Brass · Tuba family
Tuba
The bass of the brass section: a wide conical tube with three to six valves and a large upward-facing bell.
- Section
- Brass
- Family
- Tuba family
- Classification
- Aerophone · lip-vibrated
- Transposition
- None (concert pitch)
- Clefs
- Bass
- Sounding range
- D1 – F4
Parts of the tuba
A bass tuba in F. Photo: Yamaha Corporation, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Labels added by Musicians Tools.
Range
C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8
Orchestral tubas are built in C, B♭, F or E♭, but the part is written at concert pitch. Playback uses a neutral tone, not the instrument's own sound.
Writing for the tuba
- Reads bass clef at concert pitch, whatever size of tuba the player chooses.
- Uses a lot of air, especially low and loud. Provide rests and breathing places.
- Surprisingly agile and lyrical in the middle and upper register.
- Usually a single tuba carries the bass of the whole brass section; support it with the bass trombone or double basses.
History
Wilhelm Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz patented a bass tuba in Berlin in 1835. It replaced the serpent and the ophicleide as the bass of the brass, and Berlioz and Wagner were among the first to write for it in the orchestra.
Listen
Key works featuring the tuba. Each link opens a YouTube search, so you can pick the recording you like.
- Vaughan Williams – Tuba Concerto
- Mussorgsky/Ravel – Pictures at an Exhibition, Bydło
- Hindemith – Tuba Sonata
- Wagner – Die Meistersinger, Prelude
Useful tools
Tuba family
Also in the family (pages coming):Contrabass tubaWagner tuba (horn family)
Ancestors:SerpentOphicleide