Toronto sousaphone player Rob Teehan
All over the USA, in each city, town, or hamlet with enough room to accommodate a football field, it’s guaranteed there are at least a few sousaphone players, if not dozens more. The instrument’s as commonplace as a trumpet. In Canada, though, sousaphones are scarce, and even in Toronto, people are surprised to see one in action.
The sousaphone is essentially a tuba that’s curled around and twisted into a doughnut with the bell (the flared part) sticking out at the top. Musicians wear sousaphones around their necks like oversized accessories, resting them on one shoulder, making them portable and suitable for any play-as-you-go occasion.
Sousaphonists play all over the States, including at weddings and funerals. Inventions such as bubble wrap, jeans, dental floss, and crayons all crossed the border to Canada, but the sousaphone never made it big here. Since every American high school and university has a football team, there are marching bands all over the place, not just at NFL games. Each of those bands needs at least one sousaphone player in their pregame and half-time shows. So hundreds of music teachers give tuba/sousaphone lessons to students who then learn to play in American military bands, marching bands for parades and sports, as well as in New Orleans-style brass bands.
In the late 19th century, John Philip Sousa, American composer of marches (including “Stars and Stripes Forever”) and conductor, came up with the idea for the sousaphone. At the time, Sousa led the United States Marine Band. As in every American military band of that era, musicians played basslines on the tuba-like helicon – an instrument that was easy to hold while standing, and had a small bell that pointed upwards and to the left. He wanted to create an instrument with a larger, adjustable bell that pointed up and would be suitable for standing, not marching, yet easy to play and hold. Philadelphian J.W. Pepper manufactured Sousa’s instrument. Years later, the C.G. Conn company modified the sousaphone so it would have a bell that faced forward to project sound directly at an audience. Eventually, the sousaphone developed into a marching instrument, first for the military, then for bands in parades and at sports games.
Canada doesn’t have a marching band culture on par with the U.S., neither on fields nor in the military. Traditionally, Canadian marching bands have adopted the practice of the sousaphoneless British military bands – they’ve always employed tubists who wear their tubas strapped onto their chests. These days, Canadian marching bands and brass bands might have a sousaphone or two, but only when the Queen’s not supervising.
Regardless of the country, it’s out of the ordinary for sousaphones to show up in popular bands. One of the most prominent sousaphonists is Damon Bryson, otherwise known as Tuba Gooding Jr., who plays basslines for the Roots. Not many women play the tuba/sousaphone, likely because of the instrument’s size (weighing 18-50 pounds), but Jeanie Schroder is the lone lady who plays sousaphone as well as upright bass in the four-piece Gypsy-folk band DeVotchKa. As if the sousaphone doesn’t already stand out, she decorates hers with Christmas lights. Then there’s the eclectic, energetic Brooklyn-based Red Baraat – a funky Indian bhangra-meets-brass band whose sousaphone player doubles as their rapper. To see a marching band spectacle in pop music, watch OK Go’s viral video for “This Too Shall Pass,” which features the University of Notre Dame’s purple-suited musicians, including several sousaphonists.
Rob Teehan’s a classically trained local tuba player who not long ago aspired to hold one of the few tuba seats in a respected symphony orchestra. His priorities changed after picking up a sousaphone in 2008. He was drawn to the sousaphone’s portability and its potential for providing visual entertainment, ultimately deciding he’d rather play while dancing and spinning around as part of a musical spectacle than while sitting unseen at the back of an orchestra. He now feels more able to improvise and be expressive on his sousaphone than on his classical tuba.
Since sousaphones aren’t manufactured in Canada, Teehan drove to a suburb of Cleveland to purchase a restored mid-20th-century instrument. That’s what he plays his basslines on these days. His only qualm with the sousaphone is having to take cabs around town – in that respect, he must be envious of piccolo players.
These days, he’s busy with two Eastern-European-influenced bands, the Boxcar Boys and the 14-piece Lemon Bucket Orkestra, as well as with the Heavyweights Brass Band, a New Orleans-style band performing a variety of tunes, from originals to pop songs such as Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” He also plays sousaphone for singer/songwriter Nick Teehan, his brother, and for rock/soul songstress Saidah Baba Talibah.
Rob Teehan is in high demand as a Toronto sousaphone player, since he’s the only one who’s making the most of the instrument in this city. He says, “I’m desperate to have some sort of protégé to be my substitute player when all these bands have conflicting gigs.” So, are there any aspiring sousaphonists out there?
How to Play the Sousaphone
Unlike the singing saw or the Jew’s harp, learning to play the sousaphone requires instruction from someone other than a guy in his basement doing a three-minute demo in front of his webcam. This is especially the case for non-musicians. For tuba players, learning to play the sousaphone is easy, since the instruments are so closely related. For non-tuba players, find a qualified tuba/sousaphone instructor.
Rob Teehan constantly has sousaphone gigs in Toronto, across the country, and abroad. Upcoming: Boxcar Boys at the Toronto Jazz Festival (June 24), Lemon Bucket Orkestra at the New Traditions Festival (June 30), Toronto Jazz Festival (July 1), and Beaches Jazz Festival (July 29). Consult his bands’ websites for further listings.
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Shari Kasman’s writing has appeared on paper, on computer screens, and on many, many Post-it Notes. Follow her on Twitter at @smkasman.
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