 Sousaphone player in Washington Square, New York City The sousaphone is a type of tuba often used in a marching band. It is named after John Philip Sousa, the famous march composer and conductor. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 2770 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sousaphone Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 2770 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sousaphone Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create...
The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched of brass instruments. ...
An American college marching band on the field (University of Texas) A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who generally perform outdoors, and who incorporate movement – usually some type of marching – with their musical performance. ...
Portrait of John Philip Sousa taken in 1900 John Philip Sousa (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor known particularly for American military marches. ...
History
The Sousaphone was developed in the 1890s by J.W. Pepper at the request of John Philip Sousa, who was unhappy with the hélicons used at that time by the Marine band. The hélicon is an instrument that somewhat resembles the sousaphone, but has a far narrower bore, and a much smaller bell which points between straight up and to the player's left. Sousa wanted a tuba that would send sound upward and over the band with a full warm tone, much like concert tubas, an effect which could not be achieved with the narrower-belled (and thus highly directional) helicons. Contrary to popular belief, it was not initially developed as a marching instrument, as the professional band Sousa started after leaving the Marines (for which he wanted this new instrument) marched only once in its existence. Rather, Sousa wanted a concert instrument which would be easier to hold and play, while retaining a full, rich sound. The tone he sought was achieved by widening the bore and throat of the instrument significantly, as well as pointing it straight upward in a similar manner to concert instruments, a feature which led to the instruments being dubbed "raincatchers". This remained the standard for several decades, and a version with a forward-facing bell did not debut until the mid-1920s. Early sousaphones had 22" diameter bells, with 24" bells popular in the 1920s. From the mid-1930s on, sousaphone bells have become standardized at 26" diameter. The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no...
Portrait of John Philip Sousa taken in 1900 John Philip Sousa (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor known particularly for American military marches. ...
The fanfare of the French Republican Guard The hélicon is a brass musical instrument in the tuba family. ...
The bore of a wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds. ...
In music, timbre, or sometimes timber, (from Fr. ...
The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ...
Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ...
Construction Today, the sousaphone is a valved brass instrument with the same tube length as other tubas, but shaped differently so that the bell is above the head, the valves are situated directly in front of the musician a few inches above the waist, and most of the weight rests on one shoulder. Thus, the sousaphone can be carried far more easily than a traditional concert tuba, while still retaining the tuba sound. The bell is normally detachable from the instrument body to facilitate transportation and storage. Modern sousaphones almost definitively use three non-compensating piston valves in their construction, in direct contrast to their concert counterparts' large variation in number, type, and orientation. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ...
A Combat Support Hospital (CSH) is a United States military mobile hospital delivered to the Corps Support Area in standard military-owned Demountable Containers (MILVAN) cargo containers and assembled by the staff into a tent hospital to treat wounded soldiers. ...
These water valves are operated by handles. ...
Materials Most sousaphones are manufactured from sheet brass, usually yellow or silver, with silver, lacquer, and gold plating options, much like many brass instruments. However, the sousaphone (uniquely) is also commonly seen manufactured from fiberglass, due to its lower cost, greater durability, and significantly lighter weight.
Tuning Most sousaphones are tuned to B flat and have parts written in the bass clef, although some sousaphones are tuned to E flat or (especially in Western Europe) have parts written in the treble clef. A clef indicates the name of the notes on one line of the staff, in relation to which the notes of the other lines and spaces may be determined. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
A clef (French for key) is a symbol used in musical notation that assigns notes to lines and spaces on the musical staff. ...
Varieties While most major instrument manufacturers have made, and many continue to make, sousaphones, Conn and King instruments are generally agreed among players to be the standards against which other sousaphones are judged for tone quality and playability. Perhaps the most highly-regarded sousaphone ever built is the .734" bore Conn model 20K, introduced in the mid-1930s and still in production. Some players, especially those who find the 20K excessively heavy for marching, prefer the slightly smaller .687" bore King model 1250, first made in the late 1920s and also still in production as the model 2350. Historically, Holton, York and Martin sousaphones have sometimes been considered fine horns. Unlike with other brass instruments generally, and tubas in particular, players generally dislike the sousaphones made by non-American manufacturers.
Very large bore sousaphones, with oversized bells as large as 30" in diameter, were made by Conn ("Jumbo") and King ("Giant") in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and by Martin, but they disappeared from the catalogs during the Depression or at the onset of World War II. Because of their weight and cost, few were made and even fewer survive.
Fiberglass In recent years, sousaphones have been available made of fiberglass instead of brass. Today, the fiberglass versions are mainly used as practice horns, and are rarely used in performances. However, in the 1970's they were common in high school bands due to their resistance to dents and lower cost. Depending on the model, the fiberglass version normally does not have as dark and warm a tone as the brass (King fiberglass sousaphones tended to have smooth fiberglass and a tone somewhat more like a brass sousaphone; Conn fiberglass sousaphones often had rough fiberglass exteriors and a thinner sound; the Conn was also lighter). Regardless, fiberglass sousaphones are lighter than their brass counterparts and provide well for smaller players who could not otherwise play the heavy brass instruments in a marching band. Although the tone of fiberglass models tend to be thinner and less "warm" (earning them the nickname "White Trash" among players in some ensembles), it is considered acceptable by the high schools in which the instrument is most common due to the tradeoff in durability, cost, and weight. It has been suggested that Fiber-reinforced plastic be merged into this article or section. ...
For other uses, see Brass (disambiguation). ...
Additional valves In the 1920s and 1930s, four-valved sousaphones were often used by professional players, especially E flat sousaphones; today, however, four-valved BB flat sousaphones are uncommon and are prized by collectors, especially those made by Conn, King (H.N. White), and Holton.
Additional Information In large marching bands, the bell is often covered with a tight fitting cloth, called a sock, which enables the sousaphone section to spell out the school's name, initials, or mascot and to reduce the possibility of a spectator throwing objects into the large, inviting target. The Yale Precision Marching Band has made a tradition of setting fire to the tops of the bells of their sousaphones, including in the fall of 1992 when sousaphones served as the "candles" of a "wedding cake" formed by the band when two band alumni were married during a halftime show. They also utilize what they refer to as the "Ubersiouxsa", a sousaphone that was disassembled from its coiled format and welded back together on a twelve-foot frame to extend straight up from the player's shoulders. An American college marching band on the field (University of Texas) A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who generally perform outdoors, and who incorporate movement – usually some type of marching – with their musical performance. ...
The Yale Precision Marching Band is the official marching band of Yale University. ...
The sousaphone is an important fixture of the New Orleans brass band tradition, and is still used in groups such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ...
Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a New Orleans, Louisiana brass band. ...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sousaphone Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...
External links - Virginia Tech Music Dictionary: Sousaphone
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