Eufonio

As Printed on a Score

The Italian name for the euphonium, abbreviated Euph. Orchestral parts are normally written in bass clef at sounding pitch, but brass-band and some wind-band parts are in treble clef in B♭, sounding a major ninth lower, so check which convention a part uses before reading.

Abbreviations: Euph.

Also spelled: Euphonion

How Composers Use It

A B-flat tenor tuba, usually with four valves, with a warm, round, vocal tone and great agility — a staple of brass and military bands and the usual instrument for orchestral tenor-tuba parts such as those in Holst’s The Planets. It sits an octave above the bass tuba. Write singing tenor melodies or countermelodies for it, and say whether the part is in bass clef at pitch or in treble clef transposing.

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