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Introduction	Orchestration	Orchestration	Resources	Historical	Andrew Hugill
	by section woodwinds brass percussion others strings combinations tuttis	by instrument flutes oboes clarinets bassoons saxophones horns trumpets trombones tubas percussion keyboards harps fretted strings voices electronics violins violas cellos basses conductors	select... score layouts seating plans ranges/transpositions harmonic series language/phonetics notation charts	select... 20th/21st Century 19th Century Classical Baroque pre-Baroque	Philharmonia

TUBA

Section: Brass
Transposing? No

Construction
Range
Articulations
Effects
Mutes
Extended
Player's Tips and Tricks

Links

 

 

John Jenkins (Tuba, Philharmonia Orchestra)

Sadly, John passed away in 2008. Recording the orchestra manual with him was a real pleasure. He had a love of the instrument and a disarming sense of humour. I would like these pages to stand as a memorial to his professionalism and extraordinary musicianship. (Andrew Hugill)

 

There are several different tubas (or saxhorns), including:

Most modern instruments have a conical bore, but there are variations in both construction and name from country to country. In the USA a 'baritone' refers to a euphonium, whereas in the UK it means a tenor horn. The 'Wagner tuba' is called 'Tenor-Tuba' in Germany, and so on. The three most common instruments in orchestras are the bass, the contrabass, and the euphonium, which are featured in these pages. The tubas are of course the bass instrument of the brass section, but they are more than capable of playing melodies in the tenor register.

Use the links on the left to navigate through the tuba pages.
The icon will launch a movie of John Jenkins explaining a relevant point of tuba technique.
The icon will give an audio clip, which will either play automatically or open a new window.
The icon will play an illustrative music example from the Philharmonia's recorded archive.

Be sure to visit the 'player's tips and tricks' section for some very useful advice about aspects of tuba writing.