Editing Sousaphone (section)

==Special effects==
[[File:MG05MBSousa.jpg|thumb|upright|Costumed sousaphone player, New Orleans, Mardi Gras Day 2005]]
In large marching bands of the United States, the bell is often covered with a tight fitting cloth, called a sock, which enables the sousaphone section to spell out the school's name, initials, or mascot.  [[Stanford Band|The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band]] Tööbz! have a tradition of painting the front surface of their sousaphone bells with a variety of images.

Sousaphone players are also known to perform the 'flaming tubas', in which [[flash paper]] is ignited in the bell, thus making it appear as if the musician is breathing fire. [[David Silverman (animator)|David Silverman]] developed a propane powered flaming sousaphone with a trigger valve to control an array of flame jets across the top of the bell of his horn.
The [[Yale Precision Marching Band]] has made a tradition of setting fire to the tops of the bells of their sousaphones, including in the fall of 1992 when sousaphones served as the "candles" of a "wedding cake" formed by the band when two band alumni were married during a halftime show.  They also utilize what they refer to as the "Überphone", a sousaphone that was disassembled from its coiled format and welded back together on a twelve-foot frame to extend straight up from the player's shoulders.