Tuba

The Tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched member of the Brass Instrument family. The Tuba is usually rested on the player’s lap with the Bell pointing upwards. Even though it is a comparatively recent instrument (it was first patented in 1835), it has since found a firm position at the bass end of the symphony orchestra.

It is a grand and dramatic instrument, as demonstrated in the brass fanfare at the beginning of Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, made famous by the Stanley Kubrick film 2001 Space Odyssey. In Dixieland and early swing bands the tuba provides the all-important bass line, and enjoys prominence in later jazz works such as Miles Davis’ Birth of Cool album, performed by Bill Barber. The tuba’s range is from an A 3 octaves below middle C, up 4 octaves to the C above middle C. Tubas come in a variety of keys and are most commonly found in Bb.