[Trombone-l] Acoustics of brass instruments

[Richardson, Timothy Mr. DAC USAG Franconia DPW]

I'm not sure this is anti-technology.  This is experiment, measurement and
data collection.  The data is qualitative (we hear the 5th but don't assign
a number to how much) but that doesn't change the process.  The ears ARE
laboratory instruments.  

But that aside, there is a potential trap here that's not easy to avoid (not
just for the case of hearing harmonics but for similar cases as well.)

It is this:  Through this type of effort it is possible to learn to hear
sounds that ARE there.  

And, unfortunately, it is possible to learn to hear sounds that are NOT
there.  And it can be difficult to tell the difference.  Sometimes
impossible.  



-----Original Message-----
From: sabutin [mailto:sabutin at mindspring.com] 

<snip>

Can't hear 'em? You've been too well trained by society. They're up there.

Two ways to predict them so that you CAN hear them, and one way to test for
them.

#1-Just play them on a keyboard instrument. You KNOW what hey are, right?
Same proportions as the overtone series above pedal Bb. 
Octave, P5th, P4th, Maj 3rd, min 3rd, funny min 3rd, funny Maj 2nd, maj 2nd,
etc. on up.

The easiest ones to hear and isolate are usually the 5th, 6th and 7th
partials. That is, the 2 octaves plus a Maj. 3rd, P 5th and min 7th above
the note being played. Play them on a piano, get them in your ear, and then
try to hear and isolate them above whatever note you are playing.

#2-Learn to isolate them with your voice. This is the best way, because it
is physical and organic. You FEEL them.

<snip>