The tuba is the largest member of the brass family and plays the lowest notes. It's also the youngest brass instrument. It was first used in military bands in the 1800s and joined the orchestra about a hundred years ago. The tuba, like double basses and bassoons, is crucial in an orchestra because it provides the lowest notes for the brass section.

Composer: Wilder
Piece: Effie The Elephant
Featuring: Roger Bobo

	Our tuba player, Toby, shows you how to play. He rests the instrument on his lap and "buzzes" into a very large cup-shaped mouthpiece. If he were playing with a marching band, though, he'd need to stand up and rest the tuba on his shoulder. Toby plays different notes by pressing on valves. Toby's tuba has piston valves, like the ones on the trumpet. He can also change pitches by adjusting the way he blows air into the mouthpiece. The tuba consists of a huge brass tube that bends or folds around, beginning at the mouthpiece and ending in a large flared bell. If you stretched out the tube, it would be 18 feet long. That's a lot of tuba!