Brass instruments

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Trumpet, trombone, tuba... They are names of instruments that you have surely heard mentioned, however, how much do you know about these instruments? Do you know what they have in common? How do they work? In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about brass instruments so that you can gain the knowledge of these powerful instruments that are used for various musical genres.

Index

1. What are brass instruments
2. How brass instruments work
3. Characteristics of brass instruments
4. List of brass instruments

According to the classification in music, wind instruments They are that they use the wind to produce sound, as the name already implies. These use the flow of air that passes through a defined space to create musical notes of different tunings, thanks to the vibration produced by the wind. These instruments are also called "Aerophones". In this same category there are the instruments ofwoodwind Y metal wind. The latter are all those that are made of metal, today, most are built with a material called "brass".

Brass instruments can be classified into two categories depending on the shape of the drill (the inside of your body). This can be conical or cylindrical. The conical drill widens as it approaches the end of the instrument, in contrast, the cylindrical drill maintains its diameter throughout its length.

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These instruments work through the musician's breath, who uses lung capacity to blow through one end of the instrument (mouthpiece). This part of the instrument has mechanisms in its body, which alter the flow of air in order to change the notes. The air is expelled from the other end of the instrument, which usually has a structure bell-shaped.

In general, they have a single long body that combines straight directions and bends. Many of these instruments, such as the French horn, work with keys as mentioned and others with pistons. It is the case of the trumpet, which works by means of harmonics, changing the air pressure to increase or decrease the range of the tessitura and thus change to several notes, despite having so few pistons (only 3).

Brass instruments can be used in many styles and musical genres, including pop, folk genres, funk and Latin ensembles, jazz, marching bands and also in classical music as part of the symphony orchestra.

In general they are instruments that can reach a large volume and be very loud, especially when they play together. Still, skilled musicians are capable of creating rich nuances and playing delicately.

By the nature of its operation, cannot produce notes of too long duration (Unlike the stringed instruments), as depend on the ability to breathe of the musician. Therefore, they are more suitable for specific notes or specific passages. In terms of speed, they are also very versatile, since they can produce phrases at high speeds and with high definition.

Breathing plays an important role on the instrument and thanks to this it has the ability to create many sound effects with the way the musician blows through the mouth or places the tongue. Finally, to vary their sound, some instruments have additional parts that can be placed to alter the way they sound, such as mutes.

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These are the brass instruments most common:

• Trumpet: It has only 3 pistons. It has the ability to create very sharp and powerful sounds that are used in genres such as Latin music. It also has the ability to produce precise notes with speed. There are trumpets of different tunings.
• Cornet and flugelhorn: They are similar in shape and size to the trumpet. They change mainly in timbre and tessitura since they are less loud, more opaque. Many trumpeters also learn to play these instruments and vice versa.
• French horn or horn: Its body is spiral-shaped, it has keys instead of pistons. Thanks to its velvety sound, it is sometimes combined in musical formations with woodwind or rubbed string instruments, despite not belonging to these categories.
• Trombone: Its body is made up of a long tube, it does not have keys or pistons. It has a piece that slides, moving away or approaching the musician to change notes. Within the same family there are different tones and tessitura, such as bass trombone for example, which is more serious.
• Euphonium or euphonium: It is used less frequently than the rest of the instruments that we have mentioned. Works with nozzle and pistons. It is played with the bell facing up and its appearance is often compared to that of a tuba, but it is smaller in size.
• Tuba: It is a large instrument, with the lowest tessitura in this category, which is why it is generally responsible for producing the basses. The tuba is the equivalent of the double bass on rubbed string instruments and the bassoon on woodwind instruments. Works with nozzle and pistons. The helicon and sousaphone They are variations of the tuba, which change shape and some characteristics to be used in other circumstances such as marching bands.

Each category of instruments offers us a special niche in music. Fortunately the only limitation that exists to use them is creativity, so now that you know much more about brass instruments, you can try looking for one to apply your knowledge.

If you want to read more articles similar to Brass instruments, we recommend that you enter our category of Musical instruments.