Choosing
a Euphonium
by David R. Werden
Professional-quality
euphoniums are expensive but will last for many
years with good care. Therefore, it is important
to choose the right instrument from the several
good models available. I have been evaluating
euphoniums for many years, and have done so intensely
in helping to develop the current Sterling Euphonium.
The following procedures and criteria have been
very useful.
Environment
Make every effort to get into
a large room with decent acoustics to play-test
the horns (I know how difficult this can be to
arrange). In a small room, horns with a smaller
tone will often sound better to you. Horns with
a large tone might sound unfocused or airy in
a small room, but they may really shine in a larger
room or in a concert setting. This phenomenon
was troublesome for me while testing the Sterling
samples because I sometimes had to try a new sample
in a hotel room or small practice room. I have
always looked for a horn with a large, singing
tone quality, but that is not the kind of tone
that will sound great in a small space.
 In
any room, listen for the sound coming back to
you from the room (containing more overtones)
rather than the fundamental sound directly from
the bell. The overtones are critical component
of every instrument's tone color. Also notice
the degree to which a horn resonates the room
around you -- more resonance means better projection.
Two's Company
Bring along a colleague to listen
to you in the room. Choose someone who understands
your concept of euphonium sound. If he or she
is also a euphonium player, you can each take
a turn playing and listening. Even though your
colleague may have a different style of playing
than you, some of the characteristics of a horn
will be audible no matter who is playing.
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Variety is
the Spice of Life
Pick out your music ahead of
time. You will want to have several different
styles at your disposal, and you should know the
excerpts well enough to be able to play them consistently
time after time.
My own choices might be:
- Solo
from the Holst Second Suite in F (for full,
lyrical playing)
- Carnival
of Venice or similar (for technical style).
I would use both slurred and tongued passages.
It is important to use some excerpts that
use a strong tongue. (The way horns respond
to the attack can be significantly different
between models; this is discussed more thoroughly
below.)
- A
march, using at least one mf
strain and the ff breakup strain.
- A
slow, lyrical song -- any number of vocal
pieces will do. This is a good chance to try
soft playing and to listen for smooth transitions
between notes.
- Arpeggios
or broken scales that will take you down into
the range between low F (concert) and pedal
Bb. You need to pay attention to the response
and tone when using the 4th valve in combination
with other valves.
- A
contemporary solo with some dramatic passages,
wide variations in dynamics, and some large
leaps.
- Something
jazzy.
As you go through the different
styles in your play-testing, listen for the instrument
that will adapt the easiest. For instance, a horn
could have a nice sound on lyrical solos but might
sound tubby on a jazz/commercial piece. Or a horn
could sound lovely on soft music but sound strained
on ff passages.
Choose or invent a passage
that goes from very soft to very loud. You can
even use a simple scale that goes from middle
F to upper F, pp at the bottom to ff
at the top. Push the upper dynamics as far as
possible to find the limits of the horn. See how
loudly you can play it before the tone breaks
up, and try to do this without any more "edge"
than necessary. This will tell you if the horn
can project over a too-loud band even when you
don't want to get "brassy" sound.
You
need versatility in musical performance, especially
with a euphonium. Because of the instrument's
very dark tone, the capability of producing different
tone shading is very important. Don't let an instrument
force you into sounding the same on every style
of music you play. (This is one of the characteristics
that first attracted me to the Sterling Euphonium
-- it is very flexible.) Some euphoniums really
limit the variety of sounds I can produce, and
that is not acceptable to me. Evaluate the tone
in all registers. You should be able to make the
horn sing in the low, middle, and high registers.
Simplify
When comparing several samples,
try to play on each of them for a while before
you get down to business. This will give you a
feel for the horns and get them working acceptably.
Then do you serious comparisons in pairs only.
Try two horns thoroughly and choose the best one.
Set aside the one you don't like and start on
another pair. As you begin to try each pair, start
by playing the "new" one and warm it
up a little before you resume comparing. Continue
this process of elimination until you have gone
through all the choices. When you have selected
the best of the lot, be sure to try your old horn
on the same tests to make sure you are really
getting something better.
Mechanics
Pay some attention to the way
a horn works mechanically, but don't get too distracted
by it during your initial selection process. First
narrow the field down to a couple winners. If
one of them has some mechanical trouble attending
to it and see if it can be remedied. A horn that
has good blowing characteristics is worth exploring
a little further. For example, if the valves are
not smooth, disassemble them, clean every nook
and cranny on the valve and the casing, oil carefully,
and reassemble. If the action is still not smooth,
repeat the process. New horns are often shipped
with a thicker oil to protect the valves, and
sometimes debris left over from manufacturing
is caught in the valves.
Attack
As mentioned before, the attack
is a very important criterion to test. Much research
has been done on the acoustic properties of instruments.
In one test from decades ago, instruments playing
long tones were recorded on audio tape and then
playing back for musicians to identify. The panel
were able to identify each instrument with little
trouble. Then the technicians used a razor blade
to cut off the attack of each note. When this
version was played, the panel had great difficulty
differentiating between a clarinet and a trumpet,
for example.
This
same phenomenon comes into play when listening
to different models of euphonium. The way the
horn responds to an attack can give it a unique
sound. Usually, a horn with a large dynamic range
will do the best in this area. The attack is the
loudest part of most tongued notes; if the horn
doesn't have much dynamic "headroom"
it will constrain the attack.
Intonation
This is a difficult area to
assess in any reasonable amount of time. No horn
has perfect intonation. You have to find one that
has made acceptable design compromises. However,
your impression of the new horn's intonation will
be dramatically affected by the intonation of
the horn you are used to playing.
USE
A TUNER. This is your only hope of judging a new
instrument accurately. Be very sure you get each
horn warmed up thoroughly before judging the intonation
(five minutes will not do it). Then tune it carefully
to a concert Bb in the middle register.
Notice three things with any
pitch discrepancy:
- Is it in a range that will
be noticeable or problematic?
- How far is it from true
pitch?
- How easy is it to adjust?
Work with intonation long enough
that you begin to feel familiar with each horn.
If you are judging a particular note, approach
it from above and below melodically to see how
that affects it. Remember, you may be used to
lipping a certain note up or down because of the
horn you have been playing (by this time, you
may not even be aware you are doing it). You may
unintentionally be creating problems in the new
horn that aren't there. In order to work around
this, you need to find out where the horn
want's to play the note. Stay on the note in question;
play it loud and soft to get a feel for it. Bend
the pitch grossly up and down. This will help
you disassociate your previous notion of where
to put the pitch. Listen to where the note is
most resonant -- this is where the horn wants
to place it.
Slurs
An instrument with superior
response can make all slurs easier and cleaner
(slurs can be one way to judge response). You
will be able to play slurred arpeggios with more
facility. For this area of testing, you will probably
judge as much by feel as by sound.
Newness
Don't be too distracted by the
"newness" factor. No brand new horn
plays as well as it will when it is a year old.
New horns will be stuffier, less clear, and won't
respond as well in the 4th valve register as when
they are well broken-in. If you can get a horn
to try for a couple weeks, it will play noticeably
better at the end of that time, and may give you
some idea what it will be like when broken in.
In
working with various Sterlings in development,
I invariably found that if I had played one for
a few months and then got a new one to try, the
new one seemed stuffy. It was only after considerable
playing that the new sample began to feel like
a comfortable old shoe. By then it was time to
trade for a newer version, and I had to start
breaking in a horn all over again.
This
is somewhat easier to deal with when comparing
all brand new horns. They will all be stuffy because
of newness so the playing field is level. Be aware,
though, that sometimes one of the new horns may
have been played much more than the others (because
of being on display at a show, for example) and
may have better characteristics because of that.
I haven't found a good way to deal with this;
just be aware that it may be a factor.
Physical Considerations
Notice if the horn is comfortable
to hold. Try it sitting and standing. Notice the
reach from the right hand-brace (behind the valves)
to the valve tops, and notice the reach for your
left hand to wrap around the slides as you play.
Also, make sure the angle of teh mouthpipe is
comfortable. Any of these factors can vary between
samples within the same brand; try several if
necessary.
Mouthpiece
Most professional euphoniums
use a bass trombone size receiver for the mouthpiece,
but some popular horns use the middle size receiver
(similar to the size Besson used before 1975),
and at least one uses the smaller tenor trombone
size receiver. If you can, bring along your model
mouthpiece with the shanks you will be needing.
Most mouthpiece manufacturers can supply you with
a mouthpiece of any shank size. It might be worth
the expense to obtain a set of varied shank sizes.
You may find that you have a use for them in the
future, and they will be extremely helpful in
trying out different brands of euphoniums. If
you use a standard mouthpiece, the euphonium dealer
may be able to supply you with acceptable duplicates
of yours in different shank sizes for trying out
horns. If you are going to use the dealer's mouthpiece
for any of the horns, use his for all of them
-- your comparisons will probably be more valid.
Summary
Obviously, preparation is very important.
Make sure you are in the best playing condition possible. Know
what music you will be using and learn it well. Arrange for mouthpieces
to use. Attempt to secure a large room. Bring along a tuner and
use it wisely. Bring a friend. Take your time. When you have made
a tentative choice, arrange to keep the horn for a couple weeks
to really test it. Don't be too put off by the prices of professional
euphoniums -- they are long-term investments.
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