Comprehensive Trumpet Tuning List (Various Keys)

[jophst]

Hello all. Although this may have been already explained in previous posts, I would like a full explanation on how to tune trumpets in various keys.

It is quite standard to tune a Bb trumpet with a C ... or "Bb concert" .. and that will be the end of that.

So for a C trumpet, does this mean I should tune it on the C?? (C concert which sounds like a D)?? Should I be tuning any other notes since it is a different keyed instrument? Or, should I just be aware that certain notes will always be out of tune. Can and should I compensate ahead of time?

I would also like to know how to effectively tune an Eb horn. Do I tune only the C?? (Eb concert that sounds like an F)?

Finally, what are the "correct"steps involved with tuning a piccolo trumpet? What note should I tune first? What note should I tune last. This is what is most important to me. And, do I leave it as is for the A side as well as the Bb side? ...i.e., leave 1st, 3rd, and 4th slide where it is and just adjust the leadpipe??

If all this has been thoroughly posted on trumpetherald or on the web, feel free to point me in that direction. Thanks.
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Bb - Yamaha Xeno 8335RGS
Picc - Yamaha 9830 w/PVA
Flugel - Yamaha Shew 6310Z
Laskey's 68MD,68C,PIC,68F,68DB

[drunkiq]

here is somthing i picked up on tuning a piccolo trumpet:

The smaller the horn, traditionally, the more problematic the intonation. As a result, tuning the piccolo can often be more complex than simply pegging your usual concert A or Bb with the tuning slide. Here is one suggestion on how to get the horn to be as close as possible:

1. Tune the first space F with the leadpipe;
2. Tune the top line F with the first valve slide, but make sure that it doesn't flat the 4th line D horrendously. This D can be especially flat on some piccs.
3. Tune the 3rd valve slide so the low D or C# are in tune. Like triggering, but if you have a 3rd valve slide ring on your picc, you probably don't need to do this. Most don't have tuning rings (why? because the length of the tubing is so short that it tends to bind and doesn't operate smoothly).
4. Tune the fourth valve slide for the low F.

-marc

[jophst]

Thanks Mark ... just what I needed ... seemed to do the trick too. That was far from what I had been doing ... amd it took forever to lock in!

Does anyone have any further insight on tuning the other keyed instruments? Tips? Suggestions? Experiences??

Thanks,
_________________
Bb - Yamaha Xeno 8335RGS
Picc - Yamaha 9830 w/PVA
Flugel - Yamaha Shew 6310Z
Laskey's 68MD,68C,PIC,68F,68DB

[UsedBits]

A wind instrument is subject to the physics of sound, therefore it is an untempered instrument by definition. Use of slides on a trumpet provides for two attributes: they compensate for the arithmatic differences of the tube lengths, and they temper the scale.

This is unlike modern keyboard instruments with most all having tempered scales. This allows for the keyboard to play in any key without having to tune the instrument per key.

Wind instrumentalists, when not playing with a keyboard, gravitate to the untempered scale and, as such, must use the tuning slides more judiciously when the music jumps from one key to another.

So, to answer your question, you tune your horn to the predominate concert key and use your ear to compensate. For example, if playing a tune in concert C on my Eb trumpet, I would tune the trumpet to concert C (2nd space A and the A scale), making sure that the slides default to what ever is necessary to keep the horn in tune up and down the scale. If the music changes keys, I have to manage the problem notes (anything with 1st+3rd or 1st+2nd+3rd valves and all of the 5th partial notes) very carefully.

Many of the 'tiny' trumpets (Eb, F, G, and A, Bb and C piccolo) do not have tunable 2nd slides. This makes changing keys even more difficult. Of these trumpets, those with a 4th valve can be used with alternate fingerings to compensate for radical drifts from the scale (tempered or untempered).

It takes skill, practice, and a good ear - and a willingness to be told you're out of tune without taking offense. As for my skills, I still have to be told ...
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aka Benge Loyalist
Benge Bb, 5x, ml #8162
Benge C, 2x+, mlp #7481
Benge D/Eb, ml #6579
Benge Flug, ml #17xxx
Stomvi piccolo, m15, #901885
Boston 3-Star 1 NE Plus Ultra LP #22019
Martin Committee #151322
Bach Strad (NY) 7-10-62, #2003