tuba

The orchestral tuba is normally in F (non-transposing) with four valves and this compass.

Member of a family of large brass instruments with a conical bore, deep cup-shaped mouthpiece, widely flaring bell, and three to six valves, producing a deep, mellow tone. Tubas were introduced around 1830 as the bass members of the orchestra brass section and the brass band. Despite their size and pitch, they can be surprisingly agile. These qualities have been exploited by composers such as Hector Berlioz, Maurice Ravel, and Vaughan Williams.

Different shapes, sizes, and pitches of tuba exist, including the circular or helicon sousaphone that wraps around the player. Some members of the tuba family are also known as euphonium, bombardon, and sousaphon. The Wagner tuba is a horn variant.