played from a seated position amongst four silos between 35 and 40 feet tall. the tuba’s fourth valve slide is replaced with a tube connected to 50 feet of vinyl hose extending to the tops of the silos. a small box with four switches is mounted on the tuba, connected to a wire that also extends to the tops of the silos. there, the vinyl hose connects to a manifold with four solenoid-controlled valves, each triggered by a switch at the tuba and, when open, allowing air to pass to one of four short copper tubes, tuned to between 479 and 492Hz, containing bassoon reeds and suspended inside one of the silos. when the tuba’s fourth valve is depressed, the player is able to vibrate one or more reeds.
performed and recorded at Some Kind of Tube 2 in the Silo Room, San Diego CA, on 21 June 2025 recording by mattie barbier using two conventional condenser microphones, two electret microphones, and two geofons mounted on 40’ steel silos