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The nomenclature of tuba tonalities used to confuse me.

I was taught in school (high school) that it's called a BBb tuba because it refers to the Bb two octaves below the bass clef. This is the fundamental of that instrument. A C tuba is also has a fundamental which is two octaves below the staff but letters change at the Cs. But we call it a CC tuba because it is so much like the BBb. I don't have a problem with that... it makes sense.

Later on, I wrote for some literature about Besson tubas. The catalog listed Bb, BBb, C, Eb, EEb, and F tubas. The pictures of the Bb and BBb tubas appeared to be pitched the same as did the Eb and EEb tubas.

Upon studying this closer, the Bb tuba had a narrower bore than the BBb tuba. The same was true for the Eb tuba compared to the EEb tuba. (When I became acquainted with tubists in British Army bands during my stay in Berlin, Germany, my hunch was confirmed.)

A few years later, I noticed an ad from one of the mail order tuba merchants that listed all the Eb tubas as EEb tubas, even the ones with narrow bores.

ssoo wwhhaatt'ss tthhee bbiigg ddeeaall??

Marketing!

Well, since you started...

What is the technical requirement for a
3/4
4/4
5/4
6/4?

And hows come there are no 7/4's yet?

LoyalTubist wrote:I was taught in school (high school) that it's called a BBb tuba because it refers to the Bb two octaves below the bass clef. This is the fundamental of that instrument. A C tuba is also has a fundamental which is two octaves below the staff but letters change at the Cs. But we call it a CC tuba because it is so much like the BBb.

That much seems to be what happened. I would say that C tubas were called CC to let those familiar with BBb contrabass tubas that the C's were also contrabass tubas.

My copy of the older-than-1928 York catalog follows the octave convention correctly, listing instruments as BBb, C, and Eb. My 1934 Conn catalog only mentioned Eb once, but uses the single letter. It may be that other American catalogs used EEb, but my two examples don't.

I think it was Boosey and Hawkes who first used EEb in reference to their larger compensating Eb tuba. The stated reason was that the Eb compensator was so versatile that it could serve as both a bass and a contrabass tuba, and to distinguish it from its smaller Eb instruments. That little marketing ploy causes more confusions than clarity, though.

Personally, I use Bb and BBb interchangeably, and am trying to get into the habit of just using the single letter. When I describe my instruments to non-tuba players and non-musicians, I call the "Bb contrabass tubas" and "F bass tubas". That gets across that the Bb instruments are bigger and lower without having to explain archaic and misapplied octave naming conventions.

Rick "a rose by any other name..." Denney

windshieldbug wrote:Well, since you started...

What is the technical requirement for a
3/4
4/4
5/4
6/4?

And hows come there are no 7/4's yet?

I have long since forgotten the hierarchy as described once upon a time, either by Tony Clements or Glenn Call or some other irrascible curmudgeon. But it goes something like this:

3/4: Is that thing a euphonium?
4/4: just a plain old tuba
5/4: that's a big tuba!
6/4: Big-*** tuba (and this was the origin of BAT)

Chester Schmitz, not above tail twisting, referred to a Martin something-or-other in his collection as a 7/4. But it would have to be pretty big to be bigger than a Holton.

Now, I have seen and even played a 6/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb tuba, and if that is a 6/4, the whole scale has to be adjusted downward. And if my Holton is a 6/4, then the Rudy is a 7/4 or more.

I've offered to measure the volumes (as being the one true measure that would be consistent on every tuba of the same pitch from a Yamaha 621 to a Conn Jumbo sousaphone) of the range of instruments currently available. I think it would only take a year. Maybe two or three. So far, the manufacturers have ignored my offer.

Rick "interested only in science" Denney

British-style brass bands seem to have no consistent naming convention for these instruments/parts either. A quick viist to some of the UK and Oz BB web sites shows a mixture of "Bb Bass" "BBb Bass" "Eb Bass" "EEb Bass" "BBb tuba" "Eb tuba" and "EEb tuba".

Call it whatever you want. To all but a very small part of the general population it's a "tuba".

And don't call a CC tuba a C tuba in France, unless you like a meal of six valves served up on a large saxhorn sized platter! I'm not sure but what some of the older French tuba players may still have not forgiven Mel Culbertson!

Rick Denney wrote:

windshieldbug wrote:Well, since you started...

What is the technical requirement for a
3/4
4/4
5/4
6/4?

And hows come there are no 7/4's yet?

I have long since forgotten the hierarchy as described once upon a time, either by Tony Clements or Glenn Call or some other irrascible curmudgeon. But it goes something like this:

3/4: Is that thing a euphonium?
4/4: just a plain old tuba
5/4: that's a big tuba!
6/4: Big-*** tuba (and this was the origin of BAT)

Chester Schmitz, not above tail twisting, referred to a Martin something-or-other in his collection as a 7/4. But it would have to be pretty big to be bigger than a Holton. . . .

Would you like to super-size that order?

Paxman 1907


Normus

Dean E wrote:Paxman 1907
Normus

I think that's an 8/4 and a 10/4, good buddie!

iiipopes wrote:And don't call a CC tuba a C tuba in France, unless you like a meal of six valves served up on a large saxhorn sized platter! I'm not sure but what some of the older French tuba players may still have not forgiven Mel Culbertson!

If there are any of them left.

I have this feeling that anyone who might read the phrase "C tuba" in any English language medium will not immediately think of Petits tuba Francoise ut C.

Rick "who thinks the addition of 'contrabass' should resolve it for picky French organologists" Denney

Yes, Rick, you are right, but remember that any time you see the word xenophobic in the dictionary, there will be an illustration of a French man standing right beside it!