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Tubas are found in various pitches, most commonly in F, E, C, or B. The key of a tuba depends on the fundamental pitch of the instrument, or fundamental note in the series of 
The next smaller tubas are the bass tubas, pitched in F or E (a fourth above the contrabass tubas). The E tuba often plays an octave above the contrabass tubas in brass bands, and the F tuba is commonly used by professional players as a solo instrument and, in America, to play higher parts in the classical repertoire (or parts that were originally written for the F tuba, as is the case with Berlioz). In most of Europe, the F tuba is the standard orchestral instrument, supplemented by the CC or BB only when the extra weight is desired.
No standards exist for these designations, and their use is up to manufacturers, who usually use them to distinguish among the instruments in their own product line. The size designation is related to the larger outer branches and not to the bore of the tubing at the valves, though the bore is usually reported in instrument specifications. The quarter system is also not directly related to bell size, though there is typically a correlation. tubas are common in American grade schools for use by young tuba players for whom a full-size instrument might be too cumbersome. Though smaller and lighter, they are tuned and keyed identically to full-size tubas of the same pitch, although they usually have 3 rather than 4 or 5 valves.
The valves add tubing to the main tube of the instrument, thus lowering its fundamental pitch. The first valve lowers the pitch by a whole step (two semitones), the second valve by a semitone, and the third valve by three semitones. Used in combination, the valve tubing is too short and the resulting pitch tends to be sharp. For example, a BB tuba becomes (in effect) an A tuba when the first valve is depressed. The third valve is long enough to lower the pitch of a BB tuba by three semitones, but it is not long enough to lower the pitch of an A tuba by three semitones. Thus, the first and third valves used in combination lower the pitch by something ''just short'' of five semitones, and the first three valves used in combination are nearly a quarter tone sharp.
The fourth valve lowers the pitch by a perfect fourth, so it can be used in place of the combination of the first and third valves. When tuned properly it helps solve the issue of valve combinations being too sharp. Using the fourth valve with the first three valves allows the musician to extend the instrument's range down to the fundamental pitch. As with other valve combinations that lengthen the tubing considerably, some of these lower notes can be sharp.
A fifth and sixth valve, if fitted, are used to provide alternative fingering possibilities to improve intonation, and are also used to reach into the low register of the instrument where all the valves will be used in combination to fill the first octave between the fundamental pitch and the next available note on the open tube. The fifth and sixth valves also give the musician the ability to trill more smoothly or to use alternative fingerings for ease of playing. This type of tuba is what is most found in orchestras and wind bands around the world.
The bass tuba in F is pitched a fifth above the BB tuba and a fourth above the CC tuba, so it needs additional tubing length beyond that provided by four valves to play securely down to a low F as required in much tuba music. The fifth valve is commonly tuned to a flat whole step, so that when used with the fourth valve, it gives an in-tune low B. The sixth valve is commonly tuned as a flat half step, allowing the F tuba to play low G as 1-4-5-6 and low G as 1-2-4-5-6. In CC tubas with five valves, the fifth valve may be tuned as a flat whole step or as a minor third depending on the instrument.
The tuba has been used in jazz since the genre's inception. In the earliest years, bands often used a tuba for outdoor playing and a double bass for indoor performances. In this context, the tuba was sometimes called "brass bass", as opposed to the double bass ''(string bass)''. Many musicians played both instruments.
This practice was mostly used in the New Orleans jazz scene. The tuba was used most frequently with the Louis Armstrong groups and prominent in the album ''Hot Five''.
In modern jazz, it is not unknown for their players to take solos. New Orleans style brass bands like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Rebirth Brass Band use a sousaphone as the bass instrument. Bill Barber (musician), Bill Barber played tuba on several Miles Davis albums, including the sessions compiled as the ''Birth of the Cool'' and ''Miles Ahead (album), Miles Ahead''. New York City-based tubist Marcus Rojas performed frequently with Henry Threadgill. Starting in 1955, Stan Kenton made his fifth trombonist double on tuba, namely on ballads to make use of the tuba's distinct warm, enveloping sound.
ITEA
— The International Tuba Euphonium Association * *
TubaForum.net
— online forum
The Vincent and Ethel Simonetti Historic Tuba Collection
— Durham, North Carolina
History of the Tuba Podcast
— Jake Kline & Jack Adler-McKean
International Tuba Day
— first Friday in May
Tuba Christmas
— official site for the annual concerts * {{Authority control Tubas, Bass (sound) Contrabass instruments German musical instruments Marching band instruments Orchestral instruments Concert band instruments
The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the
'', ''Ride of the Valkyries'', ''Faust Overture''
* Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (Prokofiev), Fifth Symphony, Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet''
* George Gershwin: ''An American in Paris''
* brass family
A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meaning "lip" and "sound", ...
. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece
Mouthpiece may refer to:
* The part of an object which comes near or in contact with one's mouth or nose during use
** Mouthpiece (smoking pipe) or cigarette holder
** Mouthpiece (telephone handset)
** Mouthpiece (woodwind), a component of a wood ...
. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the newer instruments in the modern orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
and concert band
A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...
, and largely replaced the ophicleide
The ophicleide ( ) is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the lower range. Of these, the bass ophicleide in eight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B took root over the cour ...
. ''Tuba'' is Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for "trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
".
A person who plays the tuba is called a tubaist, a tubist, or simply a tuba player. In a British brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...
or military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...
, they are known as bass players.
History
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n Patent No. 19 was granted to Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz on 12 September 1835 for a "bass tuba" in F1. The original Wieprecht and Moritz instrument used five valves of the Berlinerpumpen type that was the forerunner of the modern piston valve
A piston valve is a device used to control the motion of a fluid or gas along a tube or pipe by means of the linear motion of a piston within a chamber or cylinder.
Examples of piston valves are:
* The valves used in many brass instruments
* ...
. The first tenor tuba was invented in 1838 by Moritz's son Carl Wilhelm Moritz
Carl Wilhelm Moritz (1810–1855) was a German musical instrument builder.
Biography
Moritz was born in Berlin, the son of instrument builder Johann Gottfried Moritz, who had invented the five-valve bass tuba together with Wilhelm Wieprecht. Car ...
.
The addition of valves made it possible to play low in the harmonic series of the instrument and still have a complete selection of notes. Prior to the invention of valves, brass instruments were limited to notes in the harmonic series, and were thus generally played very high with respect to their fundamental pitch. Harmonics starting three octaves above the fundamental pitch are about a whole step apart, making a useful variety of notes possible.
The ophicleide
The ophicleide ( ) is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the lower range. Of these, the bass ophicleide in eight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B took root over the cour ...
used a bowl-shaped brass instrument mouthpiece but had keys and tone holes similar to those of a modern saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
. Another forerunner to the tuba, the serpent, was a bass instrument shaped in a wavy form to make the tone holes accessible to the player. Tone holes change the pitch by providing an intentional leak in the bugle of the instrument, but this system has a pronounced effect on the timbre. By using valves instead, the tuba could produce a smoother tone, which led to its popularity. Tubas were mostly used by French composers, especially Hector Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
, who famously used the ophicleide in his compositions ''Symphonie fantastique
' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...
'' and ''Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...
''. These pieces are now normally performed on F or CC tuba.
Adolphe Sax
Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax (; 6 November 1814 – 7 February 1894) was a Belgian inventor and musician who invented the saxophone in the early 1840s, patenting it in 1846. He also invented the saxotromba, saxhorn and saxtuba, and redesigne ...
, like Wieprecht, was interested in marketing families of instruments ranging from soprano to bass, and developed a series of brass instruments known as saxhorn
The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a ...
s. The instruments developed by Sax were generally pitched in E and B, while the Wieprecht "basstuba" and the subsequent Červený contrabass tuba were pitched in F and C (see below on pitch systems). Sax's instruments gained dominance in France, and later in Britain and America, as a result of the movements of popular instrument makers such as Gustave Auguste Besson
Gustave-Auguste Besson (1820-1874) was a musical instrument manufacturer and innovator. He created the Besson (music company), Besson brand in Paris, France, in 1837. Besson is credited with more than 50 original inventions. His alterations to the ...
(who moved from France to Britain) and Henry Distin (who eventually found his way to America).
The cimbasso
The cimbasso ( , ) is a low brass instrument that covers the same range as a tuba or contrabass trombone. First appearing in Italy in the early 19th century as an upright serpent, the term ''cimbasso'' came to denote several instruments that ...
is also seen instead of a tuba in the orchestral repertoire. The Italian word , first appearing in the early 19th century, is thought to be a contraction used by musicians of the term or (), sometimes appearing in scores as ''c. basso'' or ''c. in basso''. The original design was inspired by the ophicleide and the bassoon. The cimbasso is sometimes used in historically accurate performances and is commonly called for in film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
and video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
s.
Role
Anorchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
usually has a single tuba, though an additional tuba may be requested. It serves as the bass of the orchestral brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
section and it can reinforce the bass voices of the strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
and woodwind
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments.
Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...
s. It provides the bass of brass quintets and choirs (though many small brass ensembles will use the euphonium
The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...
or bass trombone
The bass trombone (, ) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same Bâ™ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and u ...
as the lowest voice). It is the principal bass instrument in concert band
A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...
s, brass bands
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...
and military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...
s, and those ensembles generally have two to four tubas. It is also a solo instrument.
Tubas are used in marching band
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...
s, drum and bugle corps Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe several related musical ensembles.
* Drum and bugle corps (modern), a musical marching unit
* Drum and bugle corps (classic), musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units retur ...
and in many jazz band
A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ho ...
s (see below). In British style brass bands, two E and two B tubas are used and are referred to as ''basses''.
Well known and influential parts for the tuba include:
* Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
(orch. Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
): ''Pictures at an Exhibition
''Pictures at an Exhibition'' is a piano suite in ten movements, plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and ...
'' – '' Bydło'', ''Night on Bald Mountain
''Night on Bald Mountain'' (), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian s:St. John's Eve (Gogol, unsourced), literary works and legend, Mussorgsky composed ...
''
* Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
: ''Also sprach Zarathustra
, Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by German composer Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's 1883–1885 philosophical work of the same name.Eine Alpensinfonie
''An Alpine Symphony'' (''Eine Alpensinfonie''), Op. 64, is a tone poem for large orchestra written by German composer Richard Strauss which premiered in 1915. It is one of Strauss's largest non-operatic works; the score calls for about 12 ...
'', ''Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel (; ) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of is preserved fragmentarily), but a background i ...
'', ''Ein Heldenleben
''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be aut ...
''
* Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...
: All symphonies, except the Fourteenth
* Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
: ''The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...
'', '' Petroushka''
* Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; h ...
: ''Déserts
''Déserts'' (1950–1954) is a musical composition, piece by Edgard Varèse for 14 winds (brass instrument, brass and woodwind instrument, woodwinds), 5 percussion players, 1 piano, and electronic audiotape, tape."Blue" Gene Tyranny (2010). " Dà ...
''
* ''
* Richard Wagner: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', ''Lohengrin (opera)#Act 3">Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...Silvestre Revueltas
Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez (December 31, 1899 – October 5, 1940) was a Mexican classical music composer, a violinist, and conductor.
Life
Revueltas was born in Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, and studied at the National Conservatory of Mu ...
: ''Sensemayá
''Sensemayá'' is a composition for orchestra by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, which is based on the poem of the same title by the Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén. It is one of Revueltas's most famous compositions. Poem
Guillén's poem ...
, La noche de los mayas, Homenaje a Federico GarcÃa Lorca
' (Homage to Federico GarcÃa Lorca) is a work for chamber orchestra by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas.
History
On 19 August 1936, the Spanish poet Federico GarcÃa Lorca was murdered by fascist militia forces. Outraged, along wit ...
* Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
: ''The Planets
''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...
''
* Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...
: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8
* Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...
: '' Fountains of Rome'', ''Pines of Rome
''Pines of Rome'' (), P 141, is a tone poem in four movements for orchestra completed in 1924 by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is the second of his three tone poems about Rome, following '' Fontane di Roma'' (1916) and preceding '' ...
''
* Hector Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
: ''Symphonie fantastique
' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...
'', ''Hungarian March
The Hungarian March (''Ungarische Mark'' or ''Ungarnmark'') or ''Neumark'' ("New March") was a brief Marches, frontier march established in the mid-eleventh century by the Emperor Henry III as a defence against the Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301), ...
''
* Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...
: '' Symphonic Metamorphosis''
*Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
: Symphony No. 2
*Anton Bruckner
Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...
: Symphonies Nos. 4, 7, and 8
Concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
s have been written for the tuba by many notable composers, including Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
( Tuba Concerto), Edward Gregson
Edward Gregson (born 23 July 1945) is an English composer of instrumental and choral music, particularly for brass and wind bands and ensembles, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television. He was also principal of the Royal Northern ...
, John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
, Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Grigori Arutiunian (23 September 192028 March 2012), was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist, widely known for his 1950 Trumpet Concerto (Arutiunian), Trumpet Concerto. A professor at Komitas State Conservatory of ...
, Eric Ewazen
Eric Ewazen (; born March 1, 1954, Cleveland, Ohio) is an American composer and teacher.
Biography
Ewazen studied composition under Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Warren Benson, and Eugene Kurtz at the Eastm ...
, James Barnes, Joseph Hallman, Martin Ellerby
Martin Ellerby (1957, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England) is an English composer. He was educated at the Royal College of Music, London, where he was taught by Joseph Horovitz.
His catalogue features works for orchestra, chorus, concert band, br ...
, Philip Sparke
Philip Allen Sparke (born 29 December 1951) is an English composer and musician born in London, noted for his concert band and brass band music.
His early major works include ''The Land of the Long White Cloud – "Aotearoa"'', written for th ...
, Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Ensio Aho (born 9 March 1949) is a Finnish composer.
Early years
Aho began his interest in music at the age of ten, when he discovered a mandolin in his home and began to teach himself how to play it. He soon was taken under the tutela ...
, Josef Tal
Josef Tal (; September 18, 1910 – August 25, 2008) was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; instrumental works; ...
, Bruce Broughton
Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed many ...
(Tuba Concerto), John Golland
John Golland (14 September 1942 in Ashton-under-Lyne – 14 April 1993 in Dukinfield) was an English composer. He is most famous for his works for brass band, such as ''Sounds'', ''Atmospheres'', ''Peace'', ''Rêves d'Enfant'', his two euphonium c ...
, Roger Steptoe
Roger Steptoe (born 1953) is an English composer and pianist. He studied music at the University of Reading as an undergraduate and then at the Royal Academy of Music, London, from 1974 to 1977 as a post-graduate student. There he studied composit ...
, David Carlson
David Carlson (born March 13, 1952) is an American composer.
Early life
Carlson studied theory and composition at the Los Angeles High School of the Arts and with Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts. From 1988 to 1992 he was ...
, Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemp ...
( Tuba Concerto), and Marcus Paus
Marcus Nicolay Paus (; born 14 October 1979) is a Norwegian composer and one of the most performed contemporary Scandinavian composers. As a classical contemporary composer he is noted as a representative of a reorientation toward tradition, tonal ...
( ''Tuba Mirum'').
Types and construction
Tubas are found in various pitches, most commonly in F, E, C, or B. The key of a tuba depends on the fundamental pitch of the instrument, or fundamental note in the series of overtone
An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...
s (also called ''partials'') available without any valves
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, ...
being pressed. Tubas in different keys use different lengths of tubing. The main tube of a B tuba is approximately long, while that of a C tuba is , of an E tuba , and of an F tuba . The instrument has a conical bore
In music, the bore of a wind instrument (including woodwind and brass) is its interior chamber. This defines a flow path through which air travels, which is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on ...
, meaning the bore diameter increases as a function of the tubing length from the mouthpiece to the bell. The conical bore causes the instrument to produce a preponderance of even-order harmonic
In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...
s.
A tuba with its tubing wrapped for placing the instrument on the player's lap is usually called a ''concert tuba'' or simply a ''tuba''. Tubas with the bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
pointing forward (''pavillon tournant'') instead of upward are often called ''recording tubas'' because of their popularity in the early days of recorded music, as their sound could more easily be directed at the recording microphone. When wrapped to surround the body for cavalry bands on horseback or marching, it is traditionally known as a helicon. The modern sousaphone
The sousaphone ( ) is a brass musical instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J.W. Pepper & Son, J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was design ...
, named after American bandmaster John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...
, resembles a helicon with the bell pointed up (in the original models as the J. W. Pepper prototype and Sousa's concert instruments) and then curved to point forward (as developed by Conn and others). Some ancestors of the tuba, such as the military ''bombardon'', had unusual valve and bore arrangements compared to modern tubas.
During the American Civil War, most brass bands used a branch of the brass family known as ''saxhorns
The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a c ...
'', which, by today's standards, have a narrower bore taper than tuba—the same as true cornets
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano corn ...
and baritones
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
but distinct from trumpets
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B o ...
, euphoniums, and others with different tapers or no taper. Around the start of the Civil War, saxhorns manufactured for military use in the USA were commonly wrapped with the bell pointing backwards over the player's shoulder, and these were known as ''over-the-shoulder saxhorns'', and came in sizes from cornets down to E basses. However, the E bass, even though it shared the same tube length as a modern E tuba, has a narrower bore and as such cannot be called by the name ''tuba'' except as a convenience when comparing it to other sizes of the saxhorn.
Most music for the tuba is written in bass clef in concert pitch, so tuba players must know the correct fingerings for their specific instruments. Traditional British-style brass band parts for the tuba are usually written in treble clef, with the B tuba sounding two octaves and one step below and the E tuba sounding one octave and a major sixth below the written pitch. This allows musicians to change instruments without learning new fingerings for the same written music. Consequently, when its music is written in treble clef, the tuba is a transposing instrument
A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...
but not when the music is in bass clef.
The lowest pitched tubas are the contrabass tubas, pitched in C or B, referred to as CC and BB tubas respectively, based on a traditional distortion of a now-obsolete octave naming convention. The fundamental pitch of a CC tuba is 32 Hz, and for a BB tuba, 29 Hz. The CC tuba is used as an orchestral and concert band instrument in the U.S., but BB tubas are the contrabass tuba of choice in German, Austrian, and Russian orchestras. In the United States, the BB tuba is the most common in schools (largely due to the use of BB sousaphones in high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
marching bands) and for adult amateurs. Many professionals in the U.S. play CC tubas, with BB also common, and many train in the use of all four pitches of tubas.
The next smaller tubas are the bass tubas, pitched in F or E (a fourth above the contrabass tubas). The E tuba often plays an octave above the contrabass tubas in brass bands, and the F tuba is commonly used by professional players as a solo instrument and, in America, to play higher parts in the classical repertoire (or parts that were originally written for the F tuba, as is the case with Berlioz). In most of Europe, the F tuba is the standard orchestral instrument, supplemented by the CC or BB only when the extra weight is desired. Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
, for example, specifically notates the low tuba parts for ''Kontrabasstuba,'' which are played on CC or BB tubas in most regions. In the United Kingdom, the E is the standard orchestral tuba.
The euphonium is sometimes referred to as a tenor tuba and is pitched in B, one octave higher than the BB contrabass tuba. The term "tenor tuba" is often used more specifically to refer to B rotary-valved tubas pitched in the same octave as euphoniums. The "Small Swiss Tuba in C" is a tenor tuba pitched in C, and provided with 6 valves to make the lower notes in the orchestral repertoire possible. The French C tuba was the standard instrument in French orchestras until overtaken by F and C tubas since the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. One popular example of the use of the French C tuba is the ''Bydło'' movement in Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
's orchestration of Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
's ''Pictures at an Exhibition
''Pictures at an Exhibition'' is a piano suite in ten movements, plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and ...
'', though the rest of the work is scored for this instrument as well.
A very small number of larger subcontrabass tuba
The subcontrabass tuba is a rare instrument of the tuba family built an octave or more below the modern contrabass tuba. Only a very small number of these large novelty instruments have ever been built. Most are pitched in Eight-foot pitch, thirty ...
s exist as novelty instruments. Two in 36′ Bâ™, an octave below the Bâ™ contrabass, were built by Gustave Besson on the suggestion of Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and military bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, ...
, but were not completed until after his death in 1892. One survives in the Harvard University Band
The Harvard University Band (HUB) is the official student band of Harvard University. The Harvard Wind Ensemble, the Harvard Summer Pops Band, and the Harvard Jazz Bands also fall under the umbrella organization of HUB. Currently, the band plays ...
, where it was restored and features occasionally in concerts. Another with four valves was exhibited by maker Bohland & Fuchs in 1928, in height with a bell, weighing . In 1956, British musician Gerard Hoffnung
Gerard Hoffnung (22 March 192528 September 1959) was an artist and musician, best known for his humorous works.
Raised in Germany, Hoffnung was brought to London as a boy to escape the Nazis. Over the next two decades in England, he became know ...
used a 32′ C subcontrabass tuba, built by German maker Rudolf Sander, in the first of his comedy Hoffnung Music Festival
The Hoffnung Music Festivals were a series of humorous classical music festivals created by cartoonist and amateur tuba player Gerard Hoffnung and held in the Royal Festival Hall in London. The concerts consisted of humorous works specially com ...
s. In 2010, a fully playable ''Riesentuba'' in 36′ B♠with four rotary valves was built and resides in the Markneukirchen Musical Instrument Museum, Germany.
Size vs. pitch
In addition to the length of the instrument, which dictates the fundamental pitch, tubas also vary in the overall width of the tubing sections. Tuba sizes are usually denoted by a quarter system, with designating a normal, full-size tuba. Larger rotary instruments are known as ''kaiser tubas'' and are often denoted . Larger piston tubas, particularly those with front action, are sometimes known as ''grand orchestral tubas'' (examples: the Conn 36J Orchestra Grand Bass from the 1930s, and the current model Hirsbrunner HB-50 ''Grand Orchestral'', which is a replica of the large York tubas owned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Grand orchestral tubas are generally described as tubas. Smaller instruments may be described as instruments.
No standards exist for these designations, and their use is up to manufacturers, who usually use them to distinguish among the instruments in their own product line. The size designation is related to the larger outer branches and not to the bore of the tubing at the valves, though the bore is usually reported in instrument specifications. The quarter system is also not directly related to bell size, though there is typically a correlation. tubas are common in American grade schools for use by young tuba players for whom a full-size instrument might be too cumbersome. Though smaller and lighter, they are tuned and keyed identically to full-size tubas of the same pitch, although they usually have 3 rather than 4 or 5 valves.
Valves
Tubas are made with eitherpiston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...
or rotary valves. Rotary valves, invented by Joseph Riedl, are based on a design included in the original valve patents by Friedrich Blühmel
Friedrich Blühmel (born 1777, died before 1845) was a German horn player and musical instrument builder. He is credited as one of the earliest inventors of brass instrument valves.
Biography
Friedrich Blühmel initially worked as a coal miner, w ...
and Heinrich Stölzel
Heinrich David Sțlzel (7 September 1777 Р16 February 1844) was a German horn player who developed some of the first valves for brass instruments. He developed the first valve for a brass musical instrument, the Sțlzel valve, in 1818, a ...
in 1818. Červený of Graslitz
Kraslice (; ) is a town in Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. It was a large and important town until World War II. It is known for the manufacture of musical instruments.
Administrat ...
was the first to use true rotary valves, starting in the 1840s or 1850s. Modern piston valves were developed by François Périnet Étienne-François Périnet (known professionally as François Périnet; 30 May 1805, Megève – 21 September 1861) was a French instrument maker, best known for his development of an early piston valve system for brass instruments.
Work
Périnet ...
for the saxhorn
The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a ...
family of instruments promoted by Adolphe Sax
Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax (; 6 November 1814 – 7 February 1894) was a Belgian inventor and musician who invented the saxophone in the early 1840s, patenting it in 1846. He also invented the saxotromba, saxhorn and saxtuba, and redesigne ...
around the same time. Pistons may either be oriented to point to the top of the instrument (top-action) or out the front of the instrument (front-action or side-action).
Piston valves require more maintenance than rotary valves – they require regular oiling to keep them freely operating, while rotary valves are sealed and seldom require oiling. Piston valves are easy to disassemble and re-assemble, while rotary valve disassembly and re-assembly is much more difficult and is generally left to qualified instrument repair persons.
Tubas generally have from three to six valves, though some rare exceptions exist. Three-valve tubas are generally the least expensive and are almost exclusively used by amateurs, and the sousaphone
The sousaphone ( ) is a brass musical instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J.W. Pepper & Son, J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was design ...
(a marching version of a BB tuba) usually has three valves. Among advanced players, four and five valve tubas are by far the most common choices, with six-valve tubas being relatively rare except among F tubas, which mostly have five or six valves.
The valves add tubing to the main tube of the instrument, thus lowering its fundamental pitch. The first valve lowers the pitch by a whole step (two semitones), the second valve by a semitone, and the third valve by three semitones. Used in combination, the valve tubing is too short and the resulting pitch tends to be sharp. For example, a BB tuba becomes (in effect) an A tuba when the first valve is depressed. The third valve is long enough to lower the pitch of a BB tuba by three semitones, but it is not long enough to lower the pitch of an A tuba by three semitones. Thus, the first and third valves used in combination lower the pitch by something ''just short'' of five semitones, and the first three valves used in combination are nearly a quarter tone sharp.
The fourth valve lowers the pitch by a perfect fourth, so it can be used in place of the combination of the first and third valves. When tuned properly it helps solve the issue of valve combinations being too sharp. Using the fourth valve with the first three valves allows the musician to extend the instrument's range down to the fundamental pitch. As with other valve combinations that lengthen the tubing considerably, some of these lower notes can be sharp.
A fifth and sixth valve, if fitted, are used to provide alternative fingering possibilities to improve intonation, and are also used to reach into the low register of the instrument where all the valves will be used in combination to fill the first octave between the fundamental pitch and the next available note on the open tube. The fifth and sixth valves also give the musician the ability to trill more smoothly or to use alternative fingerings for ease of playing. This type of tuba is what is most found in orchestras and wind bands around the world.
The bass tuba in F is pitched a fifth above the BB tuba and a fourth above the CC tuba, so it needs additional tubing length beyond that provided by four valves to play securely down to a low F as required in much tuba music. The fifth valve is commonly tuned to a flat whole step, so that when used with the fourth valve, it gives an in-tune low B. The sixth valve is commonly tuned as a flat half step, allowing the F tuba to play low G as 1-4-5-6 and low G as 1-2-4-5-6. In CC tubas with five valves, the fifth valve may be tuned as a flat whole step or as a minor third depending on the instrument.
Compensating valves
Some tubas have a compensating system to allow accurate tuning when using several valves in combination, simplifying fingering and removing the need to constantly adjust slide positions. The most popular of the automatic compensation systems was invented by Blaikley (Bevan, 1874) and was patented by Boosey (later,Boosey and Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments.
Formed in 1930 throu ...
, which also, later still, produced Besson instruments). The patent on the system limited its application outside of Britain, and to this day, tubas with compensating valves are primarily popular in the United Kingdom and countries of the former British Empire.
The Blaikley design plumbs the instrument so that if the fourth valve is used, the air is sent back through a second set of branches in the first three valves to compensate for the combination of valves. This does have the disadvantage of making the instrument significantly more "stuffy" or resistant to air flow when compared to a non-compensating tuba. This is due to the need for the air to flow through the valves twice. It also makes the instrument heavier. But many prefer this approach to having additional valvesor to the manipulation of tuning slides while playingto achieve improved intonation within an ensemble.
Most modern professional-grade euphoniums also now feature Blaikley-style compensating valves.
Resonance and false tones
Some tubas have a strong and useful resonance that is not in the well-known harmonic series. For example, most large B tubas have a strong resonance at low E (E1, 39 Hz), which is between the fundamental and the second harmonic (an octave higher than the fundamental). These alternative resonances are often known as Acoustic resonance#False tones, false tones or privileged tones. Adding the six semitones provided by the three valves, these alternative resonances let the instrument play chromatically down to the fundamental of the open bugle (which is a 29 Hz B0). The addition of valves below that note can lower the instrument a further six semitones to a 20 Hz E0. Thus, even three-valved instruments with good alternative resonances can produce very low sounds in the hands of skilled players; instruments with four valves can play even lower. The lowest note in the widely known repertoire is a 16 Hz double-pedal C0 in the William Kraft piece ''Encounters II'', which is often played using a timed Flutter-tonguing, flutter tongue rather than by buzzing the lips. The fundamental of this pitch borders on infrasound and missing fundamental, its overtones define the pitch in the listener's ear.Materials and finish
The tuba is generally constructed of brass, which is either unfinished, lacquered or electroplating, electro-plated with nickel, gold or silver. Unfinished brass will eventually tarnish and thus must be periodically polishing, polished to maintain its appearance.Manufacturers
There are many types of tubas that are manufactured in Europe, the United States, and Asia. In Europe, the predominant models that are professionally used are Meinl-Weston (Germany) and Miraphone (Germany). Asian brands include the Yamaha Corporation (Japan) and Jupiter Instruments (Taiwan). Holton Instrument Company and King Musical Instruments are some of the most well known brands from the United States.Variations
Some tubas are capable of being converted into a marching band, marching style, known as "marching tubas". A leadpipe can be manually screwed on next to the valves. The tuba is then usually rested on the left shoulder (although some tubas allow use of the right shoulder), with the bell facing directly in front of the player. Some marching tubas are made only for marching, and cannot be converted into a concert model. Most marching bands opt for thesousaphone
The sousaphone ( ) is a brass musical instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J.W. Pepper & Son, J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was design ...
, an instrument that is easier to carry since it was invented specifically for this and almost always cheaper than a true marching tuba. The earlier helicon is still used by bands in Europe and other parts of the world. Drum and bugle corps (modern), Drum and bugle corps players, however, generally use marching tubas or Contrabass bugles.
Standard tubas can also be played whilst standing and marching, which is the usual practice in British brass bands and military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...
s. With the comfort of the player in mind, companies have provided harnesses that sometimes use a strap joined to the tuba with two rings, a 'sack' to hold the bottom of the tuba, or numerous straps holding the larger parts of tubing on the tuba. The strap(s) goes over the shoulder like a sash or sit at the waist, so the musician can play the instrument in the same position as when sitting.
Jazz
The tuba has been used in jazz since the genre's inception. In the earliest years, bands often used a tuba for outdoor playing and a double bass for indoor performances. In this context, the tuba was sometimes called "brass bass", as opposed to the double bass ''(string bass)''. Many musicians played both instruments.
This practice was mostly used in the New Orleans jazz scene. The tuba was used most frequently with the Louis Armstrong groups and prominent in the album ''Hot Five''.
In modern jazz, it is not unknown for their players to take solos. New Orleans style brass bands like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Rebirth Brass Band use a sousaphone as the bass instrument. Bill Barber (musician), Bill Barber played tuba on several Miles Davis albums, including the sessions compiled as the ''Birth of the Cool'' and ''Miles Ahead (album), Miles Ahead''. New York City-based tubist Marcus Rojas performed frequently with Henry Threadgill. Starting in 1955, Stan Kenton made his fifth trombonist double on tuba, namely on ballads to make use of the tuba's distinct warm, enveloping sound.
See also
* Brass instrument valves * Contrabass bugle * Subcontrabass tuba * Sousaphone * Helicon (instrument) * List of tuba players * Roman tuba * Tuba repertoire * Tubachristmas (music event) * Wagner tubaReferences
Bibliography
External links
ITEA
— The International Tuba Euphonium Association * *
TubaForum.net
— online forum
The Vincent and Ethel Simonetti Historic Tuba Collection
— Durham, North Carolina
History of the Tuba Podcast
— Jake Kline & Jack Adler-McKean
International Tuba Day
— first Friday in May
Tuba Christmas
— official site for the annual concerts * {{Authority control Tubas, Bass (sound) Contrabass instruments German musical instruments Marching band instruments Orchestral instruments Concert band instruments