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Tuba

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An old Baß-Tuba in F made in 1839, displayed in the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin.

The Tuba

The tuba is a big, shiny brass instrument that makes deep, rich sounds. It is very low-pitched and has a wide, cone-shaped inside. Most tubas have four or five valves, but some have three or six.

The tuba was first made in 1835 in Prussia. It began as a big bugle that could only play a few notes. Then, five valves were added so it could play many different notes. Later, designers in Paris and Austria-Hungary created new kinds of tubas.

People make sound on the tuba by buzzing their lips into a special mouthpiece. Someone who plays the tuba is called a tubist, a tubaist, or a tuba player. In British brass bands and military bands, they are often called a bass player.

Tubas are used in many types of music, like orchestras, bands, and jazz. They give a deep sound that supports the lower parts of the music. The tuba can play many different notes, which makes it useful for many kinds of music.

Images

An 18th-century Italian serpent instrument made of wood and brass, on display at the Museo Civico di Modena.
An antique contrabass saxhorn made in 1846 by Adolphe Sax, showing its brass body and three valves.
A shiny sousaphone on display in a museum in Berlin.
An old F tuba with five valves, used in British orchestras until the 1960s.
An antique French C tuba with six valves, made by Couesnon in the early 20th century, displayed in a museum.
A vintage B-flat tuba from 1928, on display at the Musical Instruments Museums Edinburgh.
A marching band from the University of Illinois performs at St. Patrick's Parade in Dublin, Ireland, in 2014.
A musician playing a contrabass bugle with the Columbus Saints Drum & Bugle Corps during a competition.
An antique ophicleide, a brass musical instrument from the 1800s, displayed in a museum.
A group of jazz musicians from New Orleans in 1922, playing instruments like a cornet, trombone, and drums.
A large brass tuba used in marching bands, equipped with a harness for portability.
A musician from the French Republican Guard plays a helicon during a Bastille Day parade in Paris.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Tuba, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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