The Contrabass Bugle, usually shortened to Contra, is the lowest-pitched instrument in the drum and bugle corps hornline. It is essentially drum corps' counterpart to the marching band's sousaphone: the lowest-pitched member of the hornline, and a replacement for the concert tuba on the marching field. It is different from the other members of the marching band and drum corps hornlines in that it rests on the shoulder of the player, rather than being held in front of the body. Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe two forms of marching units. ... A sousaphone player, showing how a Sousaphone is carried The sousaphone is a type of tuba often used in a marching band. ... The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ...

History

The first contrabass was developed in the 1960s by Whaley Royce, a Canadian instrument manufacturer who produced bugles for many drum corps of that era. As with all competition bugles at the time, these early contras were pitched in the key of G, making them signifcantly larger than all tubas to that date, save the monstrous, and fairly uncommon, EE♭ and (almost fictional) BBB♭ concert tubas used in some brass bands. The contrabass bugle is the only member of the drum corps bugle line that has never been produced in a valve-less style, as it was developed when the drum corps rules allowed one 2-semitone piston valve and one 1-semitone rotary valve. They changed to fit new rules along with the rest of the drum corps hornline, first recieving two vertical (or in this case, slanted for ease of use) piston valves, then 3 and later 4 valves to make the instrument fully chromatic. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Military bugle in Bb The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments; it is essentially a small natural horn with no valves. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with rotary valve. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into brass instrument. ...

Equivalent instruments in the key of BB♭ and C were produced by instrument manufacturers for marching bands who wished to posess the sound of these contras, generally regarded as "darker", without losing hornline sonority by having the basses in a different overtone series from the rest of the hornline.

Construction and Naming

With most circuits now permitting B♭ and C instruments, the modern contra is essentially a concert tuba converted for ease of marching. Generally, the primary differences between pure concert tubas and contras are: 1. On both pure marching and convertible tubas, the concert leadpipe, with the pipe curving around the bell to the valves, is replaced with one that curves forward and back, placing the mouthpiece in an appropriate location for the new playing position, on the left (or occasionally, right) shoulder, rather than in front of the player. On some "Marching-Convertible" models, this leadpipe can be unscrewed and replaced with a concert model. 2. All dedicated marching instruments have the valve section rotated into a more comfortable playing position. Some higher-end convertible tubas have the capacity to rotate the valve section between marching and concert configurations.

Although historically (see below), drum and bugle corps contras were pitched in G, the construction was nearly identical to modern B♭ and C instruments, the only differences being the length and diameter of the tubing and (at one time) the valve section. In fact, modern drum corps now use multi-key instruments originally developed several years ago for marching bands who wished to emulate the sound of contemporary (G-instrumented) drum corps horn lines.

Modern Times

Today contras can be seen with three or four valves, as are common on concert tubas. Like most of their concert counterparts, they are pitched in either C or BB♭, although within the dwindling number of drum corps still using older instruments, they are, like the rest of the traditional bugle line, pitched in the key of G (or GG, depending on which naming convention is used). Instruments in any of these keys are generally larger in modern times compared to their older counterparts, although improved materials and construction techniques in the manufacture of instruments allows them to be made stronger and lighter than before.

See also =

-Tuba The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ...

-Drum and bugle corps (modern) The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, a DCI Division I corps from Rosemont, Illinois. ...

-Drum and bugle corps (classic) Classic drum and bugle corps are North American musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units returning from World War I and succeeding wars. ...

External links

-Kanstul Musical Instruments, the only company still manufacturing marching brass instruments in the key of G.