The tuba has a beautiful warmth and richness in its sound. The most basic writing for the instrument treats it as just a loud ´oom-pah band´ instrument used to just pick out the bass line of the music, but this falls a long way short of what the tuba does best. In great orchestral writing it plays expressive bass melodies that, due to its depth of tone, loom through the lower half of the orchestral texture. It is also perfect for creating tremendous swells which can be used to heighten the emotional peaks of the music in much the same way as the timpani is often used. And of course, when playing loudly alongside the whole brass section its effect of its immense power can be awesome....[more]
