We need to keep in mind the situation in almost all instruments today. How much innovation has there been in trumpets? A modern trumpet looks like the ones from 100+ years ago. Given the larger number of trumpets being made, why haven't they shown more change? To some extent it's because there is no perceived need for change...rightly or wrongly believed. In trumpets, Adams has probably made the most creative changes, but I'm referring to the shape, not the playing qualities, and it's only a special model that most people are not getting.
As much as the current design, which I play, is "standardized," I think there are some ergonomic problems. The side valves cause more strain on the muscles and tendons than front valves, for one thing. And DO we accept the idea that the upright side-firing bell is creates the "correct" euphonium sound? It can be very hard to project from your chair to the audience on some stages. If the band is in a horseshoe setting with euphs on the audience's right, the bells point more backward than forward. Given a common stage design with light bridges above the stages and short curtains between them, sound going up into them is pretty well absorbed. And as soloist in front of the band, we can be at the mercy of reflective surfaces that can bounce any fuzz in the sound right to the audience. Most trumpets point straight out, but a Dizzy Gillespie design points the bell up about 30 degrees. Sergei Nakariakov points his horn about 45 degrees down. That mellows the sound. The American bell front design has about that kind of offset. Something to think about, assuming we are willing to upset the tidy arrangement of current euphonium sections!
NOTE: I have not requested that Adams make such a euphonium, and have no current plans to do so.
Here are some photos of Adams horns made for Christian Scott and Gino Goss:
Here are photos showing bell angles for Sergei and Dizzy:
As much as the current design, which I play, is "standardized," I think there are some ergonomic problems. The side valves cause more strain on the muscles and tendons than front valves, for one thing. And DO we accept the idea that the upright side-firing bell is creates the "correct" euphonium sound? It can be very hard to project from your chair to the audience on some stages. If the band is in a horseshoe setting with euphs on the audience's right, the bells point more backward than forward. Given a common stage design with light bridges above the stages and short curtains between them, sound going up into them is pretty well absorbed. And as soloist in front of the band, we can be at the mercy of reflective surfaces that can bounce any fuzz in the sound right to the audience. Most trumpets point straight out, but a Dizzy Gillespie design points the bell up about 30 degrees. Sergei Nakariakov points his horn about 45 degrees down. That mellows the sound. The American bell front design has about that kind of offset. Something to think about, assuming we are willing to upset the tidy arrangement of current euphonium sections!
NOTE: I have not requested that Adams make such a euphonium, and have no current plans to do so.
Here are some photos of Adams horns made for Christian Scott and Gino Goss:
Here are photos showing bell angles for Sergei and Dizzy:
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