The tuba is a wind instrument with the lowest register. Most often used in a symphony orchestra, making the overall perception of sounds more powerful and complete. He rarely performs the solo part.
The history of the creation of the instrument
The prototype of the modern tuba is the result of the joint work of two German inventors: Viprich and Moprikh. It appeared in the first half of the 19th century, had a rough timbre, and turned out to be too clumsy. The instrument did not sound good and was doomed to failure. The craftsmen decided to leave this option and started looking for something more perfect. As it turns out later, this was their fatal mistake.
The abandoned experiment carried away Adolf Sachs, who revealed the main reason for the harshness of the sounds produced. As it turned out, the selected scaling ratio was initially not entirely correct. After some time, Sachs managed to correct the identified shortcomings, improve the design and create a musical instrument with an ideal sound - a tuba. Since then and to this day, this tool has not undergone any major changes.
Features of the tube
Modern tubas come in two varieties: a concert instrument and a sousophone. They differ in their design and purpose.
A concert tuba is a stationary musical instrument designed to be played in a standing position (suspended on a strap), or sitting (rests on one knee). This tuba is the most common and classic version.
From a constructive point of view, a concert tuba is an instrument with four valves, three of which lower the register by semitone, tone and one and a half tones, respectively, and the fourth works at once with the entire scale and lowers it by a fourth. The last valve is pressed with the little finger and is used only in extreme cases when there is a need to play several notes at the same time. Some models are equipped with a fifth valve, which is called a correcting valve. Its main purpose is to lower the register to D-tone.
The sousophone is a portable design that is worn around the musician's neck. In this case, the sounding horn is positioned above the performer's head. This type of instrument allows you to play in motion, therefore it is most often used in marching bands.
A tube of any design consumes a significant amount of air (most of all in the lower register). It is for this reason that interrupted breathing is used to obtain a more melodic and smooth sound. Every musician who chooses this instrument must have well-developed lungs and sufficient physical fitness.
The tuba does not belong to transported musical instruments, as it is rather large in size. For example, its length is almost twice the length of the trombone. This, as well as a number of other features, made it not very popular among modern musicians, however, interest in tuba is gradually starting to grow. In recent years, the number of students who are ready to master the playing of this musical instrument has increased significantly.
