10 Learning & Playing Tuba/Trumpet/Euphonium/French Horn

In this video, Brett Youens explains the prerequisites for learning scales - with the flugelhorn used as an example.

http://www.geocities.com/freewillyb/

(Transcript)
Hi. Lets talk a little more about valved brass instruments and how they work. As you can see, this is a tuba, etc.

Our topic today will be the creation of scales on your valved brass instrument. So today we will be dealing more with the thinking aspect, collecting some prerequisites before progressing to the knowing aspect in a later video.

A scale is just a collection of notes. Lets say I have these notes and Id like to invent a melody using my scale. That might sound something like this...

Now in order to learn these scales with ease, it would be great if we could create something akin to a piano keyboard on our valved brass instruments. And in order to do that, we need to become experts in halfsteps (HS) and wholesteps (WS). Scales are full of HSs and WSs, which is the reason why we need to become experts on HSs and WSs. And for us today, this entails three things: being able to recognize them when you hear them, being able to sing them, and being able to finger them on your valved brass instrument.

The first thing I need to be able to do with HSs and WSs is to recognize them when I hear them. So team up with a friend who either plays piano or another instrument, or go to a piano yourself and close your eyes and play two neighboring white keys and test yourself: can you hear the different between a WS and a HS?

The next thing I should be able to do is to sing a HS or a WS from any given pitch. So, for example, I want to sing an ascending WS. Then I check it. Ok, got it right.

The final step for today in becoming an expert on HSs and WSs would be to know how to finger them on your instrument. Well start with HSs. And well take the flugelhorn as an example. As you know, the baby (B), or the 2nd valve, lowers the note by a HS. So anytime I want to change a note by a HS, the B is probably the first valve that Ill be thinking of. For example, if I want to lower this fingering, the open fingering, by a HS, then I press the B...or if I want to raise this fingering by a HS, then I just release the B. So most of the time, changing a note by a HS just means changing the B.

But sometimes the B is already depressed, and if the B is already depressed, then there is still a way to lower a note by a HS; its just not as easy as pressing the B. You just have to lower the note by a bit too much first: press the dad (D), and release the B. In the end, adding a WS and subtracting a HS is the same thing as adding a HS. Thats the second way to change a note by a HS: its just swapping the B and the D.

One more way would be to swap the D and the grandfather (G). For example, if I have this fingering and I want to lower it by a HS. Well, I couldnt press the B because the B is already down, and I couldnt swap the B and the D, because the D is also already down. So then I would have to lower it by quite a bit more than I want to, so the G, but then subtract the D, and I also get a HS.

So, to review: three ways of changing a note by a HS: pressing the B, pressing the D and releasing the B, or pressing the G and releasing the D. Those are for the descending intervals, and obviously for ascending its just the reverse.

So on to the WS. As you know, the D, or the 1st valve, lowers a note by one WS. So if I want to change a note by a WS, Ill be thinking about the D first. Lets say I have an open fingering. How do I lower that by a WS? Add the D...What if I have this and I want to raise it by a WS? Subtract the D. So again, the D is the first thing youll want to think of when you think of WSs.

But what if the D is already depressed? There is a way! Say we have this fingering. I cant add the D because hes already down, but what I could do is add the G, which is actually a little more than I want since thats 1 ½, and then I just have to release the B. Im swapping the B and the G.

And what if I have this fingering? In that case I cant add the D, because hes already there. I also cant swap the B and the G because neither one of them is there, so I have to add them both, which lowers the note by two tones, and then release the D simultaneously. In that case Im swapping the D, and the B and the G.

So, to review: 3 ways of changing a note by a WS. Add the D, or swap the G and the B, or swap the D with the G and the B. And obviously the ascending intervals are just the reverse.

So what about the scales? Theyre on the way in the next video. We now have everything we need to know in order to create them. So start listening and singing and fingering your HSs and WSs and remember one thing while youre doing that: dont worry about raising a note above an open fingering or lowering a note below a 123 fingering. So now you know, or are about to learn, a little more about valved brass instruments and how they work.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• learn
• tuba
• trumpet
• euphonium
• baritone
• flugelhorn
• cornet
• how
• to
• play
• brass
• scales
• fingerings
• halfstep
• wholestep

[haniqassim]

Dude I'm still waiting for part 11 !!!!

[PianoWallaby]

@haniqassim Thanks for the comment. So you are waiting on part 11? OK, I guess I should make it at some point! Glad to hear you like the videos!

[pigfscker]

Thanks for this excellent video series. Your teaching style is great and I am finding the vids are quite helpful.

[PianoWallaby]

@pigfscker I am very glad that you find the videos helpful. Thanks for your comment.

[rcsavers]

Hey man ,

How you doing ?

Just want to ask , are the fingering on Bb and Eb trumpet same if not, does that mean I have to re-learn how to play ?

[PianoWallaby]

@rcsavers Valved instruments in different keys have the same fingering system, but the same notes are, indeed, played by different fingerings.

[BlightDemon]

Thank you so much for these videos, they've given me such a better understanding of the innerworkings of my instruments! I eagerly await part 11; however I won't be holding my breath for it :(

[chakraft]

Thanks. V interesting!

[alpajan54]

Great work!!!!

QUESTION: we are playing in, say, c major scale, and then some one says "let's play the same thing from g major" and that i do not know; so i'am asking how do i know the fingering (i'am familiar with scales) , is there some way of thinking about notes or fingering to help me to shift scales (like on guitar, you have positions so you just shift 7 frets up from c to g and play the same positions) is there something so simple about trumpet also, or how do i train my self for that?

[PianoWallaby]

@LittleBoyTuba Congrats!

[PianoWallaby]

@rcsavers Valved instruments in different keys have the same fingering system, but the same notes are, indeed, played by different fingerings.