Tuba

Tuba
A bass tuba in F with front-action piston valves
Brass instrument
Classification
Hornbostel–Sachs classification423.232
(Valved aerophone sounded by lip vibration)
Inventor(s)Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz
Developed1835
Playing range
Related instruments
Sound sample

The tuba (UK: /ˈtjbə/;[1] US: /ˈtbə/) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibration – a buzz – into a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the newer instruments in the modern orchestra and concert band, and largely replaced the ophicleide.[2] Tuba is Latin for "trumpet".[3]

A person who plays the tuba is called a tubaist, a tubist,[4] or simply a tuba player. In a British brass band or military band, they are known as bass players.

  1. ^ "tuba noun - Pronunciation | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at Oxford Learner's Dictionaries". Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  2. ^ Forsyth, Cecil (1982). Orchestration. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc. p. 530. ISBN 0-486-24383-4.
  3. ^ "tuba definition - Latin Dictionary". Latin-Dictionary.org. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Tuba". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-26.