A wide-bore valved brass instrument. It is used as a bass or contrabass member of the band or orchestral brass section (in the Hornbostel and Sachs system it is classified as an Aerophone: trumpet). The term is applied to instruments of various sizes and shapes with a wide, conical bore, three to six (rarely seven) valves, and an open (no valves operated) tube length of at least 8', giving a pedal (fundamental) note of C or below. Several members of the tuba family are commonly called by other names, e.g. the Euphonium, bombardon (see Bombardon (i)), Sousaphone and Helicon. The lower members of the Saxhorngroup may be included in the tuba family. The Wagner tuba has characteristics of both horn and tuba. The tuba, basically a valved bugle, is a comparative newcomer to the brass section (the first instrument so named, a five-valve Bass-Tuba, was introduced in Germany in 1835). Unlike the trumpet and horn, it has no direct ancestors among the valveless brasses; the Ophicleide – a keyed brass instrument made in contralto, bass and contrabass sizes – is probably its closest predecessor. Other bass lip-reed instruments superseded by the tuba are the Russian bassoon, Bass-horn and Serpent.
Tuba parts are usually notated at sounding pitch, but in British brass bands and French bands the tubas are treated as transposing instruments.
CLIFFORD BEVAN
The tuba’s wide conical bore (in early instruments interrupted only by the more cylindrical valve system), wide bell and deep cup-shaped mouthpiece give the instrument a rich, smooth tone and facilitate the sounding of the lowest notes of its harmonic series, including the fundamentals. In timbre the instrument is more akin to the horn than to the trumpet or trombone, but because of its massiveness of tone it is associated with the ‘heavy’ brass.
Usually the tubing is coiled in an elliptical shape with the bell pointing upright. The helicon and sousaphone, however, are made in circular form: these instruments wrap round the player and rest usually on the left shoulder with the bell reaching up above the head, making the instrument easier to carry while marching. Some upright tubas have been made with the bell pointing forwards; this forward-facing or ‘recording’ bell was devised during the 1920s, when the tuba was often substituted for the double bass in recording studios, as techniques were insufficiently developed to record string tone properly. Instruments with this kind of bell have proved serviceable in the band but unsuitable for orchestral use because of the resulting tone quality; hence modern tubas sometimes provide for the attachment of either an upright or a recording bell (fig.1c). Tubas have been built with a left-facing bell (i.e. with the bell to the left of the mouthpiece, as seen by the player; see (fig.1d) or with a right-facing bell (fig.1b), depending somewhat on whether the instrument has piston or rotary valves. Piston top-valves require a right-facing bell, but piston side-valves (an American development) allow a left-facing bell. The use of rotary valves invariably results in a left-facing bell, allowing the player to use the left hand to adjust the valve slides during performance when necessary. Piston valves are unsuitable if the bore (at the valve) is larger than 19 mm, and rotary valves are faster but less rugged.
Usually there are four valves arranged to lower the instrument’s pitch by 1, ½, 1½ and 2½ tones respectively. Used in various combinations the four valves enable the player to produce a complete chromatic octave between the 2nd harmonic and the fundamental (ex.1). But intonation difficulties encountered when using valves in combination are magnified because of the tuba’s large size. In ex.1 the cumulative pitch inaccuracy by the time B' is reached is at least a semitone, causing the note to sound as C unless adjusted in some way. Many players ‘lip’ the notes down; others, especially in England and many parts of the Commonwealth (in Canada, American practice is followed), use a valve system with a mechanism (such as that designed by D.J. Blaikley in 1874) that automatically compensates for intonation errors. A fifth valve, which usually lowers the pitch by a major 3rd, is often added, and sometimes a sixth (fig.1a); each provides fingering alternatives to improve intonation (see also Acoustics §IV and Valve (i)).
Playing the tuba demands an enormous amount of breath, especially on the larger instruments, but does not require high breath-pressure. The lips are normally loose and cushionlike; only in the high register need they be compressed or tense. In the hands of an accomplished performer the tuba can be an agile instrument, but the breath supply must constantly be renewed and, on the larger instruments, the lowest notes must be attacked with deliberation.
Tubas
in use at the end of the 20th century included the tenor tuba in B
(Fr. tuba basse, saxhorn
basse; Ger. Baryton; It. flicorno basso, eufonio), a
bass instrument covering much the same range as the cello; bass tubas in F and
E (Fr. tuba
contrebasse; Ger. Basstuba; It. flicorno basso-grave),
contrabass instruments fulfilling a similar function to the double bass; and
contrabass tubas in C and B (or, as makers and players would term them, ‘CC’ and
‘BB’ respectively; the
latter is often shown as ‘B'’).
The
tenor tuba in 9' B
(with an open pedal (fundamental) of B') is often designated ‘euphonium’ when used in
bands, especially in England, and ‘tenor tuba’ when used orchestrally. In
English practice the euphonium is often played with vibrato; the tenor tuba is
not. The instrument has the same tube length as the B baritone (an instrument of the saxhorn
type), but its bore is wider. Pedal notes from B'down to E' and beyond are
available; the upper range extends to b' or even higher.
The
original German Bass-Tuba of 1835 was built in 12' F and instruments of
this pitch were still in common use in orchestras in much of continental Europe
at the end of the 20th century. The band equivalent of the F tuba is the 14' E instrument (in England
formerly sometimes called ‘bombardon’), which is generally used in combination
with the contrabass in 18' B. Until about the 1960s a tuba in 12' F was commonly
used in English orchestras. It was replaced by an instrument in E with a full bore and four valves
(‘EE’), which remained
the most common orchestral tuba in England at the end of the 20th century.
The
contrabass tuba in 16' C (with an open fundamental of C') became the
standard orchestral type in the USA in the 1940s. At the end of the 20th
century it was being increasingly used in England as an alternative to the ‘EE’ instrument, and in
continental Europe as an alternative to the F instrument. The 18' tuba in B (‘double B’ or ‘BB’), with either three or four valves, is
primarily a band instrument; in the USA it occurs regularly in sousaphone form.
The CC instrument, though a whole tone higher than the BB, usually has as wide a bore, giving it a
distinctive and satisfying timbre, while its being pitched in C facilitates
fingering in the sharp keys frequently found in orchestral works.
Very
large sub-bass and ‘subcontrabass’ tubas have occasionally been made, but have
for the most part proved impractical. In 1851 Adolphe Sax built a saxhorn-bourdon
in E and four years
later an even lower one in BB. An even larger instrument, Gustave Besson’s Trombotonar,
also in BB, was 3 metres
tall. Other giant tubas have been built, but it is not certain which of them
has the dubious distinction of being the largest tuba in the world, as one
instrument might have a greater length of tubing while another might have a
larger bell or a greater volume of tubing.
The
unique French six-valve tuba in 8' C (fig.1a) was
developed as an all-purpose orchestral tuba, following on the widespread use of
the C ophicleide, a French invention. The six valves enabled it to cover a
four-octave range and play Wagner contrabass parts as well as ophicleide parts.
French composers, having this instrument in mind, have tended to write passages
for tuba in a higher range than is usually asked of other tubas. For example,
the ‘Bydlo’ solo in Ravel’s orchestration of Musorgsky’s Pictures at an
Exhibition, with a compass of F
' to g', is well suited to the C tuba but can pose
difficulties to players using BB or F instruments.
During the 1820s several makers, including Stölzel, may have produced valved brass instruments pitched as low as 12' F. The effectiveness of most of these would have been doubtful since the generally available valves could not be used with the wide bore required in low bugle-horns. In 1827 Stölzel devised a new type of valve, the Röhrenventil (later called Berliner-Pumpe), a short piston valve of large diameter, which was suited to use on wide bore instruments. The first practical application of the new valve to a low instrument was a Bass-Tuba in F introduced by the Prussian bandmaster Wilhelm Wieprecht and the instrument maker J.G. Moritz in 1835 (Prussian patent no.9121 of 12 September 1835). It was equipped with a variant of Stölzel’s valve developed by Wieprecht and Moritz, called the Stecherbüchsen-Ventil. The design of the Bass-Tuba may have been suggested by the suitability of this kind of valve to an instrument of relatively wide bore through the valves; or else the valve itself may have been the outcome of work carried on perhaps first by Stölzel, later by Wieprecht and Moritz, in developing valved low brass instruments. Wieprecht and Moritz’s prototype bass tuba, of which there is a specimen dating from 1838–40 in the Musikinstrumenten-Museum, Berlin, differed in appearance from the modern tuba (fig.2a) but displayed certain of its important characteristics: it was pitched in F (subsequently the standard pitch of orchestral tubas); it had five valves arranged to lower the pitch of the instrument by 1, ½, 1½, ¾ and 2½ tones respectively; and it could be played down to the fundamental or pedal notes. The instrument was made from brass with German silver fittings, as are most continental tubas to this day.
Other
makers adopted Wieprecht and Moritz’s designs and began producing tubas in
various sizes and shapes (fig.2b). The influence
of these designs is seen, for example, in the large valved brass instruments
(‘trombacellos’) built by Graves & Co. of Winchester, New Hampshire, in the
1840s. Within a few years makers in German-speaking countries began using
rotary valves (introduced in practical form in 1835 by J.F. Riedl of Vienna)
instead of Berliner-Pumpen. The first contrabass tubas in CC and BB were built in 1845 by the
Bohemian maker V.F. Červený. In France during the 1840s and 1850s Adolphe
Sax developed the family of saxhorns (ranging in size from sopranino to
contrabass), the lower members of which closely resembled modern tubas.
The tuba was soon adopted by bands and orchestras in the German states, but was more slowly accepted in other countries, especially Britain and France, where the ophicleide was firmly established. In France the keyed ophicleide was not superseded at the Paris Opéra until 1874; and although a ‘Sax bass’ was present at the first known English brass band contest (Burton Constable, 1845), symphony orchestras in England did not introduce tubas until 1863–87 and even then continued to use the ophicleide until the last years of the century. (When he joined the Hallé Orchestra in 1894 Harry Barlow was expected to play both ophicleide and tuba, although it is likely that he played only tuba following Hallé’s death in 1895.) It was, in fact, a Frenchman, Berlioz, who was the first major composer to include tubas in his works. He found in the instrument an answer to problems caused by his customary use of large numbers of higher wind instruments. Previously having used several ophicleides to achieve the proper balance, he now substituted tuba for ophicleide in almost all his scores, with the advice that it be doubled at the octave because of its relative weakness in the lower register. Possibly because of this early usage the tuba came to be regarded as a type of ophicleide in France; for many years the F tuba was known as ‘ophicléide monstre’, while the term ‘ophicléide’ could mean either ophicléide à pistons (i.e. tuba) or the keyed ophicleide. (19th-century German references to Ophikleide should be taken to mean Ventilophikleide, a tuba in ophicleide form (see fig.2b), rather than Klappenophicleide, the keyed ophicleide.)
The Faust overture, often cited as Wagner’s first work using the tuba, was composed in 1840 but not performed until 1855, after considerable revision including adjustments to the orchestration. Wagner first scored for bass tuba in Der fliegende Holländer, first performed in 1843, and specified use of the contrabass tuba in Das Rheingold (composed 1853–4). Later in the century Mahler, keenly aware of the distinctive characteristics of each orchestral instrument, often scored solo passages for tuba. Composers of the Second Viennese School, influenced no doubt by Mahler, treated the tuba equally with other individual instrumental voices. An additional tone-colour was provided by the mute, first requested by Richard Strauss in Don Quixote (1896–7).
In
eastern Europe the tuba was primarily influenced by the distinctive instrument
built by Červený, who until the establishment of the Russian maker Šediva
(Schediwa) in the early 1880s was apparently the sole supplier to Russia.
Červený’s Kaisertuba appeared in the early 1880s: made in several
pitches, with a very large bore, this design was later copied by many other
manufacturers. As professor at the St Petersburg Conservatory, Rimsky-Korsakov,
who had become well acquainted with the tuba’s potentialities while he was
inspector of naval bands, influenced Borodin and others in their treatment of
the instrument. Late 20th-century Russian orchestras used the largest and
deepest tubas, but there is evidence in Tchaikovsky’s and Borodin’s works that
the three-valve E tuba
may have been in common use during the 19th century. The great ballet scores of
Rimsky-Korsakov’s pupil Stravinsky, since they were composed for performances
by the Ballets Russes in Paris, tend towards the French practice of writing for
the high tessitura, and do not share the deep massive style of Prokofiev and
Shostakovich that is typical of 20th-century Russian composers.
In
Britain during the late 19th century, orchestral tuba players had often been
trained on the ophicleide or euphonium. The F tuba became standard in symphony
orchestras, no doubt because players felt more comfortable with it than with a
deeper instrument. The E
tuba was also found in orchestras, especially amateur ones. Particularly in
lighter music, English composers also wrote for the tenor B tuba or euphonium. Since the euphonium
was often treated as a solo instrument in bands, many British tuba players were
capable of considerable virtuosity, and composers such as Elgar, Holst, Vaughan
Williams, Walton and Tippett often exploited this. Vaughan Williams’s Tuba
Concerto in F minor (1955) is the classic work for solo tuba and orchestra;
another notable work is the concerto by Edward Gregson (1978; originally with
brass band, 1976).
During
the early part of the 20th century American orchestras, also drawing on band
practice, often adopted tubas in E or BB. German musicians who played in the newly formed
American orchestras made the F tuba popular, and American manufacturers such as
King began producing German-style tubas. Later in the century the contrabass in
CC was adopted in the USA.
At
the end of the 20th century German and American bands used contrabass tubas in
BB and sometimes C;
the E bass instrument
was found in school bands. British brass bands included two instruments in E and two in BB (reading in transposed
treble clef); military bands employed one of each (reading at concert pitch in
the bass clef). French and Italian bands also included E and BB tubas, notated in France in transposed bass clef, and
in Italy in concert pitch bass clef. During the 1940s the British brass band
composers Kenneth Cook and Eric Ball wrote quartets for two E and two BB tubas. Such tuba ensembles (which
frequently also include euphoniums) have a largely American repertory. The
Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association (TUBA), founded in 1968, has played
an active role in encouraging performances. At the end of the 20th century it
had about 2500 members worldwide.
Although
the tuba repertory has been created over a shorter period than that of other
orchestral instruments, tuba players are asked to play in a wide variety of
styles, partly because of the divergence of opinion among composers of different
countries as to exactly what instrument is meant by ‘tuba’. Since orchestral
parts for the instrument are written at concert pitch in the bass clef, the
player can choose which tuba will best fit a given part. The lowest note in the
symphonic repertory is the A'' in Max Trapp’s Fourth Symphony (1928); g' or a'appears regularly in
19th-century French works. Although such avant-garde composers as Melvyn Poore
and Krysztof Knittel have on paper extended the compass as far as five octaves,
A'' and a'may
be regarded as the extremes of the range normally required.
The period since 1945 has been a time of rediscovery of the tuba; jazz musicians (such as Bill Barker, Don Butterfield and Howard Johnson), the avant garde (e.g. the French tuba and serpent player Michel Godard) and composers of popular music have demonstrated the instrument’s unique character. The tuba can be a more subtle and agile instrument than traditionally supposed and can produce a wide variety of timbres. The doyen of tuba players in the mid-20th century was undoubtedly William (‘Bill’) Bell (1902–71), for many years a member of the Sousa Band and the New York PO, and an influential teacher. Other notable players and teachers have included: in the USA, Rex Connor (1915–95), Harvey Phillips (b 1929) and Arnold Jacobs (1915–98); in England, Stuart Roebuck (1935–94) and John Fletcher (1941–87). These two countries have produced many tuba players who have worked elsewhere; England and the USA have thus influenced stylistic and technical concepts in continental Europe and other parts of the world. A significant late 20th-century work for solo tuba and orchestra is Birtwistle’s The Cry of Anubis (1994), a ‘part tuba concerto, part tone poem’.
G. Kastner: Manuel général de musique militaire (Paris, 1848/R)
C. Pierre: La facture instrumentale à l’Exposition Universelle de 1889 (Paris, 1890)
J. Brousse: ‘Tuba’, EMDC, II/iii (1927), 1674–80
A. Carse: Musical Wind Instruments (London, 1939/R)
H. Kunitz: ‘Tuba’, Die Instrumentation (Leipzig, 1968)
The Instrumentalist, xxvii/7 (1973) [special tuba issue]
C. Bevan: The Tuba Family (London, 1978)
H. Heyde: Das Ventilblasinstrument: seine Entwicklung im deutschsprachigen Raum von der Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart (Leipzig, 1987)
C.J. Bevan: ‘Brass Band Contests: Art or Sport?’, Bands: the Brass Band Movement in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, ed. T. Herbert (Milton Keynes, 1991), 102–19
H. Heyde: ‘The Early Berlin Valve and an Unsigned Tuba at the Shrine to Music Museum’, JAMIS, xx (1994), 54–64
R.W. Morris and E.R.Goldstein, eds.: The Tuba Source Book (Bloomington, IN, 1996)