The tuba, named from the Latin word for "trumpet," is a large brass instrument that plays very low notes. It has a wide, tapered shape and usually has four or five valves, though some models have three or six. The tuba first appeared in 1835 in Prussia as the Baß-Tuba, created by adding five valves to a large 12-foot bugle tuned to F. This design allowed the instrument to play all notes in the very low range with a deep, rich sound. By the 1850s, Adolphe Sax in Paris developed E♭ and B♭ band tubas with piston valves as part of his saxhorn family. In the 1870s, Václav František Červený in Austria-Hungary created contrabass tubas in 16′ C and 18′ B♭ with rotary valves.

Like other brass instruments, the tuba produces sound through vibrations made by the player's lips in the mouthpiece. A person who plays the tuba is called a tubist, tubaist, or tuba player. In British brass and military bands, a tuba player is often referred to as a bass player.

History

The tuba was created to provide a low-pitched brass instrument for use in bands and orchestras. Before the 1820s, brass instruments like the natural horn or bugle could only play notes from a single harmonic series. To play more notes, instruments used either a slide, like on a trombone, or tone holes, like on a keyed bugle or serpent. These methods had problems for low-pitched brass instruments. Natural instruments could only play certain scales in their high range, bass trombones had long, hard-to-use slides, and the serpent’s sound was often criticized.

To replace the serpent, a maker in Paris named Jean Hilaire Asté invented the ophicleide in 1817. The ophicleide had a folded shape like a bassoon and extended the keyed bugle into the bass range. It was widely used in brass and military bands, and even in French orchestras, including by composer Hector Berlioz. However, neither the ophicleide nor the serpent could play notes much lower than C₂.

In the 1820s, valved ophicleides were made after valves were invented. These instruments used valves instead of keys or tone holes. A German band leader named Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht needed an instrument that could play very low notes for his military band. He and a maker in Berlin, Johann Gottfried Moritz, created the Baß-Tuba in F in 1835. It used five Berlinerpumpen valves (early versions of modern Périnet valves) to play notes down to F₁, its lowest note. These valves worked better with the larger tubing of the instrument, making the Baß-Tuba the first successful low-pitched valved brass instrument.

In Paris, Adolphe Sax wanted to create a family of brass instruments from soprano to bass. He developed the saxhorn series, which were used in French military bands and later in Britain and America. Instrument makers like Gustave Auguste Besson and Henry Distin helped spread saxhorns widely. With the addition of trombones, saxhorns became the main instruments in modern British brass bands. Today’s E♭ and B♭ tubas with piston valves are similar to 19th-century saxhorns, except they have a wider bore and an extra valve.

The helicon first appeared in Russia around the mid-1840s and was patented in 1848 by a maker in Vienna named Stowasser. Its tubing wraps around the player’s right arm, with the bell resting on the left shoulder. The helicon became popular in Europe and North America, especially for marching and mounted bands.

By the 1850s, a Czech maker named Václav František Červený was making brass instruments with rotary valves in Austria-Hungary. He created bass and contrabass tubas, like the Kaiserbass C and B♭, which had a much wider bore still used today. Červený became one of Europe’s largest instrument makers, supplying thousands of instruments to the Russian Army. Later composers, including Russian nationalists, wrote music for these tubas.

In the United States, saxhorns became popular in the mid-1800s, especially in military and brass bands. In 1838, a New York maker named Allen Dodworth patented "over-the-shoulder" saxhorns, with bells pointing backward over the player’s left shoulder. This design helped soldiers hear the music better. Demand for these instruments grew during the American Civil War, with tens of thousands made in the U.S. or imported from Europe. After the war, bands and their music remained popular, leading to the American drum and bugle corps tradition and the music of band leaders like Patrick Gilmore and John Philip Sousa.

In 1893, Sousa wanted a better sound from his B♭ contrabass helicon tubas. He asked a Philadelphia maker, J. W. Pepper, to build a helicon with a bell pointing upward to spread the sound more. This design, called a "rain catcher," was later made by American companies like Holton and C. G. Conn. These companies eventually turned the bell forward to create the modern sousaphone.

The Italian word cimbasso comes from corno basso (meaning "bass horn"). It first appeared in music scores in the 1820s. At first, it referred to upright instruments like the serpent or bass horn. Later, the term was used for the lowest brass instruments, including the ophicleide and early Italian valved instruments. Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi disliked the sound of these instruments and commissioned a valved contrabass trombone in the 1880s for his operas. By the early 1900s, this instrument, called trombone basso, was replaced by the tuba in Italian orchestras.

In Britain, the English F tuba was first made in 1887 with five piston valves. Harry Barlow, a member of the Hallé Orchestra, had an F tuba built in 1897 by Higham of Manchester. By the 1960s, these "Barlow" tubas were rare and expensive. British musicians then switched to the E♭ tuba with four compensating valves, which was more widely available.

In France, from the late 1800s until the 1950s, the small French tuba built in 8′ C with six piston valves was used in orchestras. It was based on the bass saxhorn, which had been made since the 1850s. French composers often used this tuba, and some of the most difficult tuba parts in orchestral music come from these French tubas. For example, the "Bydło" solo in Maurice Ravel’s 1922 version of Pictures at an Exhibition includes a low F₁ note.

In the 1920s, when recorded music began, tubas were made with bells pointing forward so the sound could be directed toward microphones. Extra players with these recording tubas sometimes played parts originally written for double basses.

In 1933, Alfred Johnson, a production manager at York Band Instrument Company in Michigan, made two large C tubas for conductor Leopold Stokowski. Stokowski wanted a tuba sound similar to an organ for the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Construction

The tuba is classified as a bass valved bugle. Valved bugles are a group of brass instruments that include the euphonium, flugelhorn, and wider-bored saxhorns. These instruments have a wide cone-shaped tube and valves. Compared to other brass instruments like the horn or cornet, which have narrower tubes, the cone shape of bugles makes them produce lower, warmer sounds. The large bell of the tuba and the wide taper of its tubing amplify these low sounds, creating a deep, rich tone.

Tubas are made in four main pitches, determined by the length of their tubing. The smaller bass tuba is usually in F (12-foot) or E♭ (13-foot), while the larger contrabass tuba is in C (16-foot) or B♭ (18-foot). Contrabass tubas are sometimes called "CC" or "BB♭" tubas based on an old naming system. Composers rarely use the terms "bass" or "contrabass," leaving the choice of instrument to the player, who often selects based on sound rather than range.

The modern F tuba evolved from the 1835 Baß-Tuba in F. It is popular among professional players for solo performances or in orchestras where a C tuba is typically used. In Europe, the F tuba is standard, while the larger C or B♭ tuba is used only when extra weight is needed. In Vienna, the Wienerkonzerttuba is an F tuba with six rotary valves. In Britain, orchestral tubas were often in F with four or five piston valves until the 1950s.

The E♭ tuba is common in brass and military bands, with three top-mounted piston valves and sometimes a fourth compensating valve. In British orchestras, the E♭ tuba replaced the older F tuba in the 1960s and is still used today. Some players in Germany and Scandinavia use E♭ tubas with five rotary valves.

The C tuba is widely used in orchestras outside Germany and Russia, with five non-compensating valves. It is also found in U.S. concert bands. On piston-valve C tubas, the fifth valve is often a rotary valve.

The largest tuba, the contrabass in B♭, is used in German, Austrian, and Russian orchestras, usually with rotary valves. In the U.S., B♭ tubas often have front-action piston valves and are common in schools due to their use in marching bands. In British brass bands, the B♭ saxhorn-style tuba with three top-mounted piston valves and a fourth compensating valve is standard.

Tubas of the same pitch have the same tubing length but may differ in width, bell size, and bell taper. Sizes are measured in quarters, with 4/4 being full size. Smaller student or intermediate models may be 3/4 or 1/2 size. Larger tubas are called 5/4 or 6/4, such as the Conn 36J "Orchestra Grand Bass" or Chicago York tubas. These size labels help compare models but do not standardize measurements.

The euphonium, pitched in B♭ (a fourth above the F bass tuba), is sometimes called a tenor tuba by British composers. This term can also refer to the German Baryton, a similar instrument with rotary valves. These instruments are used for tenor tuba parts, ophicleide parts, and high tuba parts written for the French tuba.

Very large novelty subcontrabass tubas have been built, though only four are playable today, mostly in museums. Examples include "La Prodigieuse," a 36-foot B♭ tuba restored in 2019, and a 36-foot B♭ Riesentuba built in 2010.

Tubas developed in many regions during the 19th and 20th centuries, leading to different designs with varying bores, sizes, and valve types. Broadly, they are divided into two groups: "German style" and "French style."

"German style" tubas, based on the Baß-Tuba and later models, have the leadpipe on the left side of the bell and valves on the right, operated from the front. These usually use rotary valves, except for some American and early 20th-century York tubas with piston valves.

"French style" tubas, derived from saxhorns, have piston valves on the top of the instrument and the leadpipe on the right side. These are common in France, Britain, and the British Commonwealth, especially in brass and military bands.

All tubas are played with the right hand operating the valves. Saxhorn-style instruments with a fourth compensating valve often place the fourth valve on the side, operated by the left hand.

Standard tubas can be played while standing or marching, as in British brass and military bands. Straps or harnesses are used to support the weight. In North America, marching bands often use the sousaphone, a tuba wrapped under one arm with the bell on the opposite shoulder. The sousaphone evolved from the helicon, used in European and other bands.

The contrabass bugle is a marching tuba adaptation carried on the shoulder, introduced in 1959 for drum and bugle corps. Initially built in G with two valves, they were later made in B♭ with three or four valves after a rule change in 2000. These are now called marching tubas. Some models can switch between concert and marching setups.

Modern tubas use either piston valves or rotary valves. Rotary valves, invented in Prussia by Joseph Riedl in 1835, are commonly used in German-style tubas. Piston valves are more common in French-style tubas.

Performance

A symphony orchestra usually has one tuba, though sometimes two are used in large musical pieces, such as Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring (1913) or Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 1 (1927). The tuba acts as the lowest-pitched instrument in the brass section and helps support the low notes played by string and woodwind instruments.

Concert bands and military bands often use two to four tubas as their main bass instrument. In British-style brass bands, there are two tuba parts: one for the E♭ tuba and one for the B♭ tuba. Each part is usually played by two musicians, and sometimes the parts are divided into separate sections. Tuba players also use instruments like sousaphones and tubas in jazz bands, marching bands, and Mexican banda music. A type of tuba called a contrabass bugle is used in drum and bugle corps.

In chamber music, the tuba provides the lowest notes in a brass quintet, a group of five brass instruments. This style became popular in the 1950s through groups like the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the New York Brass Quintet.

In orchestras and symphonic bands, the tuba is written in the bass clef at its actual pitch, meaning it does not change the pitch of the notes. Tuba players must learn different fingerings for each size of tuba. Unlike other bass clef instruments, such as the trombone, cello, or bassoon, high notes on the tuba are not written in tenor clef. Tuba players are used to reading notes that are up to five lines above or below the bass staff.

In British brass bands, most instruments are transposing instruments that use the treble clef, a notation system made popular by the French instrument maker Adolphe Sax. This means the tuba parts are written in treble clef but sound an octave and a sixth lower for the E♭ tuba, like a baritone saxophone, or two octaves and a second lower for the B♭ tuba, like a contrabass clarinet. This allows musicians to switch instruments without learning new fingerings for the same written music.

Some concert band music also includes tuba parts in E♭ and B♭ treble clef to accommodate players from different backgrounds. However, professional tuba players are usually familiar with both types of notation.

The written range of the tuba is large because different sizes of tubas have been used in various times and places. Large B♭ tubas used by composers like Wagner could barely reach middle C, while smaller French C tubas can reach higher notes, such as C5 (an octave above middle C). On any tuba, the range from F1 to C4 (middle C) is easy to play, but the full range used in modern solo music includes very low notes (as low as B♭0) and high notes up to C5.

Higher notes are possible, but they depend on how strong the player's mouth and lips are. Notes above a certain pitch are difficult to play clearly, but smooth sliding notes (glissandi) are possible, making valve fingerings less necessary. The wide shape of the tuba's tube makes it easier to play very low notes compared to other brass instruments.

Some tubas have extra, strong notes that are not part of the main harmonic series. For example, large B♭ tubas often have a strong note around low E♭1, between the lowest B♭0 and its octave above. These extra notes are called false, factitious, or privileged tones and allow the tuba to play chromatic notes (notes that are not in the main scale) from E1 down to the lowest B♭ using only three valves.

Modern music sometimes uses quarter tones and other small musical intervals. A special valve system for microtonal playing was created in 2009 by Robin Hayward and the German company B&S. This system adds extra valves for quarter tones and eighth tones and allows adjustments on the third and fourth valves. It can be used on six-valve F or C tubas and is available on some models from B&S and Rudolf Meinl.

Repertoire

The first pieces written for solo tuba were light, popular compositions created for brass and concert bands in the late 1800s. These works were often written in the form of polkas and trios and followed the same structure as similar pieces for solo cornet and other instruments. Arrangements of Jean-Baptiste Arban's Variations on the Carnival of Venice (1864), a well-known example of this style, are still frequently performed and recorded today.

In 1945, the American composer George Kleinsinger wrote a children's play titled Tubby the Tuba, which features a solo tuba and orchestra, with narration by lyricist Paul Tripp. The play's popularity among young audiences has led to many commercial recordings, as well as versions adapted for wind band and brass band accompaniment.

The first "serious" composition for solo tuba was Sonate für Baßtuba und Klavier (1957), written by the German-American composer Paul Hindemith. Since then, a large collection of music for tuba as a solo instrument has been created, including pieces performed without accompaniment and those with ensemble or piano support.

The first tuba concerto was Concerto in F minor for Bass Tuba and Orchestra, composed in 1954 by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Since this time, many tuba concertos have been written by composers such as Edward Gregson, John Williams, Alexander Arutiunian, Eric Ewazen, James Barnes, Joseph Hallman, Martin Ellerby, Philip Sparke, Kalevi Aho, Josef Tal, Bruce Broughton, John Golland, Roger Steptoe, David Carlson, Jennifer Higdon (Tuba Concerto), and Marcus Paus (Tuba Mirum).