JimF-LowBari Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 (edited) Not a trained musician so wondering if this would work or be a neat effect. My era was the late 70s and the G key, piston/rotor horns had a "bite" (best way I can descibe it) to the tone. This "bite" really came out in hard or Latin flavored solos using sops. Best examples I can give are Hawthorne Muchachos/Caballeros, 1978(?) Blue Stars "Backwoods Sideman" and 1980 Rhode Island Matadors (Sr) solo work with Jim Centerano(sp!), Richie Price and others. Would using a "bitie" toned older horn work in solo or other work today? Why or why not..... Edited February 8, 2007 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburstall Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 (edited) Fingering would be....well...ackward. A lot of 2nd and 3rd valves would come into play. Edited February 8, 2007 by sburstall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre Kulp Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Not as bad as you might think. It's been done before. I used to use my G horn periodically for school functions for that very "bite" you speak of. Worked pretty neat for putting some stuff up above the pep band's charts. Stuff like that. I think it would be a unique thing to try on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camel lips Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Why waste a perfectly good bugle on a Bb concert hornline. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 (edited) Fingering would be....well...ackward. A lot of 2nd and 3rd valves would come into play. Only problem with 2nd valve is learning to use the rotor.... Ran into 3rd valve problems when I joined Lancers and they weren't done going from 2v to 3v. Horn instructor would just tell us what note to play when the chart had a note that needed 3rd valve. Now we're all 3v and he's going ape shirt with his charts. Edited February 8, 2007 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre Kulp Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Why waste a perfectly good bugle on a Bb concert hornline. :P Waste a bugle on a Bb hornline? I think not! More like LAY WASTE to the Bb hornline with the BUGLE! Seriously... ALL my G horns allow me to play MUCH louder than any concert instrument. But I digress... not going to let this thread get hi-jacked into a G vs. Bb debate again. The effect is neat in that setting anyway. It gives you an additional option in regards to timbre. Personally, I would love to have a hornline with G and Bb/F horns intermingled. It would be tough to write in a happy key for everybody, but i think you could get some interesting sound. And I mean that in a GOOD way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Not a trained musician so wondering if this would work or be a neat effect. My era was the late 70s and the G key, piston/rotor horns had a "bite" (best way I can descibe it) to the tone. This "bite" really came out in hard or Latin flavored solos using sops. Best examples I can give are Hawthorne Muchachos/Caballeros, 1978(?) Blue Stars "Backwoods Sideman" and 1980 Rhode Island Matadors (Sr) solo work with Jim Centerano(sp!), Richie Price and others.Would using a "bitie" toned older horn work in solo or other work today? Why or why not..... The problem would be in selecting keys, as G and Bb are not closely related. What would be a great key for one part of the G/Bb equation would put the other in a not so good choice. Much of what you consider bite is likely more a component of mouthpiece selection. Corps today have switched to deeper, wider cups than were employed in the past. This minimizes the higher overtones and strengthens the lower ones. In the 1970's, most lead soprano players were on big band lead trumpet mouthpieces. These favored the upper register and a brighter sound. With 3 valve horns legalized in 1990, many arrangers began to use the lower range of the instruments with greater frequency and corps went with mouthpieces that would be considered more suitable for all around playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppeljr Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Trumpets and sops do not mix. There are recordings of this to verify the intonation issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellos Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 I highly advise NOT DOING THAT. Fingernails down a chalkboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 Actually it has been done for the last few year. Westshoremen Alumni use a mix of G and Bb horns at the Serenade in Brass show in Harrisburg, PA. Reason for the mix is the corps itself has access to few horns so most of the members bring in what they own. Biggest pain is on the horn staff as they have to provide two sets of charts, one for each key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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