What Is a Tuba?
The tuba is the lowest member of the brass family of wind instruments and is also the lowest voice in the concert band. Believe it or not, the defining characteristic about brass instruments is not that they are made of brass - many are not! - but rather how they make sound. To make sound on a brass instrument, the performer blows air through his or her lips inside a cup-shaped mouthpiece, causing the lips to vibrate. By itself, this vibration, commonly called a "buzz", sounds like a noisy housefly. When the mouthpiece is attached to a brass instrument, however, the buzz is amplified by the instrument and the resonance of the tubing transforms that housefly into beautiful timbre you're used to hearing from brass instruments.
Development of the Modern Tuba
The tuba we know today is a relatively new instrument, having only been invented in 1835; however, its ancestors date back to the days of the ancient Greek and Roman empires. Let's look at some of the steps along the way to the creation of the modern tuba.
Roman TubaThe ancient instrument known in Latin as a tuba was only similar to the modern tuba in that it was a brass instrument. In fact, it looked and sounded nothing like a modern tuba and even the word itself meant trumpet. It was a long, straight tube with no valves or slides and each instrument could only play the notes out of one overtone series. Because it was loud enough to be heard far away, it was mostly used to send signals over long distances.
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SerpentDuring the 17th century, a long, curved wooden instrument called the serpent was invented as a low member of the brass family. As we have learned, the fact that lip vibration was used to make the sound makes the serpent a member of the brass family, even though it was made of wood. Since valves had not yet been invented, it needed finger holes to be able to play a scale. The instrument had a mellow sound similar to a modern euphonium. It was often used with church choirs to add support to the male voices. Some later composers such as Hector Berlioz felt the serpent was a poor match for the sound of the choir and began to look for alternatives.
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OphicleideTo our eyes, the ophicleide looks something like a cross between a brass instrument and a woodwind instrument. It is actually a brass instrument due to the way the performer makes sound by buzzing his or her lips into the mouthpiece as mentioned above. Like a woodwind instrument, however, the vibrating air column inside can be lengthened or shortened by covering or uncovering holes with the use of keys. The ophicleide was the bass voice of the brass family for most of the 19th century and composers wrote for it in their symphonies.
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Modern TubaThe tuba found in bands and orchestras today is an evolution of the designs of Moritz and Wieprecht and instrument makers like them. Most tubas have anywhere from three to six valves and come in a variety of keys and sizes. Smaller bass tubas in F and Eb are preferred by tubists for playing higher melodic lines and lighter passages, whereas larger tubas in C and Bb are useful when a great depth of sound blending of ensemble tone are desired. The keys and sizes are discussed more on the Buying a Tuba page.
Modern tubas have fully assumed the role of the bass voice in concert bands and compliment the sound of the string bass when used in orchestras. In a band, the tuba provides a large foundation that gives the modern concert band its warm depth of sound. This also makes the tuba player one of the most important members of the band. In forming your own band program, acquiring a tuba and training one of your most talented musicians as a tuba player will certainly lead to a more satisfying musical experience for everyone involved in your ensemble. |
SousaphoneThe Sousaphone was developed in the 1890s at the request of John Philip Sousa, after whom the instrument is named. The Sousaphone encircles the player, resting on the shoulder. This makes the instrument more convenient for playing while standing or marching than the standard tuba. Today, many Sousaphones are made primarily from lightweight, durable fiberglass with brass valves, slides, and fittings.
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Euphonium, Baritone, Tenor/Alto Horn
Euphoniums and baritones look very similar to tubas, but are much smaller and play in the key of Bb one octave higher than the Bb tuba typically found in bands. These add color and body to low brass sound and are often scored by composers to play a fifth or an octave above the tuba. They are also frequently used as solo melodic instruments, particularly the euphonium. The famous euphonium solo in the first movement of Gustav Holst's "Second Suite in F for Military Band" can be heard in this video beginning at 0:51. Although euphoniums and baritones play in the same key and even look and sound similar, there are some slight differences. Primarily, the euphonium has a larger bore and bell throat than the baritone. The tone of the baritone can be described as lighter and more piercing than the warmer sound of the euphonium. Nevertheless, the two instruments are mostly used interchangeably in modern concert band music and are generally only treated separately in British brass bands. A baritone is featured in this video of a band arrangement of "The Swan" from Camille Saint-Saëns's "Carnival of the Animals". (Note: The construction of baritones varies widely. Although the instrument in the center of the image below looks very different from the instrument in the video, they are both baritones.)
There is another similar instrument that looks very much like a baritone, but which is even smaller and is keyed in Eb. Americans call this the alto horn while the British refer to it as a tenor horn. The tone is close to that of the baritone and its range is about halfway between the trumpet and the euphonium/baritone. These are not used widely outside British brass bands, but some concert band music publishers now offer Eb horn parts as "world parts" for download online. In fact, the alto/tenor horn makes a passable substitute for the horn (commonly called the "French horn") and the author of this page has used them in this capacity at the International School of Myanmar in the past. They are a great deal more affordable than a horn and are available for purchase at music shops in Myanmar.
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Tuba pages site map: What Is a Tuba | Setting Up for Success | Making a Sound | Tuba Positions | The Overtone Series | Tuba Intonation | Practice | Buying a Tuba | Caring for the Tuba | Introducing Students to the Tuba | Bibliography & Image Sources | About