Rethinking Resonance: The Feedback Tuba

This chapter presents a novel analytical-experimental approach to performance practice studies within the field of new organology. The development of musical instruments in order to produce the sound colours demanded by aesthetic trends and compositional desires (or vice versa) has an inevitable impact on both performance and pedagogical traditions. Left unchecked, such transformations can easily solidify as common practices, and are soon followed unquestioningly by new generations of musicians. This can result in a rarefication of the timbre palette available to musicians, be they interested in evaluating music of the past, or exploring the music of the future. To exemplify the creative potential of promoting timbral diversity through a holistic approach to instrumental resonance, this chapter introduces a nascent electro-acoustically extended brass instrument called the feedback tuba. It discusses the practicalities involved in creating a secondary resonant system within a brass instrument and the initial analysis of the sonic material that it presents, as well as documentation of the first solo piece created for this system.