 'strike note'! This isn't the place to discuss it fully, just know that real instruments don't have a nice tidy overtone structure!
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Yes, I‘m talking about Bb instrument. My question is concerning the fifth and I can‘t understand that it sound so much wrong as it doesn‘t need any walve and no compenation. And with all other instruments I never had this problem. I could even post a piece of the Tokyo Staff Band where you can hear the same negative effect. Commented Mar 3, 2019 at 15:08
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3Read my answer again. A euphonium is not a laboratory demonstration of acoustical principles, it's an imperfect, real-world object.– LaurenceCommented Mar 3, 2019 at 15:33
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I can understand a reputable band using instruments with an out-of-tune open G. I can't understand them failing to solve this with an alternative fingering! Let's hear the piece?– LaurenceCommented Dec 24, 2023 at 14:51