ETYM Latin, trumpet.
Member of a family of valved lip-reed brass instruments of conical bore and deep, mellow tone, introduced around 1830 as bass members of the orchestra brass section and the brass band. The tuba is surprisingly agile and delicate for its size and pitch, qualities exploited by Berlioz, Ravel, and Vaughan Williams.
Different shapes of tuba exist, including oval, upright with forward-facing bell, and the circular or helicon sousaphone which wraps around the player. The Wagner tuba is a horn variant.
A large, low toned, brass instrument.