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RE: A rose by any other name.

To: <EconosizeFish@xxxxxxx>, "Brass-Band List Forum" <Brass-Band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: A rose by any other name.
From: "Mike Lyons" <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 22:16:51 -0000
Importance: Normal
In-reply-to: <b1.298b23f.260e4b13@aol.com>
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear John,

As I did my Bachelor's thesis on brass instruments and their history, I have
to disagree with a lot of what you say. The original cornet-type instrument
was wooden and had a cup-shaped or acorn-shaped mouthpiece carved into the
end.  Trumpets were always made of metal - or at least long animal horns,
with the result that their mouthpiece was cone/funnel shaped. This was
partly due to the lack of technology available to Renaissance man. It was
easier to make a funnel out of metal than a cup.

The balance between conical and cylindrical bores was a development of the
18th and 19th centuries when the technology became available to create such
things and people had the freedom to experiment. The French Horn is a
development of the hunting horn, which incorporated some of the developments
of the other instruments. It still retains the basic shape of the hunting
ancestor, but with the addition of rotary valves, rather than pistons, of
the other brasses. You can't call a horn a woodwind, just as you can't call
a saxophone a brass. The method of sound production relies on a completely
different mechanism.

The Flugel horn is an alto tuba/saxhorn. It was developed along with the
other saxhorn type instruments to provide a fuller/richer  sound than the
ordinary cornet could provide.

As to complete rubbish, it's all in the name. I didn't choose the names,
they just are. If you prefer, the euph could be described as a baritone
instrument to the baritone's tenor, but tat would only lead to confusion.
IMHO the euph is to the band what the cello is to the orchestra TENOR. Don't
forget that the euphonium and baritone are from different families baritone
is a saxhorn, euph is a tuba.

Yours,


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