I wouldn’t mind participating, but the are some drawbacks.

First, I have not ‘casting’ equipment (camera, mic). All I have is this lil ‘ol pentium 4 box.

Second, due to my previous brain injury 10 years ago, my speech, though constantly improving, is still difficult for some to understand, and I’m not sure would project well.

I am enthusiatic about this site, and would support you in whatever way I can, however.

Mike

Return to the website as often as you can. There are folks posting here who can really help anyone learn a lot about antique brass instruments. The Vienna valve came in many different styles but died out before 1900 except with the Vienna symphony where it is used to this day.

Hope you have a safe trip back to Korea!

Thanks for sharing your gallery of very interesting photos with us, and dont forget us when show and tell time comes when Robb finishes the restoration.

Another thing to consider is that these instruments were not as loud as our much heavier modern instruments, and were played in a much quieter environment without any of today’s noise pollution–no background noise of constant traffic, jet airplanes, thumping car stereos, rumbling Harleys, etc. to impinge on the out-of-doors listening experience. For instance, in the pre-Civil War era, the West Point band would play at the top of the cliffs, and listeners in boats would congregate on the Hudson far below to listen to the concert. (No loud internal combustion motors on those boats, either!) So I think some of the issue lies with our modern expectations, rather than with deficiencies in the designs of the instruments, and that in an appropriate environment, they carry adequately with a mellow, well-blended tone.

As for Kenton’s question about designing a more compact OTS tuba: It was definitely the balance issue. In my experience, the long bell balances the instrument handily on the shoulder and makes it much more comfortable and convenient to use in a marching situation than an upright horn, especially the huge monstrosities that pass for tubas these days! One merely needs to be cognizant of the long dimensions of the bell and take a little extra care to not smack it into things such a tree limbs, door frames, and, of course, other OTS instruments. Surely, it’s no more inconvenient to play on the march than a slide trombone, especially when countermarching! As for the sound, it still flows into both the player’s ears, so you get a surprisingly conventional stereo feedback very similar to a bell-front instrument; although it is disconcerting at first to not see a bell in front of you!

The primary reason bands were located at the front of a column of soldiers (usually a regiment of over 1,000 men) was for the pageantry. This was the grandeur of war and patriotism, after all. On parade, the band would follow the color guard, or even lead it, with the drum major (if there was one) using his baton to direct the commands such as forward march, mark time, halt, turns, etc, as well as the musical roll-offs. The troops just followed whatever the band did in front of them, staying in step to the tunes. Having the band blaring and the flags streaming in the breeze at the head of a column is a sping-tingling visual effect. And many drum majors of the day were extremely impressive individuals; in a large bearskin shako, with a large red-white-and-blue hackle (plume) a drum major could top out at over 8 feet tall, while frequently performing impressive feats of twirling and throwing their large batons, and even playing solo passages on a handily concealed Eb cornet; all very flashy. Can’t have THAT at the BACK of a column in a parade! Look up accounts of Matthew Arbuckle, who was drum major AND cornet soloist of Isaac Fiske’s Band until he was lured away by a larger paycheck offered by Patrick Gilmore.

OK, I’ve prattled enough…..