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@the elephant might find this advantageous - once a 6th valve is installed on his Holton C tuba...(??)

I just discovered that (common to many tubas) with the 2nd partial 2-3 pitch often being sharper than the 3rd/4th/8th partial 2-3 pitches, that

[6]-1-2 is a bit flatter version of 2-3 (valve combo which lowers the tuning two whole tones).

With my compact Holton BB-flat tuba (which only has 5 valves, whereby the 5th valve is an FF semitone circuit) that my low G-flat/F-sharp is in tune with 5-1-2 (when 2-3 is tuned for the other three 2-3-played pitches).

(I've decided to use that tuba - a couple of weekends from now) to play this Overture (which is VERY "punchy", benefiting from the sonority and articulation capabilities of this instrument). There are two or three very terse low-F# downbeats...and nice to have them be "not sharp" and nor any need to frantically fish for a slide.

It's an interesting Overture...As "Zarathustra" is simultaneously in C and B, this (necessarily short...ie. main title of a movie) Overture is simultaneously in B-flat and A.



non sequitur:
other quality music on this upcoming pops concert (overlooking the stack of schlock) is
> Tchaik - Romeo & Juliet overture

most fun schlock (likely: cimbasso, and burnin' hot) could end up being
> Mission: Impossible theme
> James Bond medleys (a couple of them, as well as individual Bond movie main titles)

under the category of "campy"
> Secret Agent Man (Yeah...I'm a hopeless Johnny Rivers fan. )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iaR3WO71j4

Abs are low… or Eb is high. I like it when 3 is in enough to have bottom space Ab dead on, but that makes Eb a PITA and is part of the reason for doing this. I am hoping for 6-3 to work as that is the least intrusive for my smooth brain to parse.

6-12 would work, but it would be harder for me to deeply learn (at sightreading-gig level).

the elephant wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 3:28 pm Abs are low… or Eb is high. I like it when 3 is in enough to have bottom space Ab dead on, but that makes Eb a PITA and is part of the reason for doing this. I am hoping for 6-3 to work as that is the least intrusive for my smooth brain to parse.

6-12 would work, but it would be harder for me to deeply learn (at sightreading-gig level).

ok...so yours is an example of "the other way around" (such as Willson contrabass tubas vs. Hirsbrunner).
Whatever the case, 2-3 is - let's say "nebulous"...ref: the trombone jokes about "no one knows where 5th position is", etc...

I don't expect to "learn" that valve combo, but rather "something to write above a note".
meh...If [6]-1-2 doesn't flatten E-flat enough, then (sure) it's time to go to [6]-3.

[5]-1-2 (with my 5th valve being the adjusted semitone, and only 5 total valves on that instrument) is maybe more of a natural tactile "grab" (as - for me - it's one-handed)...
...but this has nothing to do with your situation.

bloke "sightreading: when musicians - regardless of level of prowess - are poking at the notes"