07-28-2019, 02:18 AM
(07-27-2019, 06:07 PM)Mattias Westlund Wrote:(07-26-2019, 01:20 AM)Samulis Wrote: What makes the horn and trombone sound so different is simply down to mouthpieces, bore ratio and shape, and bell size/flare. If you put a horn mouthpiece on a trombone (with an adapter), you can get a tone out of the trombone somewhat closer to that of a horn, albeit with the bell facing forward. This, aside from right-handed vs. left-handedness, is what distinguishes a wagner tuba from a 'kaiser baritone' or saxhorn-family instrument, or a trumpet from a cornet. In a sense, all brass instruments exist somewhere on a spectrum of bore ratio, bell size/flare, and mouthpiece shape. What survives today are simply what managed to win out commercially in a 200-year evolutionary struggle.
This is a very interesting anecdote. I seem to remember reading that there were at some point also bass trumpets -- or was it piccolo trombones (or maybe both) -- that feel out of fashion due to sounding so similar to their larger/smaller cousins that there was little point in ever using them.
Yes, both the soprano trombone and bass trumpet are fairly extinct today for that reason. Occasionally they are used in circuses or by enterprising musicians seeking a differentiating factor for their ensemble. There is also a great deal of questioning as to whether these instruments ever were common at any point in time- there are innumerable scholarly discussions on to what extent the soprano trombone existed historically. On the other hand, there are some brass instruments which were at some point somewhat common but are now very uncommon (e.g. the 'tenor cor' or "original" mellophone, alto horns, alto trombones, metal clarinets, military oboes, ophicleides (in France, at least), just to mention some from only the past 150 years!).
My favorite brass instrument anecdode/trick is using trombone or trumpet samples and pitching them up or down an octave to achieve the sound of the other. Not only is this fun to do with recordings, but it's a great cheat when working with limited samples (e.g. where you only have trombone ensemble samples and need a trumpet ensemble).
Modern large bore 'orchestral' trombones, however, are closer in structure to cornets, so the tone may be a bit warmer than typical trumpets.
In many cases, it seems that the modern orchestral families solidified out of contrasting instruments or 'mixed consorts' (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, for example, all sound quite distinct, while instruments like alto & bass flute, oboe d'amore and bass oboe, contralto and contrabass clarinet, altoon and tenoroon, etc. are all relatively extinct). In the Renaissance and early Baroque, many instruments still could be found in full consorts SATB and beyond, but now that habit is only demonstrated by vestigial traces. Even the strings, which seem moderately homogeneous at first glance, are not all to the same proportions, especially for the contrabass which in some ways bears resemblance to the gamba family.
Sample library developer, composer, and amateur organologist at Versilian Studios.