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Tuba Facts

Tuba Facts
The tuba is the lowest-pitched, and largest in the brass family of musical instruments. The tubist (or tubaist) creates sound by blowing into the large mouthpiece, which produces vibration in the instrument, and then uses their fingers to press the valves to produce different sounds. The tuba was invented by Johann Gottfried Moritz and Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht, who were granted the Prussian Patent No. 19 in September 1835, for their 'basstuba in F1'. In 1838 the first tenor tuba was invented by Carl Moritz, Johann Moritz's son. Most tubas are made of brass, and they can be left unfinished (which must be polished to keep from being tarnished) or plated with silver, gold, or nickel.
Interesting Tuba Facts:
In Latin the word 'tuba' means horn or trumpet.
A tuba's body consists of the mouthpiece, main tube, valve tube, valves, and the bell.
The tuba's sound is deep and rich, and it is the lowest-pitched instrument on the brass family.
A tuba is used to produce the brass section of an orchestra's bass notes. They are usually found in jazz music and in brass bands as well.
The tubist holds the instrument upright while playing, which is different than the way trombones or trumpets are held.
Tubas became a member of symphony orchestras in the mid-1800s.
When tubas became a member of the orchestra they replaced the ophicleide. The ophicleide was perfectly fine as an instrument but clever marketing made the tuba sound more modern and it soon replaced the older ophicleide.
Standard tubas have approximately 16 feet of tubing.
The most common tuba keys are F, E flat, CC, or BB-flat. They may have between 3 and 6 valves.
In order to play the tuba properly a tubist requires a lot of breath.
Tubas can be found in a variety of music including tuba quartets, brass ensembles, jazz or pop groups, wind bands, brass bands, and orchestras.
The forward-facing design of the early tuba was created to make it easier to record, and they became known as recording tubas, while unaltered early tubas were known as concert tubas.
Tubas can be extremely deep pitched, known as the subcontrabass tuba, or they can be much higher pitched, known as the tenor tuba.
Jazz bands originally began using the tuba at outdoor concerts to replace the stringed bass, which was more easily damaged by bad weather.
Famous early tuba players include Andy Kirk (swing era), Min Leibrook (jazz tubist), Red Callender (jazz tubist), and William Bell (classical tubist).
Tubists considered to be some of the best in the world today include Oystein Baadsvik (classical tubist), Roger Bobo (classical tubist), Howard Johnson (jazz tubist), Dave Bargeron (jazz and big band tubist), John Van Houten (orchestral tubist), and John White (experimental and classical tubist).
Some composers who have created tuba concertos include Ralph Vaughan Williams, Eric Ewazen, James Barnes, James Woodward, and Victor Davies.
A tuba player in the U.K who plays in an orchestra is referred to as a tuba player. A tuba player in a military band or brass band is referred to as a bass player. In most places a tuba player is simply a tubist or tubaist.


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