The Sousaphone –A Tuba “Fashion Statement”  

  Today’s sousaphone is basically a wearable, marching tuba.  (Actually, its relationship to the tuba is very much like the relationship of a trumpet to a cornet.  Tubas and cornets are conical-bodied (tapered) instruments, which gives them a richer, darker tone than the cylindrical-bodied trumpets and sousaphones, which tend to have a brighter sound.)

So, did John Phillip Sousa invent the sousaphone?  Well, sort of.    

In Sousa’s time, concert band tuba players frequently played the helicon, a type of tuba which, like the sousaphone, is circular and is worn over the shoulder.  Its bell points up and forward, and its tubing is smaller than a modern sousaphone. 

Sousa wasn’t happy with the helicon, because “It was all right enough for street-parade work, but its tone was apt to shoot ahead too prominently and explosively to suit me for concert performances.” 

So he contacted the instrument maker J.W. Pepper.  “I spoke to Mr. Pepper relative to constructing a bass instrument in which the bell would turn upwards and be adjustable for concert purposes. He built one and, grateful to me for the suggestion, called it a Sousaphone.” 

The resulting instrument had a bigger bore and richer tone than the helicon.  Because Sousa’s band rarely marched, its bell pointed straight up, so it wouldn’t overpower the other instruments.   This earned it the nickname “Raincatcher.” 

Today’s sousaphones are used almost exclusively for marching, and their bells have migrated to a front-facing position in order to project the sound outwards.  The sousaphone is unique in that it is the only brass instrument that is frequently made of fiberglass, to make it lighter for marching.  Also most models have detachable bells for easier transport.