Instruments - Part 6

Tuba and Sousaphone

We continue our series about musical instruments.

Most people call these tubas (above).  But they're not.  They're sousaphones.  More about sousaphones later.  The photo is an Ohio State streaker running into the Michigan marching band at the Ohio State-Michigan football game in 1992.

This is a tuba, the bass instrument of the brass section in the orchestra.  This guy seems to be saying, "Look how big my equipment is."

Here's a more standard-size tuba.  Has he lost something in there?

This is a euphonium.  You might call it the little brother of the tuba.  It's smaller and slightly higher-pitched.

Another euphonium.  Note that, like a trumpet, tubas and euphoniums have valves to change the pitch, so the player can play all the notes of the musical scale.

Now, back to the sousaphone.  This is the Live-Go-Go Marching Band serenading the riders of the World Naked Bike Ride in Portland, Oregon.

The sousaphone was invented by John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), composer of many famous marches such as Stars and Stripes Forever.  Sousa conducted the United States Marine Corps band from 1880 to 1892.  Sousa invented the sousaphone because he wanted something able to play low notes like the tuba, but more practical for a marching band.

There are two main differences between a sousaphone and a tuba.  First, a sousaphone is shaped to wind around the player's body, so its weight is supported by his shoulder.  This is essential for a marching band.  It would be impossible to carry a large, heavy tuba with your hands for very long.  Second, the "bell" or open end of a tuba faces up, which is fine in a concert hall, where the sound will be reflected from the ceiling.  The bell of a sousaphone is angled to face forward, not up, so it can be heard outdoors.

The shape of a sousaphone.  Note the large loop to fit around the player's body and the S-curve at the end so the bell faces forward when the sousaphone is carried.

Our final view of a sousaphone player is from a viewpoint that says "The End."

More musical instruments to come.