Tuba after American bandmaster John Philip Sousa, resembles a hélicon with the bell pointed up (in the original models as the J. W. Pepper prototype and Sousa's concert instruments) and then curved to point forward (as developed by Conn and others). Some ancestors of the tuba, such as the military "bombardon", had unusual valve and bore arrangements compared to modern tubas. During the American Civil War, most brass bands used a branch of the brass family known as "saxhorns", which, by today's standards, have a narrower bore taper than tuba—the same as true cornets and baritones, but distinct from trumpets, euphoniums,
Roman tuba Gaul," The Pennsylvania State University. 2.John Ziolkowski, The Roman Bucina: A Distinct Musical Instrument? Roman tuba The "tuba" of ancient Rome is a military signal trumpet, quite different from the modern tuba. The "tuba" (from Latin "tubus", "tube") was produced around 500 BC. Its shape was straight, in contrast to the military "buccina" or "cornu", which was more like the modern sousaphone in curving around the body. Its origin is thought to be Etruscan, and it is similar to the Greek salpinx. About four feet in length, it was made usually of bronze, and was played with a detachable mouthpiece.