Re: HELP! the history of the tuba!


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Posted by Rick Denney on January 18, 2002 at 09:41:14:

In Reply to: HELP! the history of the tuba! posted by Angela on January 17, 2002 at 23:03:00:

"Basstuba" invented by Wieprecht and prototyped by Moritz in Prussia, in 1835. It was an F tuba about the size of a modern euphonium, but with a smaller bell. Invention made possible by the invention of valves. Predecessors include the serpent, ophicleide, English bass horn, Russian bassoon, and other variants.

If you want more detail than that, you should visit a library and look for one of the following books:

The Tuba Family, by Clifford Bevan. The first version was published by Scrivener's in 1978, and the recently released second version was published by Piccolo Press. The first version is more likely to be in a good music library though it is long out of print, and the second version is currently available from the publisher (someone will recall the details of getting it).

The Tuba Sourcebook, edited by R. Winston Morris. Published by the Indiana University Press (?) in about 1995 or 96. It includes a chapter on history that was written by Cliff Bevan.

A Treatise on the Tuba, self-published by Donald Stauffer. I bought mine from Amazon, so it is generally available.

Of these, the second version of the Bevan is the most authoritative.

Rick "wishing TubaEuph's history web page was finished, but knowing why it isn't" Denney


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