due to the awkwardness of the traditional concert tuba, john philip sousa had to exclude the lower brass instrument from his marching band entirely. the tuba was not present in any shape or form.
James
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get due to the awkwardness of the traditional concert tuba, john philip sousa had to exclude the lower brass instrument from his marching band entirely. the tuba was not present in any shape or form. from EN Bilgi.
Ten facts about the sousaphone
Any American can recognize the opening notes of "Stars and Stripes Forever" and that most essential instrument of the American marching band -- the sousaphone. How did this 30 pound beauty come to be? Despite its relative youth, the sousaphone has an extensive (and sometimes controversial) history.
Ten facts about the sousaphone
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BY CELINE AENLLE-ROCHA
MAY 5TH 2016
Any American can recognize the opening notes of “Stars and Stripes Forever” and that most essential instrument of the American marching band — the sousaphone. How did this 30 pound beauty come to be? Despite its relative youth, the sousaphone has an extensive (and sometimes controversial) history.
The sousaphone is named after John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), who had early sousaphones made according to his specifications in the late nineteenth century.
Both the J.W. Pepper and C.G. Conn companies took credit for building the first sousaphone; while C.G. Conn claimed to have invented the instrument in 1898, Sousa recalled going to J.W. Pepper to create the first prototype in 1893.
Despite Pepper’s claim to the invention, it was the Conn sousaphone that eventually became the more commercially successful of the two, and even Sousa preferred it.
The sousaphone is similar to the tuba in many respects, but can be differentiated by its wide, flared bell and shape, encircling the player. Early sousaphones were built with bells pointed upright.
Upright sousaphones, called “rain-catchers”, never really gained popularity beyond Sousa’s use. Bell-forward sousaphones have been the college and marching band favorite since at least the 1920s.
Although primarily designed as a marching band instrument, the sousaphone also made a popular entry into jazz music in the 1920s.
Sousaphones are non-transposing brass instruments, most with three valves.
In order to make them lighter, Conn and the Selmer Co. began building sousaphones with fiberglass bodies, fittings and brass valves in the 1960s. In addition to being easier to carry, sousaphones are now harder to dent.
Similarly to upright band tubas, the sousaphone is pitched in E♭ and B♭. Some, however, have a fourth valve which lowers the pitch by a 4th.
The sousaphone was originally created for marching bands, but has recently become a popular instrument for street bands in Asia and Europe.
The above are only ten facts from the extensive entries in Grove Music Online. Did we leave out any fun facts about the sousaphone?
Featured image: “Sousafoon”. Photo by FaceMePLS. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
Celine Aenlle-Rocha is a Marketing Assistant for academic music books at Oxford University Press. Information for this post was sourced from the "Sousaphone" entry by Carolyn Bryant (with Lloyd P. Farrar) in Grove Music Online.POSTED IN: MUSIC ONLINE PRODUCTS
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Recent Comments
Dave Detwiler6TH MAY 2016
Dear friends at Oxford Music,
Thanks so much for giving attention to the Sousaphone! I always enjoy seeing this great instrument portrayed in a positive light.
If I may, there are a few adjustments I would recommend that you make to the “facts” you present. As one who has been researching the early history of the Sousaphone for the past 4 years, I can tell you that:
1) J. W. Pepper did indeed make and name the very first Sousaphone. In other words, this “claim,” as you put it in your fact 3, has now been verified. The horn was built in 1895 at the Pepper factory at 8th & Locust in Philadelphia – and it was played in the Sousa Band for at least the cross-country tour in 1896. But you’re right in saying that Conn’s Sousaphone, which appeared in 1898, was the one that Sousa ended up preferring, and was made available commercially. Pepper’s horn, while the first, seems to be the only Sousaphone he ever built.
2) In your final fact you say that “The Sousaphone was originally created for marching bands,” but this is simply not true. Sousa designed this special instrument for use in his peerless concert band.
Documentation of these facts can be found in my academic articles in the Spring 2015 and Winter 2016 editions of the ITEA Journal, or you can view on youtube the documentary that Pepper created, based on my research, and titled “The Birth of the Sousaphone.”
Sousaphone
Sousaphone
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Sousaphone
A sousaphone. Brass instrument Classification Wind Brass Aerophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification 423.232
(Valved aerophone sounded by lip movement)
Inventor(s) J.W. Pepper & John Philip Sousa
Developed 1893 Playing range Related instruments Tuba Euphonium Contrabass Bugle Baritone horn Wagner Tuba Helicon Cornu (horn) Part of a series on Musical instruments show Woodwinds show Brass instruments show String instruments Percussion Keyboards vte
The sousaphone (US: /ˈsuːzəfoʊn/) is a brass instrument in the same family as the more widely known tuba. Created around 1893 by J.W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than the concert tuba while standing or marching, as well as to carry the sound of the instrument above the heads of the band. Like the tuba, sound is produced by moving air past the lips, causing them to vibrate or "buzz" into a large cupped mouthpiece. Unlike the tuba, the instrument is bent in a circle to fit around the body of the musician; it ends in a large, flaring bell that is pointed forward, projecting the sound ahead of the player. Because of the ease of carrying and the direction of sound, it is widely employed in marching bands, as well as various other musical genres. Sousaphones were originally made out of brass but in the mid-20th century started to be made from lighter materials like fiberglass; today both types are in wide use.
Contents
1 History 2 Construction 2.1 Materials 2.2 Pitch 3 Varieties 3.1 Fiberglass
3.2 Additional valves
3.3 Non-American sousaphones
4 Special effects
5 College marching bands
6 Musical genres 7 Notable players 8 See also 9 References 10 External links
History[edit]
1893 sousaphones at the Museum of Making Music
The first sousaphone was built by James Welsh Pepper in 1893 at the request of John Philip Sousa,[1][2] who was dissatisfied with the hélicons in use by the United States Marine Band. Some sources credit C.G. Conn with its construction, because of the first sousaphone he built later in 1898.[3] Sousa wanted a tuba-like instrument that would send sound upward and over the band, much like a concert (upright) tuba. The new instrument had an oversized bell pointing straight up, rather than the directional bell of a normal hélicon.
The sousaphone was initially developed as a concert instrument rather than for marching. Sousa wanted the new instrument for the professional band which he started after leaving the Marines, and this band marched only once. Sousa mainly used sousaphones built by C.G. Conn.[4] Although less balanced on a player's body than a helicon, because of the large spectacular bell high in the air, the sousaphone retained the tuba-like sound by widening the bore and throat of the instrument significantly. Its upright bell led to the instrument being dubbed a "rain-catcher". Some versions of this design allowed the bell to also rotate forward, projecting the sound to the front of the band. This bell configuration remained the standard for several decades and is the standard today.
The instrument proved practical for marching, and by 1908 the United States Marine Band adopted it.[5]
Versions with the characteristic extra 90° bend making a forward-facing bell were developed in the early 1900s. Early sousaphones had 22-inch-diameter (560 mm) bells, with 24-inch (610 mm) bells popular in the 1920s. From the mid-1930s onward, sousaphone bells have been standardized at a diameter of 26 inches (660 mm). Some larger sousaphones (Monster, Grand, Jumbo, Giant or Grand Jumbo, depending on brand) were produced in limited quantities.
Construction[edit]
Sousaphone player Tycho Cohran with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, at the TFF.Rudolstadt 2012
The sousaphone is a valved brass instrument with the same tube length and musical range as other tubas. The sousaphone's shape is such that the bell is above the tubist's head and projecting forward. The valves are situated directly in front of the musician slightly above the waist and all of the weight rests on the left shoulder. The bell is normally detachable from the instrument body to facilitate transportation and storage. Except for the instrument's general shape and appearance, the sousaphone is technically similar to a tuba.
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Orchestra
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Communicates artistic directions to performers during a performance
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Terms in this set (52)
Orchestra
Large instrumental ensemble of classical music
Conductor
Communicates artistic directions to performers during a performance
Chordophone String instruments
Aerophone Instruments
Any instrument that makes sound using a vibrating column of air.
Membraphones Drums Idiophones
instruments that produce sounds from the vibrations of their own bodies
String family
Any instrument that is played with a string, all of these have 4 strings
Violin: smaller softer
Viola: louder bigger
Cello: always played seated
Double bass
Harp: most ancient of all instruments
In a orchestra there is always more _____ than other instruments because violins make a lower sound so the sound would balance out
Violins Brass family
Trumpet,trombone, French horn, baritone, tuba
The longer the tubing the lower the sound. Created by a vibrating column of air
Trombone- lower sounding instrument and invented during the Middle Ages. Also known as a sackbut
Trumpet- invented in 1750, used in the army, belonged to ancient Hebrews. The grandfather trumpet was the shofar and was used by Hebrews to warn and prepare for war. The Romans took the shofar and made it into the Roman trumpet
French horn- it's grandfather is the alpine horn. Used to warn people in the Swiss mountains
Sousaphone
Designed by John Phillip Sousa. Same as the tuba but can wear it on your shoulder. Used in marching bands.
Woodwind Family
Type of aerophones. Makes vibrations in three different ways. Brass family only does it in one. Whistles like the flute. First flute was made from the ancient Greeks. They found a certain type of plant that was naturally hollow known as a reed plant
Percussion
Tapping on a surface to determine the difference in the density of the underlying structure
snare drum
Associated with marching or armies. Have people march together in unison
Timpani
Kettledrums. Consists of skin stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. In the percussion family. Found in an orchestra more than any other
snare drum pic
Tam Tam
gong, part of the percussion family. Makes a safe place for good spirits by driving the bad spirits away
Tamborine
a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles
Melodic Percussion
can play melodies, orchestral bells. EX: timpani, xylophone, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, maracas, gongs, chimes, celesta and piano.
Glockenspiel
glocken means bells. Spiel means sound.
Kithara
an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre or lyra family. Means "guitar". Strings are made from animal gut. Cross between harp and guitar
Lute
A lute is any plucked string instrument with a neck,usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. String family. Many long strings
Hurdy Gurdy
a stringed instrument that produces sound by a hand crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. String family
Guitar
musical instrument that usually has six strings. The sound is projected either acoustically, using a hollow wooden or plastic and wood box, or through electrical amplifier and a speaker. String family
Violin
string family, smaller and softer than a viola. 4 strings
Guys, does anyone know the answer?