Sousaphone
A sousaphone.
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| Brass instrument | |
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| Developed | 1893 |
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The sousaphone is a type of tuba designed to be easier to play than the concert tuba while standing or marching. It is widely employed in marching bands and various other musical genres. Designed to fit around the body of the musician and supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried. It is useful in all types of bands that play outdoors, as it directs the sound forward, unlike a traditional upright tuba. The instrument is named after American bandmaster and composer John Philip Sousa, who popularized its use in his band.
The first sousaphone was built by James Welsh Pepper in 1893 at the request of John Philip Sousa, 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. 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. 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.
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