tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:45 pm
Have any of y’all engineers and other geniuses figured out how to build a tuba that plays in a vacuum?
(One of these days, Alice…)
(One of these days, Alice…)
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tubas in outer space
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Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:09 pm
Ask Dave Gannett, he knows a lot about Mar's rocks. Maybe he's found an old Buescher or York up there in the sand looking through his telescopes.
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:24 pm
I’m confident the latest “relief” package includes funding for such a worthy cause. 
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:08 pm
So this is merely a speculative thread rather than breaking news?
Didn't the Greatful Dead have a portion of their concert devoted to space?
Perhaps there was a tuba part written for it...
Didn't the Greatful Dead have a portion of their concert devoted to space?
Perhaps there was a tuba part written for it...
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:43 pm
I don't know about playing in a vacuum, but I do know more than a few players who create one when they play. 
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 11:01 pm
To bring the pop culture reference a little closer to modern life, I saw the title of this post and immediately thought “Pigs in Space”!
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 11:59 pm
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:36 am
Every Tuba can be played in vacuum...they play so good in vacuum that you won't hear the difference between a professional and an amateur ;-)bloke wrote: Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:45 pm Have any of y’all engineers and other geniuses figured out how to build a tuba that plays in a vacuum?
(One of these days, Alice…)
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:05 pm
Just remember to vacuum clean it first, that makes cleaner partials 
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 3:12 pm
marccromme wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:05 pm Just remember to vacuum clean it first, that makes cleaner partials
but probably only partially…
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:53 pm
People who play tubas in vacuums really suck.
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:25 pm
Not sure, but I’ve played plenty of tubas that suck like a vacuum
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:56 pm
‘ finally played a Chinese knock-off of a “tornister” BB-flat.Yorkboy wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:25 pm Not sure, but I’ve played plenty of tubas that suck like a vacuum
I am the one who always says that most tubas can be played, if one can figure out what they “need“.… I haven’t figured out what this one needs, yet.
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:42 pm
bloke wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:56 pm‘ finally played a Chinese knock-off of a “tornister” BB-flat.Yorkboy wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:25 pm Not sure, but I’ve played plenty of tubas that suck like a vacuum
I am the one who always says that most tubas can be played, if one can figure out what they “need“.… I haven’t figured out what this one needs, yet.
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:11 pm
In space, no one can hear you blat.
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:54 am
I don't think people will do much playing in a vacuum, but it got me to thinking, what if you could play on Mars? So I asked my brother this question:
If you could play a brass instrument on Mars, how would the low atmospheric pressure affect the sound?
Here's the answer I got:
Hup
If you could play a brass instrument on Mars, how would the low atmospheric pressure affect the sound?
Here's the answer I got:
However, I also asked this question to a physics professor at Princeton University, who also happens to play trumpet in a quintet I'm in, and I got a (somewhat) different answer:My guess would be that things would sound about an augmented fourth lower, not because of the low pressure but because of the components of the atmosphere.
The pitch of a brass instrument is given as:
frequency = speed of sound / wavelength
where the wavelength is related to the length of the instrument.
So if the speed of sound increases, the frequency would increase, and the opposite effect for a decrease in the speed.
The speed of sound depends principally on the temperature and composition of the gas (specifically on the heat capacity ratio), and depends very little on the pressure of the gas.
For Mars (mostly carbon dioxide), I find the speed of sound to be ~540 mph, compared to Earth with 760 mph. Since the speed on Mars is slower than on Earth, the pitch should go down.
With the speed on Mars being 40% slower, I calculate the number of half-steps, n, as:
2^(n/12) = 1.4
n=5.9, about 6 half-steps or an augmented fourth lower
I see from NASA’s site that the volume would also be greatly attenuated. So you may not be able to play as high on Mars, and it will seem like you’re playing with a tight mute.
They agree that the pitch would be lower, but they disagree on the speed of sound on Mars.Depends what aspect of the sound you mean. The simplest question perhaps is how would the pitch of the notes of the instrument change on Mars. The temporal frequency of a standing wave is proportional to the speed of sound, which is basically a function of the temperature and the mass of the molecules that make up the atmosphere. The speed of sound on Earth is 343m/s and on Mars it is ~240m/s. So the frequencies would all be lower by a factor of about 70% on Mars.
Hup
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:51 am
Interesting…
As Mars‘ atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide, it’s pretty obvious that it’s jam-packed with evil industrialists - manufacturing way too many tubas.
As Mars‘ atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide, it’s pretty obvious that it’s jam-packed with evil industrialists - manufacturing way too many tubas.
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:43 am
Sorry, my mistake. They agree on the speed, but one is in meter/sec and the other is in mile/hour.
Hup
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:05 am
Hmmm. The Martian atmosphere, as I understand, although thinner, has a significant amount of CO2. When we play, we exhale a significant amount of CO2. It should work.... 
Re: tubas in outer space
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:11 am