Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2005-11-10 16:21
I've seen an old Besson contrabass horn. I did not play it, and I am assuming it was a contra-bass, which is to say in Bb, rather than a bass (which we normally call the "contra-alto"), just from the overall bulk of the thing.
On this instrument, which looked like something from a Harry Crumb cartoon, there was a pair of register keys, which appeared (I wasn't able to handle it or test the mechanism) to operate three vent holes total. It also looked like a physical handful to manage - simple/Albert system, no peg, etc.
The thought of using a contra horn to spent time up in the altissimo is very amusing. Sure, it can be done, but why bother? It's like extending the range of the piccolo (octave flute) down another three or four semi-tones: it can be done but, for God's sake man, use a flute instead.
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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The Clarinet BBoard
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