b/4 F/G – ‘quarter flat F/G’
Nothing new under the sun, of course, but this idea was new to me. If you’re an indy player who already uses the second valve more than the first, this might be of interest. Otherwise, probably not.
…based on a few considerations:
- F/Gb/D is great for keeping low C and B in the middle of the slide, but if you tune the F side high enough to have the flat second partial F usable in 1st, you’re left with two valves relatively close in pitch – reducing the diversity and even spacing of patterns further down the slide.
- On tenor, as per a suggestion from Doug a few months back, I prefer to sacrifice the low F in 1st in favor of a real low C at the end of the slide, with tenor C in hard 1st against the bumpers.
- F/G/Eb, with its whole tone difference between valves, opens up lots of new ‘snakes and ladders’ options but leaves low C and B a bit ‘old fashioned’ and distant.
- The Bollinger second valve tuning (halfway between G and Gb) has many advantages in triadic groupings and duplication of upper octave positions, when used on its own. However, its double valve combination has no significant advantage over F/Gb/D – you still don’t have an Eb in 1st, you lose the faux-pedal Bb in 7th, and everything in between is further out – and the triadic alignment in the double valve range is neither better nor worse than in the system below.
- Like Bollinger's tuning, this would be most advantageous on big modern valves that reduce slurring/venting challenges, but that doesn't make it any less ergonomically useful on standard rotors.
First valve – a quarter tone below F
second partial Eb in normal 3rd – giving third partial C in hard 1st against the bumpers, and a proper low C at the end of the slide (arm permitting)
Second valve – a quarter tone below G
second partial F in normal 3rd – with both valves together giving low D in hard-ish 1st, as per F/Gb/D tuning
Check: A, B, C# all in normal 2nd
Second valve third partial | D – sharp 1st | Db – 2nd | C – very slightly flat 3rd | B – slightly flat 4th | Bb – 5.5th | A – 7th | |
First valve third partial | C – hard 1st | B – 2nd | Bb – flat 3rd | A – 4.5th | Ab –6th | G – flat 7th | |
Open | Bb | A | Ab | G | Gb | F | E |
Second valve second partial | Gb - sharp 2nd | F – 3rd | E – slightly flat 4th | Eb –flat 5th | D – 6.5th | ||
First valve second partial | E – 1.5th | Eb – 3rd | D – flat 4th | Db – 6th | C – flat 7th | ||
Both valves | D – hard-ish 1st | Db – 2.5th | C – 4th | B – 5.5th | Bb – flat 7th |
Advantages:
- First valve remains the same as the ‘maximum range’ (i.e. real low C) tuning on single valve bass or tenor
- All the triadic benefits of the Bollinger second valve as used on its own
- Standard D tuning for both valves together – C and B remain conveniently central – and double valve major triads are neither better nor worse than in the Bollinger tuning (in which Db major happens to be the triad that aligns vertically in 3rd – here, it’s C major in 4th - and any of these systems requires small slide adjustments to be learned regardless)
- Whole tone spacing of valves gives more pattern flexibility – beginning in 6th/7th with 2nd partial ‘pedal’ Bb, there's a complete chromatic scale within any 2/3 position vertical ‘stack’ you choose
- … and various other nice options - having Eb or F as reference points in 3rd is especially satisfying
- A/B/C# in 2nd very quickly checks all tuning slide positions in orchestral contexts
- If you’re an indy player who usually plays low F on the second valve for tuning flexibility anyway, then giving up the Bb triadic tuning in 1st position isn’t a big deal. (You just get a triad for Ab in 3rd instead, and more options either side. In fact, you do still have a flashy valve/linear slide arpeggio option for low Bb (Bb 2T 5.5th, F open 6th, D 2T 6.5th, ‘pedal’ Bb 1+2T 7th – and that pattern carries up the slide even better than in the Bollinger system because of the both-trigger D tuning.)
- No special requirements on the F slide (you’re just pulling out further than usual, but well within the capacity of standard tuning slides)
- Same second valve tuning requirements as Bollinger – extremely straightforward on some instruments, less so on others
- Only going to work for players already used to playing long on the slide/off the bumpers
- Having a low C at the end of the slide isn’t worth much if your arms aren’t long enough to reach it
- Giving up the first valve low F/full Bb major triad in 1st probably strikes some players as particularly disturbing. If you’re going back and forth between dependent and independent, I can see that this might be a dealbreaker; otherwise, probably a mind-mapping/symbolic issue. But if the idea bothers you, you probably haven’t read this far
Whatcha think?