My Sister sent me this YouTube video of something described as a “sub-contrabass trumpet and I’m confused about that sub-contrabass designation. At first I thought maybe it was an EEb, but the description on YouTube says it is pitched in Bb. The second valve slide appears linger than normal for a BBb to me, but the horn doesn’t look long enough or sound low enough to be a BBBb. So where are they coming up with Sub-contra? Is that just wrong? It just sounds little a particularly stuffy and inarticulate BBb tuba to me, am so wrong?
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Re: Sub-contrabas trumpet
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 12:46 pm
by arpthark
Just a quirk of nomenclature. "Bass trumpet" is typically in 9' Bb -- same range as a euph or trombone. "Contrabass trumpet" is typically pitched in F below that, same as an F (bass) tuba. So they call the thing in Bb below that -- in BBb contrabass tuba range -- a "subcontrabass trumpet."
In actuality, these ranges may better be described as tenor --> bass --> contrabass, descending.