Has any one managed to score for the Euphonium in Treble Clef! in Cubase, and managed it to play back properly using a Euphonium VST / Other Sound file?
IF so, what Score settings did you use & which sound file did you use and is it freely available/other?
I am using Cubase 6.
Thanks
Hi,
What is the exact issue here, please?
I guess he wants to score a bass instrument using the treble clef? If so, set the staff to transpose up 2 octaves (or maybe just one depending on the range of what you’re writing.)
Thanks,
The Euphonium in the Brass Band is always written by default in the Treble Clef.
Use of the Bass Clef was not originally intended.
In fact every single instrument except the Bass Trombone is also written in the Treble Clef.
Cheers!
I didn’t know that! Why? The atavistic vagaries of transposing brass and woodwinds always confounds me- I’m a violin player.
My technical pamphlet ’ Arranging for Brass Band ’ states " Except for the Bass trombone & Drums, the use of the Treble Clef is used throughout the score. The use of the treble clef even for the bass instruments may seem curious, but it is very useful, as it enables a player to change from one valve instrument to another without having to spend time mastering the notes incidental to the lines and spaces of a new clef. He knows that his open note C, whatever the resulting pitch of that note when played; the finger actions necessary to produce the remaining six fundamental notes will then be common to all valve instruments and all that he need master when changing from one instrument to another is the embochure, or lip movements necessary to obtain the various harmonics.
Brilliant, thanks! (Was that written in c1860?)
I use the Tuba in HSO symphony orchestra which gives a passable rendition of a Euph. I always write into Cubase in the midi edit window which is in concert pitch. I don’t use Cubase to write scores so thinking through the manuscript transposition is unnecessary. However if I need to create scores then I use Finale 2012 which has templates for Brass choir which is close to Brass band I believe. I play in concert band where instruments are scored differently to brass band. Our brass players often have experience of playing in both genres and there is healthy banter between the two sides of the band brass and reed. Trombonists can often read bass clef non transposing, treble clef transposing and also I believe tenor clef too. I play all saxes and when playing baritone I sometimes have to read concert bass clef which is converted on the fly to treble clef by adjusting the key signature i.e. by adding three sharps which is far easier than it sounds. I think it is worth googling brass band arrangement sites of which there are quite a few in the UK
Wow again. I came up playing classical, chamber and orchestral, all we string players ever see is treble, alto (c clef) and bass- and usually just treble and 8va,
It’s quite something all those possible transpositions you folks in the back of the orchestra deal with!
SteveInChicago I think the whole subject of instrumentation and reasons behind the implementation are mind boggling. In the eighties I had a full set of Roland synthesizer books which I foolishly let go when I sold my Roland SH101 Mono synth I don’t recall why the info was in there but it discussed the overblowing of the saxophone at the octave, this makes it easy to play above written C on the third space of the staff by using the Octave key which makes it simple - as the fingering is the same (up to a certain point) A clarinet doesn’t respond the same and the notes are not an octave higher which means that the fingering is different, it does repeat, but not at the same point, so the same fingering in the bottom octave that would give you a C in the top would give you a G. This is due to the physics as the bore on a clarinet is parallel, this means that it over blows not at the octave but at a different place. However a flute does overblow at the octave even though it has a parallel bore because both ends of the pipe are open. A sax and clarinet are considered closed. This “ruling” goes through all instruments I am told. The conical bore has more complex harmonics than the parallel bore. The reason this is important to the analogue synth user is that to replicate a type of sound it can be beneficial to start off with a sawtooth wave for rich harmonics and a sine wave for purer flute or clarinet sounds. Knowing this may help composer2005 to tune a synth to help him sculpt the sound of his euphonium by running the midi simultaneously through another track to an analogue synth starting with a sawtooth wav as the bore is conical I believe. As ever these rules are made to be broken and your ears will guide you. I always started imitations of Violins using a sawtooth wave too.