Tuba

Contrabass and Bass Tubas:

There are two main types of tubas, the bass tuba (usually pitched in the key of Eb or F) and the contrabass tuba (usually pitched in the key of Bb or C). Concert bands and orchestras typically rely on contrabass tubas, though tuba solo literature, brass bands and brass quintets call for the use of bass tubas due to their lightness and agility. Orchestras almost exclusively use C tubas, and bands use Bb tubas, although it has become common to use C tubas in band as well.

 

Tuba valves:

Both rotary valves and piston valves are commonly used in many tuba models. Piston valves offer fast action for technical passages and cleaner articulations, though rotary valves help facilitate smooth legato passages. The initial use of rotary valves in American orchestras was largely due to the lack of large-bore piston horns and the incorporation of large bore German horns, which were typically built with rotary valves. With the advancement of valve technology, and the widespread use of American and German-built horns, the choice of rotary or piston valves is largely a personal preference. The image on the right is a picture of a Conn 56J (the same model of tuba that I play on) which is an American model that features front-action piston valves.

While many school tubas use three piston valves on top, more advanced models use front-action pistons which allows the player to utilize a more natural hand-position, similar to that of the rotary valve alignment. While the use of three valves  is common amongst elementary and middle school band students, four valves is both standard and necessary for advanced musicians to be able to adjust pitch. Since the air columns are so long, the addition of a fifth valve is quite common to adjust the intonation of the partial above the fundamental. A much less common practice is the use of the compensating valve system (more common with euphoniums) in which corrective lengths of tubing are added when the additional compensating valve is used in combination with the other valves. On any tuba, the upper range may also produce notes that need to be adjusted for intonation: this can be done through the addition of valves and/or adjustments “on the fly” to the various tuning slides associated with each of the valves.

Tuba Ownership:

Due to the cost and size of tubas, most school districts provide tubas for students to use, and instead of purchasing, the tuba player rents the instrument annually from the school or music store. Often times, larger school districts will purchase a set of tubas for school use and a set for home use, so that tuba players can bring their mouthpieces back and forth from school without having to transport such a bulky instrument. Most tuba players can go through college without needing to purchase their own instrument, but it is important to keep in mind that while schools tend to purchase instruments that are sturdy and retain value for several decades, they often are not the top-of-the-line quality.

If you are an advanced high school player who plans on playing during college, it may be a worthwhile investment for you to consider purchasing your own instrument. While most professional tuba players own a contrabass and a bass tuba, it is standard to own a contrabass if you only have one horn. As a personal aside, I was able to make it until my senior year of college before purchasing my own tuba, and I was a Bachelor of Music major in music education, playing substantial repertoire on my college’s Eb and CC tubas. Purchasing an expensive tuba is a big decision, but the good news is that tubas are built sturdily, and retain their value well over time. I was able to find a great used tuba for sale at the Tuba Exchange. The customer service at Tuba Exchange is phenomenal, and they offer both new and used tubas. Vince Simonetti is the owner, and he is a great person who takes time to play each horn individually and give recommendations based on your individual needs. Though large instrument retailers like Woodwind and Brasswind offer large catalogues of new instruments, finding a specialist who can take the time to find a horn for your personal needs is extremely important when spending so much money on a single investment. Above all, I do not recommend purchasing an Ebay tuba unless you have played many different horns and know the exact model you are looking for. Even with plenty of experience on different models and brands of musical instruments, you can never quite be sure of the quality of the horn that you will receive from an online auction site.

Meinl Weston and Miraphone tubas are manufactured in Germany that offer the classic large-bore German sound that has been popular in both American and European orchestras for so long. The Willson tuba line is manufactured in Switzerland and its key feature is the development of great rotary valves that are entirely corrosion-free. Many schools prefer using Yamaha tuba and sousaphones due to their price point and strong construction. The Cerveny  tuba is also a good economic choice for schools, although they tend to dent easier than the Yamahas. In college I played on a BBb St. Petersburg tuba for a couple of years. I really liked the tone quality, but the nickel finish (which is popular on St. Pete’s) wore off really easily on any spot of the tuba that touched my skin. Additionally, the linkages started to give me some problems, and the instrument repair specialist said they had many difficulties trying to repair St. Pete’s valves. On the other hand, many band directors purchase the horns for economic reasons, the tone is great, and they haven’t needed repair, so I’d recommend doing a little more research before purchasing one. Besson has a long, rich history of manufacturing instruments since the 1800s, and if you can afford a Besson tuba, the Sovereign series is a great line of horns. And of course, many a King tuba are found in the basements of schools, these are the oldies but goodies of school band programs. King has also made significant developments over the years, so if you don’t particularly care for your instrument from the 1950s, rest assured that they offer a great new line of instruments as well.

Tuba Cases, Mouthpieces and Accessories:

Unlike many other band instruments, most tubas do not come with a case. There are generally three types of cases for tubas: flight cases (which typically cost thousands of dollars, and are bulky to move around, but safe during travel), hard shell cases (which still cost hundreds of dollars, but is standard for any other instrument), and gig bags (which are relatively inexpensive, do not protect the instrument very much, but are easy to carry by hand or as a backpack-style. Middle schools and high schools should invest in hard shell cases to protect the instruments as a tuba gig bag will not provide very much protection if something were to fall on the tuba instrument.

Some tubists believe that tuba mouthpiece selection is extremely important, while others are less concerned about the specific mechanics of the mouthpiece, but the general consensus is that certain mouthpieces are better paired with some horns rather than others. If you are looking to compare mouthpiece specifications, David Werden has a great guide for comparison.

A tuba stand is popular not only for beginning players, but advanced ones as well. Due to the large bowed instrument, it is often difficult to maintain proper posture. Many young players draw their bodies into the horn rather than bringing the horn to them. This causes added tension, limits proper breathing, and can negatively affect technique. Using a stand allows the player to elevate the instrument to an appropriate height regardless of the size of the player and the height of the chair.

Notation:

Notation for tuba is different than other brass instruments because all tubas, Eb, F, BBb and CC tubas are all non-transposing instruments, so the notation remains the same, while the fingerings change to play the same concert pitch. Tuba players generally need to know three fingering systems- I played an Eb and CC tuba in college, but teach BBb tubas as a music educator. It is also important for a tuba player to read treble clef for horn and trumpet solos (such as the Mozart horn concertos) as the tuba repertoire borrows from many instruments that were invented in earlier time periods. Many young tuba players also play electric bass in jazz bands, so it can be helpful to learn to play walking bass lines and chord changes.

The range of the tuba is rather large due to its employment of pedal tones, the fundamental pitches that can be accessed by strong tuba players by lower the jaw and blowing slower air. Unfortunately, as many tubists and educators have pointed out, few beginning tubists come to develop their range and see their instrument as musical because band parts typically only require an octave tuba range, and the player rarely has opportunities in middle school to play melodies and technical passages. Finding good role models, sound examples, and taking private lessons are all important parts of instilling passion and musicality in young players.

If you are switching to tuba from another instrument, you may not be accustomed to the ledger lines below the bass clef. While contra bugle players (in drum corps) are used to playing in treble clef,  it is important that the beginning player make efforts to learn to read tuba notation early on, as it will be harder to make the transition once habits have been formed. By practicing tuba scales, one note at a time, the player will better be able to connect the position of the tuba notes to the pitches. As a former trumpet player, it was easy for me to learn the tuba fingerings since they are the same (though transposed) on trumpet; but it took me longer to connect the notation to the fingerings. A good beginner tuba finger chart is available for free from the Yamaha website, this is more aesthetically pleasing with the addition of tuba pictures, but unlike woodwinds, there aren’t too many alternate fingerings on brass instruments.

Performance Opportunities and Literature:

Most middle schools and high schools in the United States have band programs, but for those older than school age, many communities host their own community bands which perform during the summer. A band typically has four tubists, though many conductors (including Sousa himself) prefer an expanded tuba section due to the warmth and depth they add to an ensemble. In orchestras, the bass section provides the depth, and the tuba is used with the other brass to provide articulation and brilliance to the orchestra. It is rare that an orchestra ever uses more than one tubist, and since the tuba was not invented until the Romantic period, it is left out of much orchestral literature, whereas it is standard in band literature.

A few famous tuba players have had extensive solo careers. Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilafian are a couple of my favorites (who also produced the Breathing Gym), and Gene Pokorny of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has contributed to the solo world through his recordings of orchestral excerpts. For a complete list of well-known tuba players on wikipedia, click here.

Tuba solo literature has become both plentiful and diverse in the past few decades. While the modern tuba was not invented until the 1820s, there has been a much more extended tuba history with the earlier use of the serpent and ophicleide. To learn more about historical tuba family members, click here. Since the tuba was not around during the Classical and Baroque periods, many vocalises, string bass, and cello pieces have been transcribed so that tuba players may learn and understand performance practices associated with those time periods. Standard tuba solos include the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto, the Gregson concerto, and the Hindemith Sonate; in addition to the core repertoire, many novelty pieces have also been written, including Alec Wilder’s Effie the Elephant tuba suite. A great list of standard solo repertoire is available from Dr. Jeffrey Funderburk. Øystein Baadsvik of Norway has greatly contributed to the repertoire through his exploration of multiphonics. His solo composition, Fnugg has been a very popular tuba video on the internet:

While modern jazz instrumentation does not call for the use of a jazz tuba, it used to be an essential part of dixieland jazz bands. Many dixie groups still exist and incorporate the bouncy sound of the tuba as its primary bass voice. One of the most popular groups is Tuba Skinny, which performs standard and original blues and dixie tunes.

Tubas are also in high demand in brass quintets and tuba quartets. A tuba quartet may consist of four tubas (a combination of bass and contrabass) or two tubas and two euphoniums. With the development of youtube and multitrack video technologies, artists like Tuba Peter have been able to record multiple tuba parts by themselves.

Tuba Christmas:

Tuba Christmas is a festival that is held in different cities around the United States to celebrate tuba music, tuba composers, and tuba performers during the holiday season. It was created by the late Harvey Phillips, and dedicated to the memory of William Bell, who was born on Christmas day in 1902. Unfortunately, Tuba Christmas itself is a registered trademark, with its own set of specific music, terms of use, and costs associated with hosting the event, so many communities created their own “Holiday Tubas” or similar events to encourage the spirit of the event without being limited by its specific terms. Tuba Christmas 2010 was held in Dayton, Ohio, New York, New York, and Sacramento, California. Tuba Christmas 2011 is currently scheduled for these three cities again, though new cities may be added before December.

Images and Perceptions:

In the popular tv show, Family Guy, Stewie mentions that “I got a job following fat people around playing the tuba.” Stewie proceeds to play a stereotypical tonic-dominant bass line riff behind an overweight man. Also noting (and breaking away from the stereotypes) is the story and video of Tubby the Tuba, the beloved tuba that wanted to play a lovely melody. This is a great story for children with good values and an introduction to the instruments of the orchestra. Unfortunately many images in the media always cast old, overweight, males playing the tuba. Girl tuba players may feel internally discouraged, but it is important to note that this stereotype is changing. Carol Jantsch won the position of principal tubist of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2006 when she was a senior in college (only 20 years old!) beating out 194 other candidates.

Fun Facts and Other Uses of the Word Tuba:

• The “Tuba Mirum” of Mozart’s Requiem translates from Latin into trumpet, not tuba.
• Uba-tuba unfortunately, is not an über tuba; rather, it is a type of green granite often used in countertops, and is also a city in Brazil.
• Tuba City is located in Arizona and honors Tuuvi, a Hopi Headman.
• The Wagner tuba is actually intended for use by French horn players, not tuba players.
• Tuba.com has nothing to do with tubas, instead it customizes newspapers based on your location.
• Tuba HT refers to a Tuba Home Theater subwoofer system.
• Rio Tuba is a heavily-populated village in the Philippines.
• Tuba-Tuba is the name of a plant whose nut is one of the most promising sources of bio-fuel.
• Want a tuba sound effect to spice up your day? Head over to http://sadtuba.com
• Tuba players are often the brunt of jokes, but we usually embrace our unique identity! Check out some tuba jokes at Canonical Band Jokes.
• While the euphonium shares similarities with the baritone horn, it is also called the tenor (rather than the baritone) tuba.
• “Mr. Tuba” is not only the name of a business, but the name that Mark Carter (owner) operates under.
• Edward “Tuba Man” McMichael was an icon in Seattle, WA where he played outside sporting events before he met an untimely death in 2008.