The Bass Instrument in the Brass Family Is the

Brass instrument

Tuba

A bass tuba in F
Brass musical instrument
Classification	Wind Brass Aerophone
Hornbostel–Sachs nomenclature	423.232 (Valved aerophone sounded by lip vibration)
Inventor(southward)	Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz
Developed	1835
Playing range
Related instruments
Subcontrabass tuba Euphonium Contrabass bugle Baritone horn Saxhorn Wagner tuba Helicon

The tuba (;^[ane] ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all contumely instruments, the audio is produced by lip vibration – a fizz – into a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the newer instruments in the modern orchestra and concert band. The tuba largely replaced the ophicleide.^[2] Tuba is Latin for "trumpet".^[3]

A person who plays the tuba is called a tubaist, a tubist,^[four] or just a tuba player. In a British contumely band or military ring, they are known equally bass players.

History [edit]

Tuba past Wieprecht & Moritz as described in Prussian patent No.19.

Prussian Patent No. 19 was granted to Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz (1777–1840)^[five] on September 12, 1835 for a "bass tuba" 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 first tenor tuba was invented in 1838 by Carl Wilhelm Moritz (1810–1855), son of Johann Gottfried Moritz.

The addition of valves made information technology possible to play depression in the harmonic series of the instrument and still accept a complete pick of notes. Prior to the invention of valves, brass instruments were limited to notes in the harmonic series, and were thus by and large played very high with respect to their fundamental pitch. Harmonics starting three octaves to a higher place the primal pitch are about a whole step apart, making a useful multifariousness of notes possible.

The ophicleide used a basin-shaped brass musical instrument mouthpiece but employed keys and tone holes similar to those of a modern saxophone. Another precursor to the tuba was the serpent, a bass instrument that was shaped in a wavy form to make the tone holes accessible to the player. Tone holes changed the pitch by providing an intentional leak in the bugle of the musical instrument. While this changed the pitch, it also had a pronounced effect on the timbre. By using valves to adjust the length of the bugle the tuba produced a smoother tone that eventually led to its popularity. These popular instruments were mostly written for by French composers, especially Hector Berlioz. Berlioz famously wrote for the ophicleide in his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Benvenuto Cellini (opera). These pieces are now normally performed on F or CC tuba.

Adolphe Sax, like Wieprecht, was interested in marketing systems of instruments from soprano to bass, and developed a series of brass instruments known as saxhorns. The instruments developed by Sax were by and large pitched in Due east ♭ and B ♭ , while the Wieprecht "basstuba" and the subsequent Cerveny contrabass tuba were pitched in F and C (see below on pitch systems). Sax'due south instruments gained dominance in French republic, and afterward in Great britain and America, as a result of the popularity and movements of instrument makers such every bit Gustave Auguste Besson (who moved from France to United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland) and Henry Distin (who somewhen found his way to America).^[half-dozen]

The cimbasso is also seen instead of a tuba in the orchestral repertoire. The name is translated from "corno in basso" in German. The original design was inspired by the ophicleide and bassoon.^[7] The cimbasso is rare today, but information technology is sometimes used in historically authentic performances.

Role [edit]

An orchestra usually has a single tuba, though an additional tuba may exist requested. It serves as the bass of the orchestral brass section and it can reinforce the bass voices of the strings and woodwinds. It provides the bass of brass quintets and choirs (though many small brass ensembles will utilise the euphonium or bass trombone every bit the lowest voice). It is the principal bass instrument in concert bands, brass bands and military machine bands, and those ensembles generally have two to 4 tubas. It is likewise a solo instrument.

Tubas are used in marching bands, drum and bugle corps and in many jazz bands (see below). In British style brass bands, two Due east ♭ and two B ♭ tubas are used and are referred to every bit basses.

Well known and influential parts for the tuba include:

• Modest Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition – Bydło, Night On Bald Mountain
• Richard Strauss: As well sprach Zarathustra, Eine Alpensinfonie, Till Eulenspiegel, Ein Heldenleben
• Shostakovich: All Symphonies, except for the Fourteenth symphony
• Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Petroushka
• Edgard Varèse: Déserts
• Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Lohengrin, Ride of the Valkyries, Faust Overture
• Sergei Prokofiev: Fifth Symphony
• George Gershwin: An American in Paris
• Silvestre Revueltas: Sensemayá, La noche de los mayas, Homenaje a Federico García Lorca
• Gustav Holst: The Planets
• Gustav Mahler: Starting time Symphony, Second Symphony, Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Eighth Symphony
• Ottorino Respighi: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome
• Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Hungarian March
• Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis
• Johannes Brahms: Second Symphony
• Anton Bruckner: Fourth Symphony, Seventh Symphony, Eighth Symphony

Concertos have been written for the tuba by many notable composers, including Ralph Vaughan Williams (Tuba Concerto), Edward Gregson, John Williams, Alexander Arutiunian, Eric Ewazen, James Barnes, Joseph Hallman, Martin Ellerby, Philip Sparke, Kalevi Aho, Josef Tal, Bruce Broughton (Tuba Concerto), John Golland, Roger Steptoe, David Carlson, Jennifer Higdon (Tuba Concerto) and Marcus Paus (Tuba Mirum).

Types and structure [edit]

Tubas are establish in various pitches, most ordinarily in F, E ♭ , C, or B ♭ . The main tube of a B ♭ tuba is approximately eighteen anxiety (5.5 thou) long, while that of a C tuba is sixteen feet (iv.9 m), of an Due east ♭ tuba 13 anxiety (4.0 thou), and of an F tuba 12 feet (3.7 k). The instrument has a conical bore, meaning the bore diameter increases as a office of the tubing length from the mouthpiece to the bell. The conical bore causes the instrument to produce a preponderance of even-order harmonics.

A tuba with its tubing wrapped for placing the instrument on the player'southward lap is ordinarily called a concert tuba or simply a tuba. Tubas with the bong pointing frontwards (pavillon tournant) instead of upward are oft called recording tubas because of their popularity in the early on days of recorded music, as their sound could more hands be directed at the recording microphone. When wrapped to surroundings the body for cavalry bands on horseback or marching, it is traditionally known every bit a helicon. The mod sousaphone, named later on American bandmaster John Philip Sousa, resembles a helicon with the bell pointed up (in the original models as the J. Due west. Pepper prototype and Sousa'south concert instruments) and then curved to point forward (as developed by Conn and others). Some ancestors of the tuba, such as the military machine bombardon, had unusual valve and diameter arrangements compared to modern tubas.

During the American Civil State of war, most contumely bands used a branch of the brass family known as saxhorns, which, by today's standards, have a narrower bore taper than tuba—the same as true cornets and baritones, only distinct from trumpets, euphoniums, and others with different tapers or no taper. Around the start of the Ceremonious War, saxhorns manufactured for war machine use in the Usa were commonly wrapped with the bell pointing backwards over the player'southward shoulder, and these were known as over-the-shoulder saxhorns, and came in sizes from cornets down to E ♭ basses. Withal, the E ♭ bass, fifty-fifty though it shared the aforementioned tube length as a modernistic E ♭ tuba, has a narrower bore and equally such cannot be called by the proper noun tuba except equally 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-mode brass band parts for the tuba are usually written in treble clef, with the B ♭ tuba sounding ii octaves and one step beneath and the Eastward ♭ tuba sounding one octave and a major 6th below the written pitch. This allows musicians to alter 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, but not when the music is in bass clef.

The lowest pitched tubas are the contrabass tubas, pitched in C or B ♭ , referred to every bit CC and BB ♭ tubas respectively, based on a traditional distortion of a at present-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 equally an orchestral, and concert ring instrument in the U.S., but BB ♭ tubas are the contrabass tuba of choice in High german, Austrian, and Russian orchestras. In the Us, the BB ♭ tuba is the near common in schools (largely due to the use of BB ♭ sousaphones in loftier school marching bands) and for adult amateurs. Many professionals in the U.S. play CC tubas, with BB ♭ too mutual, and many train in the use of all four pitches of tubas.^{[ citation needed ]}

Comparison of euphonium (left) and tuba (right)

The next smaller tubas are the bass tubas, pitched in F or Due east ♭ (a fourth above the contrabass tubas). The East ♭ tuba often plays an octave above the contrabass tubas in contumely bands, and the F tuba is ordinarily 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 near of Europe, the F tuba is the standard orchestral instrument, supplemented by the CC or BB ♭ only when the actress weight is desired. Wagner, for example, specifically notates the low tuba parts for Kontrabasstuba, which are played on CC or BB ♭ tubas in virtually regions. In the United Kingdom, the E ♭ is the standard orchestral tuba.

The euphonium is sometimes referred to equally a tenor tuba and is pitched in B ♭ , one octave higher than the BB ♭ contrabass tuba. The term "tenor tuba" is often used more than 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 half dozen 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. One popular example of the use of the French C tuba is the Bydło movement in Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, though the rest of the work is scored for this instrument also.

Larger BBB ♭ subcontrabass tubas exist, but are extremely rare (in that location are at least four known examples). The outset two were built by Gustave Besson in BBB ♭ , one octave below the BB ♭ Contrabass tuba, on the suggestion of John Philip Sousa. The monster instruments were not completed until only after Sousa'southward decease. Later, in the 1950s, British musician Gerard Hoffnung commissioned the London firm of Paxman to create a subcontrabass tuba in EEE ♭ for use in his comedic music festivals. Besides, a tuba pitched in FFF was made in Kraslice past Bohland & Fuchs probably during 1910 or 1911 and was destined for the World Exhibition in New York in 1913. Ii players are needed; one to operate the valves and ane to blow into the mouthpiece.

Size vs. pitch [edit]

In addition to the length of the musical instrument, which dictates the primal pitch, tubas also vary in overall width of the tubing sections. Tuba sizes are unremarkably denoted by a quarter organization, with 4⁄4 designating a normal, total-size tuba. Larger rotary instruments are known as kaisertubas and are oft denoted five⁄iv . Larger piston tubas, particularly those with front activity, are sometimes known every bit 1000 orchestral tubas (examples: the Conn 36J Orchestra Grand Bass from the 1930s, and the current model Hirsbrunner HB-50 Yard Orchestral, which is a replica of the big York tubas owned past the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Thou orchestral tubas are by and large described as vi⁄4 tubas. Smaller instruments may be described as 3⁄4 instruments. No standards be for these designations, and their use is up to manufacturers who usually utilize them to distinguish amongst the instruments in their own product line. The size designation is related to the larger outer branches, and non to the bore of the tubing at the valves, though the bore is normally reported in musical instrument specifications. The quarter organisation is likewise not directly related to bell size, though there is typically a correlation. 3⁄4 tubas are common in American grade schools for use by young tuba players for whom a total size musical instrument might exist too cumbersome. Though smaller and lighter, they are tuned and keyed identically to full-size tubas of the aforementioned pitch, although they usually have three rather than 4 or 5 valves.

Valves [edit]

Tubas are fabricated with either piston or rotary valves. Rotary valves, invented past Joseph Riedl, are based on a design included in the original valve patents by Friedrich Blühmel and Heinrich Stölzel in 1818. Červeny of Graslitz was the first to use true rotary valves, starting in the 1840s or 1850s. Modernistic piston valves were developed by François Périnet for the saxhorn family of instruments promoted by Adolphe Sax effectually the same time. Pistons may either be oriented to bespeak to the top of the musical instrument (top-activeness, as pictured in the effigy at the top of the article) 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 crave oiling. Piston valves are like shooting fish in a barrel to detach and re-assemble, while rotary valve disassembly and re-assembly is much more hard and is by and large left to qualified instrument repair persons.

Tubas mostly take from three to vi valves, though some rare exceptions be. 3-valve tubas are generally the least expensive and are almost exclusively used by amateurs, and the sousaphone (a marching version of a BB ♭ tuba) most ever has three valves. Amid advanced players, 4 and five valve tubas are by far the most mutual choices, with six-valve tubas existence relatively rare except among F tubas, which mostly accept five or six valves.

Tuba with iv rotary valves

The valves add together tubing to the main tube of the instrument, thus lowering its key pitch. The commencement valve lowers the pitch past a whole stride (two semitones), the second valve past a semitone, and the third valve by three semitones. Used in combination, the valve tubing is as well 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 past three semitones, but it is non long plenty to lower the pitch of an A ♭ tuba by 3 semitones. Thus, the first and tertiary valves used in combination lower the pitch past something just brusque of five semitones, and the first three valves used in combination are near a quarter tone sharp.

The fourth valve is used in place of combinations of the get-go and third valves, and the 2d and fourth used in combination are used in place of the showtime 3 valves in combination. The fourth valve tin can be tuned to lower the pitch of the primary tube accurately by v semitones, and thus its use corrects the primary trouble of combinations being too sharp. By using the fourth valve by itself to replace the first and third combination, or the fourth and 2d valves in place of the first, 2nd and third valve combinations, the notes requiring these fingerings are more than in tune. The 4th valve used in combination with, rather than instead of, the first 3 valves fills in the missing notes in the bottom octave allowing the player to play chromatically downwardly to the central pitch of the instrument. For the reason given in the preceding paragraph some of these notes volition tend to be abrupt and must by "lipped" into tune by the player.

A fifth and sixth valve, if fitted, are used to provide culling fingering possibilities to improve intonation, and are likewise used to attain into the low register of the instrument where all the valves will exist used in combination to fill the outset octave between the fundamental pitch and the next available note on the open tube. The fifth and sixth valves also give the musician the power to trill more smoothly or to apply culling fingerings for ease of playing. This type of tuba is what is most institute in orchestras and wind bands around the world.

The bass tuba in F is pitched a fifth to a higher place the BB ♭ tuba and a fourth to a higher place the CC tuba, so it needs additional tubing length beyond that provided past four valves to play securely down to a depression F as required in much tuba music. The fifth valve is usually tuned to a flat whole stride, and then that when used with the 4th valve, it gives an in-tune low B ♭ . The sixth valve is usually tuned every bit a flat half step, allowing the F tuba to play low G as 1-4-5-6 and low K ♭ every bit 1-ii-4-5-6. In CC tubas with five valves, the fifth valve may be tuned as a flat whole pace or as a minor tertiary depending on the instrument.

Compensating valves [edit]

Some tubas take a compensating organization to permit accurate tuning when using several valves in combination, simplifying fingering and removing the need to constantly arrange slide positions. The most popular of the automated bounty systems was invented past Blaikley (Bevan, 1874) and was patented by Boosey (later on, Boosey and Hawkes, which also, later still, produced Besson instruments). The patent on the system limited its application outside of United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, and to this day tubas with compensating valves are primarily popular in the United Kingdom and countries of the former British Empire. The Blaikley blueprint plumbs the musical instrument so that if the fourth valve is used, the air is sent back through a second set of branches in the kickoff 3 valves to compensate for the combination of valves. This does take the disadvantage of making the musical instrument significantly more than "stuffy" or resistant to air menses when compared to a non-compensating tuba. This is due to the need for the air to menstruum through the valves twice. It likewise makes the instrument heavier. But many prefer this approach to additional valves or to manipulation of tuning slides while playing to achieve improved intonation within an ensemble. Most modern professional-grade euphoniums also now feature Blaikley-style compensating valves.^[viii]

Resonance and false tones [edit]

Some tubas have a strong and useful resonance that is not in the well-known harmonic serial. For example, most large B ♭ tubas accept a strong resonance at low Due east ♭ (Eastward ♭ ₁, 39 Hz), which is between the fundamental and the second harmonic (an octave higher than the central). These alternative resonances are often known equally false tones or privileged tones. Adding the six semitones provided by the three valves, these alternative resonances permit the instrument play chromatically down to the fundamental of the open bugle (which is a 29 Hz B ♭ ₀). The improver of valves below that note can lower the instrument a farther six semitones to a 20 Hz E₀. Thus, even three-valved instruments with adept culling resonances tin produce very low sounds in the hands of skilled players; instruments with four valves tin can play even lower. The lowest annotation in the widely known repertoire is a sixteen Hz double-pedal C₀ in the William Kraft slice Encounters Two, which is often played using a timed flutter tongue rather than by buzzing the lips. The fundamental of this pitch borders on infrasound and its overtones define the pitch in the listener'south ear.

The most convincing explanation^{[ according to whom? ]} for false tones is that the horn is acting as a "tertiary of a piping" rather than as a half-pipe. The bell remains an anti-node, but there would then be a node one-third of the fashion back to the mouthpiece.^{[ why? ]} If so, it seems that the key would be missing entirely, and would only be inferred from the overtones. All the same, the node and the antinode collide in the same spot and cancel out the central.^{[ clarification needed ]}

Materials and cease [edit]

The tuba is generally constructed of brass, which is either unfinished, lacquered or electro-plated with nickel, golden or silver. Unfinished brass will eventually tarnish and thus must be periodically polished to maintain its advent.^[9]

Manufacturers [edit]

In that location 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 (Federal republic of germany) and Miraphone (Germany). Asian brands include the Yamaha Corporation (Japan) and Jupiter Instruments (Taiwan). Holton Instrument Company and Male monarch Musical Instruments are some of the most well known brands from the United states.^[ten]

Variations [edit]

Some tubas are capable of being converted into a marching style, known as "marching tubas". A leadpipe tin be manually screwed on next to the valves. The tuba is so usually rested on the left shoulder (although some tubas allow employ of the correct shoulder), with the bell facing straight in front of the player. Some marching tubas are made only for marching, and cannot exist converted into a concert model. Most marching bands opt for the sousaphone, an instrument that is easier to carry since it was invented specifically for this and well-nigh e'er cheaper than a true marching tuba.^[11] The before helicon is still used by bands in Europe and other parts of the world. Drum and bugle corps players, however, generally use marching tubas or Contrabass bugles. Standard tubas tin also be played whilst standing. With the comfort of the player in heed, companies take provided harnesses that sometimes utilize a strap joined to the tuba with 2 rings, a 'sack' to hold the bottom of the tuba, or numerous straps property the larger parts of tubing on the tuba. The strap(s) goes over the shoulder like a sash or sit down at the waist, so the musician tin play the instrument in the same position as when sitting.

Jazz [edit]

"Kaiserbass" (tuba in B♭) and cornet

The tuba has been used in jazz since the genre'south 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 chosen "brass bass", equally 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 mode brass bands similar the Muddied Dozen Contumely Band and the Rebirth Brass Ring utilize a sousaphone every bit the bass instrument. Pecker Barber played tuba on several Miles Davis albums, including the sessions compiled equally the Birth of the Absurd and Miles Ahead. New York City-based tubist Marcus Rojas performed oftentimes with Henry Threadgill.^[12] Starting in 1955, Stan Kenton made his 5th trombonist double on tuba, namely on ballads to brand use of the tuba'south singled-out warm, enveloping audio.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Encounter also [edit]

• Contumely musical instrument valves
• Contrabass bugle
• Subcontrabass tuba
• Sousaphone
• Helicon (instrument)
• List of tuba players
• Roman tuba
• Tuba repertoire
• Tubachristmas (music event)
• Wagner tuba

References [edit]

1. ^ "tuba substantive - Pronunciation | Oxford Advanced Learner'due south Lexicon at Oxford Learner's Dictionaries". Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com . Retrieved eighteen Apr 2021.
2. ^ Forsyth, Cecil (1982). Orchestration. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc. p. 530. ISBN0-486-24383-4.
3. ^ "tuba definition - Latin Dictionary". Latin-Dictionary.org. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 4 Feb 2018.
4. ^ "Tuba". Merriam-Webster . Retrieved 2012-05-26 .
5. ^ "Vienna Symphonic Library". Vsl.co.at . Retrieved 2017-09-22 .
6. ^ Clifford Bevan, The Tuba Family, Scriveners, 1978. ISBN 9780684154770.
7. ^ Meucci, Renato. "Historical Account on the Cimbasso". ITEA Journal. 37: 44–45 – via ProQuest.
8. ^ "Compensating Organization". Dwerden.com . Retrieved four February 2018.
9. ^ Winter, James (1975). "Contumely". Music Educators Journal. 62 (2): 34–37. doi:10.2307/3394871. JSTOR 3394871. S2CID 221063884.
10. ^ "Instruments and Equipment". Music Educators Journal. 55 (ix): 101–102. 1969. doi:10.2307/3392572. JSTOR 3392572. S2CID 221060268.
11. ^ Detwiler, Dave. "Heritage: Marching Through the Early on History of the Sousaphone". ITEA Periodical. 42: 27–29.
12. ^ William, Pryor. "New Orleans Jazz and the Trad Jazz Motion". IAJRC Journal. 49: 61–65.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tuba.

Wait up tuba in Wiktionary, the gratuitous lexicon.

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bombardon". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Printing.

• The International Tuba-Euphonium Association
• International Tuba Day
• Tubenet Sean Chisham's popular Tubenet discussion forum
• Contumely-Forum.co.u.k. UK based brass word forum
• Brassmusic.Ru — Russian Brass Customs
• Tuba/Sousaphone as blues instruments
• More Thoughts on Tuba
• Official site for the annual TubaChristmas concerts

dickinsonrusuremb.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuba

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