The Tuba

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the tuba is the descendant of the serpent, a much older and now obsolete form of the tuba created sometime around 1590s; it is also related to the old cornet and the ophicleide.The author points out that the modern tuba came into being largely because of the piston valve in early 1800s, but it took some time to design a small piston valve, which could be fitted in a bore instrument. The paper relates that tubas are available in different sizes, which determine their pitches and, thus, their functions; for example, concerts bands are more in favor of using B-B-flat tubas, while the orchestra players prefer C-C tuba.

From the Paper:

"The Serpent was not immediately taken over by the tuba. There were some other variations designed before the tuba was finally embraced in its modern form. The other important ancestor of tuba is the ophicleide, which is a name deserved from two Greek words meaning serpent and keys. It was precisely in 1810 that ophicleide was designed in Ireland by Joseph Halliday. The instrument resembled a cornet in its function but looked more like a saxophone where its shape was concerned. Just like a serpent, ophicleide didn't particularly produce a pleasant sound, as extra lungpower was required to generate sound from this long curved instrument."

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