Tuba

General info:

The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. A person who plays the tuba is known as a tubaist or tubist.

History:

Romantic tubas

The tuba is a relatively recent and new instrument, having only been invented in the Romantic period. Prussian Patent No. 19 was granted to Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz on September 12, 1835 for a "basstuba" in F1. The original Wieprecht and Moritz instrument used five valves of the Berlinerpumpen type that were the forerunners of the modern piston valve.

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.

The sousaphone , another variant of the tuba, was developed in the 1890s at the request of John Philip Sousa. It was meant for the United States Marine Band at that time.

Range:

Generally between low E (4 ledger lines below staff) to high F (3 ledger lines above the staff). It depends on what composer you're playing. Many composers (Berlioz, Ravel, Mendelssohn) wrote for a small tuba, about the size of a euphonium, or for an opheclide, so the range is generally very high.

Role:

An orchestra usually has a single tuba, though an additional tuba may be asked for. It is the principal bass instrument in concert bands and military bands. It serves as the bass of the brass section and of brass quintets and choirs, as well as reinforcement for the bass voices of the strings and woodwinds. It can also be a solo instrument.

Foreign names:

Tuba----- German

Tuba----- French

Tuba----- Italian

Famous pieces: