Tuba
The tuba or bass is the largest of the brass instruments and its ancestors are the serpentine and the ophicleid. It is one of the most recently added instruments to the modern symphony orchestra, appearing in 1835 with Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz, replacing the ophidian of the 18th century XVIII. The sound is produced thanks to the vibration of the performer's lips in the part called the mouthpiece from the air column (air flow). The first time the modern tuba was used in a symphony orchestra was in Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung.
Thanks to its versatility it can be used to reinforce strings and woodwinds or, increasingly, as a solo instrument.
The tubas are also used in bands and wind ensembles, in which case two instruments of each of the three tunings are used: Do, my♭ and if♭. The tuba is an instrument made mainly of lacquered brass, if we stretched out a tuba it would measure around seven meters and it uses a mouthpiece of an approximate size of 2.41 cm and in the shape of a cup inside, the tubas can be of cylinders or of pistons, which enlarge in sound, but the cylinders increase in speed.
In skilled hands, it is an instrument capable of covering a wide field of sounds (more than 4 octaves) and extraordinarily agile.
There are various tunings within the tubas; the most common are fa, mi♭, do or si♭.
The most common tuba is the contrabass tuba, tuned to C or B♭.
The euphonium or Euphonium, also called the tenor tuba, is tuned in B♭, it is another octave higher.
When there is a tuba tuned in C, it is also called a French tuba, which has 6 pistons or valves
The tuba can have up to six pistons or valves (four for normal fingering plus two for half-tone transposers and tuning tone), although the most common are those with four.
Three-valve models are also made, although they are usually for beginners. Some special models have only two valves. Note that despite having such a small number of valves, the tuba covers such a wide spectrum of sounds because with each position of the valves different notes can be played depending on the way and force of making the instrumentalist's lips vibrate at each passage change. or pitch, respectively.
Types and construction
Tubas are found in various keys, most commonly in F, E flat, C, or B flat. The tonality of a tuba depends on the fundamental tone of the instrument, or root note in the series of overtones (also called partials) available without any valve being pressed. Tubas of different keys use tubes of different lengths. The main tube of a B flat tuba is about 18 feet (5.5 m) long, while that of a C tuba is 16 feet (4.9 m), that of an E Flat parameter not accepted 13 ft (4 m) and that of a tuba in Fa 12 ft (3.7 m). The instrument has a tapered bore, which means that the diameter of the bore increases with the length of the tube from the mouthpiece to the bell. The tapered bore causes the instrument to produce a preponderance of even order harmonics.
A tuba with the tube wrapped to fit the instrument on the player's lap is often called a concert tuba or simply a tuba. Tubas with the bell pointing forwards (pavillon tournant) rather than upwards are often called recording tubas due to their popularity in the early days of recorded music, as that its sound could be directed more easily to the recording microphone. When wrapped to encircle the body for mounted or marching cavalry bands, it is traditionally known as a helicon. The modern sousaphone, named for American bandmaster John Philip Sousa, resembles a helicon with the bell pointing upwards (on original models such as the J. W. Pepper prototype and Sousa concert instruments) and then curving. to point forward (as developed by Conn and others). Some ancestors of the tuba, such as the "bombardón" military, had an unusual arrangement of valves and holes compared to modern tubas.
During the American Civil War, most marching bands used a branch of the brass family known as saxhorns, which, by today's standards, have a narrower inside diameter than that of the tuba, the same as the true cornets and baritones, but different from that of the trumpets, euphoniums and others with a different internal diameter or without it. Around the start of the Civil War, saxophones made for military use in the US were commonly wrapped with the bell pointing rearward over the player's shoulder, and these became known as over the shoulder saxophones, and they came in sizes from cornets to E flat basses. However, the E flat bass, while sharing the same tube length as a modern E flat tuba, has a narrower bore and as such cannot be called a tuba except for convenience when comparing it to other saxophone sizes.
Most tuba music is written in concert key, so tuba players must know the correct fingerings for their specific instruments. The traditional pieces for the tuba are written in the treble clef, with the B-flat tuba playing two octaves and one step below and the E-flat tuba playing an octave and a major sixth below the written key. This allows musicians to change instruments without having to learn new fingerings for the same music written. Consequently, when your music is written in the treble clef, the tuba is a transposing instrument, but not when the music is in the F clef.
The lower pitched tubas are the double bass tubas', tuned to C or BFlat parameter not accepted, named CC and BB{music|flat}} tubas respectively, based on a traditional distortion of a now obsolete octave naming convention. The fundamental pitch of a CC tuba is 32 Hz, and that of a B flat tuba is 29 Hz. The CC tuba is used as an orchestral and concert band instrument in the United States, but the B flat tubas are the tuba of preferred double bass in German, Austrian and Russian orchestras. In the United States, the BB flat tuba is the most common in schools (largely due to the use of BB flat sousaphones in high school marching bands and for adult amateurs. Many professionals in the United States play CC tubas, with B flat also common, and many train in the use of the four keys of the tubas.
The next smaller tubas are the bass tubas, tuned to F or EFlat parameter not accepted (a fourth above double bass tubas). (a fourth above the double bass tubas). The E-flat tuba typically plays an octave above double bass tubas in marching bands, and the F-tuba is commonly used by professional players as a solo instrument and, in the United States, for playing higher parts in the repertoire. classical (or parts that were originally written for the tuba in F, as is the case with Berlioz). In most of Europe, the F tuba is the standard orchestral instrument, supplemented by the CC or B flat only when the extra weight is desired. Wagner, for example, specifically notes the bass tuba parts for the Kontrabasstuba, which are played on CC or BB flat tubas in most regions. In the UK, the E flat tuba is the standard orchestral tuba.
The euphonium is sometimes called the tenor tuba and is tuned to B flat, one octave higher than the BB contrabass tubaFlat parameter not accepted. The term "tenor tuba" often used more specifically to refer to rotary valve tubas in B♭ tuned in the same octave as the euphoniums. The "Little Swiss Tuba in C" It is a tenor tuba tuned in C, and provided with 6 valves to make possible the lowest notes of the orchestral repertoire. The French tuba in C was the standard instrument in French orchestras until it was superseded by tubas in F and C since World War II. A popular example of the use of the French tuba in C is the Bydło movement of Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, although the rest of the work it is also annotated for this instrument.
BBB♭ larger There are tuba subcontrabass, but they are extremely rare (there are at least four known examples). The first two were constructed by Gustave Besson in BBB♭, one octave lower than the BB♭ Contrabass tuba, at the suggestion of John Philip Sousa. The monstrous instruments were not completed until just after Sousa's death. Later in the 1950s, British musician Gerard Hoffnung commissioned the London firm Paxman to create a subdouble bass tuba in EEE{music|flat}} for use at his comic music festivals. In addition, a tuba tuned in FFF was made in Kraslice by Bohland & Fuchs probably during 1910 or 1911 and was intended for the World's Fair in New York in 1913. Two instrumentalists are needed, one to operate the valves and one to blow into the mouthpiece.
Size vs. tone
In addition to the length of the instrument, which dictates the fundamental pitch, tubas also vary in the overall width of the tube sections. Tuba sizes are usually indicated in a quart system, with 4⁄4 designating a regular tuba of full size. Larger rotary instruments are known as kaisertubas and are often referred to as 5⁄4. Larger piston tubas, particularly front-action ones, are sometimes known as grand orchestral tubas (examples: the Conn 36J Orchestra Grand Bass from the 1930s, and the current model Hirsbrunner HB -50 Grand Orchestral, which is a replica of the York grand tubas owned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Large orchestra tubas are generally described as 6⁄4 tubas. Smaller instruments can be described as 3⁄4 instruments. There are no standards for these designations, and their use is up to manufacturers, who often use them to distinguish between instruments in their own product line. The size designation is related to the largest outer branches, and not to the diameter of the tubing in the valves, although the diameter is usually stated in the instrument specifications. The quarter system is also not directly related to the size of the bell, although there is usually a correlation. 3⁄4 tubas are common in American elementary schools for use by young tuba players for whom an instrument of full size might be too cumbersome. Although they are smaller and lighter, they are pitched and tuned identically to full-size tubas of the same pitch, although they usually have 3 valves instead of 4 or 5.
Valves
Tubas are made with piston or rotary valves. Rotary valves, invented by Joseph Riedl, are based on a design included in the original valve patents of Friedrich Blühmel and Heinrich Stölzel in 1818. Červeny de Graslitz was the first to use true rotary valves, beginning in the 1840s or 1850. Modern piston valves were developed by François Périnet for the saxhorn family of instruments pioneered by Adolphe Sax around the same time. The pistons can be oriented to point at the top of the instrument (top action, as shown in the figure at the top of the article) or towards the front of the instrument (front action or side action).
Piston valves require more maintenance than rotary valves, as they need to be greased regularly to keep them running freely, while rotary valves are sealed and rarely require greasing. Piston valves are easy to disassemble and reassemble, whereas disassembly and assembly of rotary valves is much more difficult and is generally left to qualified instrument repairers.
Tubas typically have three to six valves, although there are some rare exceptions. Three-valve tubas are typically the least expensive and are used almost exclusively by hobbyists, and the sousaphone (a marching version of a BB tuba♭) almost always has three valves. Among advanced players, four- and five-valve tubas are by far the most common choices, with six-valve tubas being relatively rare, except among F-tubas, which mostly have five or six valves.
Valves add pipe to the main tube of the instrument, thus lowering its fundamental pitch. The first valve lowers the pitch one whole step (two semitones), the second valve one semitone, and the third valve three semitones. If used in combination, the valve tube is too short and the resulting tone tends to be sharp. For example, a BB♭ tuba becomes (in effect) an A♭ when the first valve is pressed. The third valve is long enough to lower the pitch of a BB{music|flat}} tuba by three semitones, but not long enough to lower the pitch of an A tuba♭ in three semitones. Therefore, the first and third valves used in combination lower the pitch by something just under five semitones, and the first three valves used in combination are almost a quarter tone sharp.
The fourth valve is used instead of the first and third valve combinations, and the second and fourth valves used in combination are used instead of the first three valves in combination. The fourth valve can be tuned to lower the pitch of the main tube by precisely five semitones, thus its use corrects the main problem of combinations that are too high. By using the fourth valve by itself instead of the first and third combination, or the fourth and second valve instead of the first, second, and third valve combinations, the notes that these fingerings require are more in tune. The fourth valve used in combination with, and not instead of, the first three valves fills in the missing notes in the lower octave allowing the player to play chromatically up to the fundamental tone of the instrument. For the reason stated in the previous paragraph, some of these notes tend to be sharp and must be tuned by the player.
The fifth and sixth valves, if fitted, are used to provide alternate fingering possibilities to improve intonation, and are also used to reach the low register of the instrument where all valves will be used in combination to fill the first octave between the root tone and the next available note in the open tube. The fifth and sixth valves also give the player the ability to trill more softly or use alternate fingerings for easier playing. This type of tuba is the most commonly found in orchestras and wind bands around the world.
The bass tuba in F is tuned a fifth above the Bb tuba♭ and a fourth above the CC tuba, so you need additional tube length beyond that provided by the four valves to safely play up to a low F as is required in much tuba music. The fifth valve is usually tuned a whole step flat, so when used with the fourth valve, it gives a tuned low B. The sixth valve is commonly tuned as a half step flat, allowing the F tuba to play low G as 1-4-5-6 and low G as 1-2-4-5-6. On CC tubas with five valves, the fifth valve can be tuned either as a flat whole step or as a minor third, depending on the instrument.
Compensation valves
Some tubas have an offset system to allow precise tuning when multiple valves are used in combination, simplifying fingering and eliminating the need to constantly adjust slide positions. The most popular of the automatic compensation systems was invented by Blaikley (Bevan, 1874) and patented by Boosey (later Boosey and Hawkes, who also later produced Besson instruments). The patent for the system limited its application outside Great Britain, and to this day tubas with balance valves are mainly popular in the United Kingdom and in the countries of the former British Empire. Blaikley's design means that if the fourth valve is used, air is returned through a second set of branches on the first three valves to compensate for the valve combination. This has the disadvantage of making the instrument significantly more "clunky" or resistant to airflow compared to an uncompensated tuba. This is due to the need for air to pass through the valves twice. It also makes the instrument heavier. But many prefer this approach to having extra tubes or manipulating the tuning slides while playing to achieve better intonation within an ensemble. Most modern professional-grade euphoniums now also feature Blaikley-style compensating valves.
Resonance and false tones
Some tubas have a strong and useful resonance that is not in the known harmonic series. For example, most large B♭ tubas have a strong resonance at low E♭ (E♭1, 39 Hz), which is between the fundamental and the second harmonic (an octave higher than the fundamental). These alternative resonances are often known as false tones or privileged tones. Adding the six semitones provided by the three valves, these alternative resonances let the instrument play chromatically down to the fundamental of the open bugle (which is a 29 Hz B♭0). The addition of valves below that note can lower the instrument a further six semitones to a 20 Hz E0. Thus, even three-valved instruments with good alternative resonances can produce very low sounds in the hands of skilled players; Instruments with four valves can play even lower. The lowest note in the widely known repertoire is a 16 Hz double-pedal C0 in the William Kraft piece Encounters II, which is often played using a timed flutter tongue rather than by buzzing the lips. The fundamental of this pitch borders on infrasound and its overtones define the pitch in the listener's ear.
The most convincing explanation for false tones is that the horn acts as a "third tube" rather than as a half pipe. The bell is still an anti-knot, but then there would be a knot a third of the way around the mouthpiece.[Why?] If so, it seems that the fundamental would be completely missing, and would only be inferred from the overtones. However, the node and antinode collide at the same point and cancel the fundamental.
Materials and finish
The tuba is generally constructed of brass, which may be unfinished, lacquered, or electroplated with nickel, gold, or silver. Unfinished brass eventually tarnishes and therefore needs to be polished periodically to maintain its appearance.
Manufacturers
There are many types of tubas that are made in Europe, the United States, and Asia. In Europe, the predominant models used professionally are Meinl-Weston (Germany) and Miraphone (Germany). Asian brands include Yamaha Corporation (Japan) and Jupiter Instruments (Taiwan). Holton Instrument Company and King Musical Instruments are some of the best-known brands in the United States.
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