'faking' music for an F recorder

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 04:43 AM

Have you ever seen a new-fangled bass that's square in cross-section? They seem to play just as well and, I suppose they would be easier to fabricate.

They're not all that new. The first one was made by Alec Loretto in the 70s, written up in a recorder magazine at the time as a DIY project readers could try. Paetzold put them into production a bit later, probably independently.

I've heard one of the Paetzold ones. It was terrible. Turned the owner had assembled it wrong in some way, but i haven't heard her playing it since she figured that out.

For playing position - whatever works; there are pictures from the 18th century of players holding the bass recorder as you describe. I prefer vertical, since my Zen-On is so light I can take all the weight on my right thumb and not use the neckstrap, if it's for a short piece. For my greatbass, I usually play sitting down, balancing the bell between my feet.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 08:40 AM

Manitas - good observation. I had forgotten that some organ pipes are rectangular.

Jack - thanks for the tips on ways to hold a bass.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 09:02 AM

I thought about making one of those square recorders when a church near me scrapped its pipe organ. I've got a bunch of eight-foot pipes. Whoop-de-doo, a next-to-free contrabass.

I soon discovered it wasn't quite that easy. Organ pipes are designed to work at just one frequency, and most of the ones I got were stopped. They would make narrow-range swannee whistles and that's about it. They also need VAST amounts of air. I've been thinking of hooking them up to a couple of mainframe computer cooling fans to act as drones.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: Tootler
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 10:26 AM

I have a Paezold Contrabass. They are very good. They have a strong first octave which is what you need and a full two octave range. They are also very easy to play as the wooden keys have finger "pads" that are placed in comfortable reach. Although the larger ones are cheaper than their round equivalents, they are not cheap. The bass and great bass versions have a wooden rod at the bottom so they will stand on the floor. I agree they need plenty of air down them, but their demands are not excessive. I was asthmatic as a child and don't have huge lung capacity but I can manage mine fine.

I think I have a sound sample on my computer. If not I'll make one and post it online so you can hear.

I use a neck strap with my regular bass and hold it to one side rather in the same manner as a bassoon.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: Tootler
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 11:27 AM

Found my recording. It's not particularly good. There's a lot of distortion - I suspect it overloaded the cheap mic I had at the time.

I will have to make another recording.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 11:41 AM

Search YouTube for "paetzold square recorder" and you'll find quite a few good samples. (The video of the SubSubContrabass isn't one of them - makes it look utterly pointless).

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: GUEST,Bart Brush
Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:52 PM

Where can I find plans or measurements for making a square bass and tenor? I'm an elementary school music teacher in Arizona with extensive woodworking experience (but not with wind instruments) and would like to make a few tenors and basses that could be comfortable fingered by smaller hands (4-5-6th graders, ages 10-12).

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: Jack Campin
Date: 03 Jan 14 - 03:19 AM

Alec Loretto published some in a British recorder journal in the 1970s, before Paetzold started making them. The Recorder Homepage should give a reference to the article - I don't think it'll be online.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 03 Jan 14 - 06:57 AM

Bart, you sure are bold - sounds like nothing less than "squaring the circle"!

Pragmatic teachers will soon get a solution to the problem of bass wind instruments, affordable and playable by children: 3D printers! The Rackett principle will be resurrected, or rather brought to its full potential for the first time. Give it three more years. Here an example of the current state-of-the-art.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: GUEST,Jack Campin
Date: 03 Jan 14 - 08:25 AM

Loretto points out a neat feature of his design that a 3D printer can't match - because the holes are on the front panel, which is an easily replaceable sheet of plywood, you can experiment with hole placements for optimal tuning and throw your failures away without losing the whole instrument.

I think Loretto is still alive and contactable, if you can't trace the article.

Subject: RE: 'faking' music for an F recorder
From: GUEST,ripov
Date: 03 Jan 14 - 06:56 PM

Jack Campin is quite right (30 Mar 12 - 07:21 AM )about this. What we call the pitch of the note an instrument produces, and how it's represented in written music, is all a matter of convention. It's giving pitches names that causes problems. If music is read as a series of intervals, which in any case makes more sense harmonically, the problem sort of disappears, so long as the instrumentalist is familiar with their instrument. Singers do this as a matter of course. they (with apologies to those blessed, or cursed, with perfect pitch) don't sing, for example, a D followed by a (higher) A, simply two notes a fifth apart (although possibly with reference to a pitch provided by a fixed tuned instrument; and without going into complications caused by temperament).