Definition of a Brass Instrument
Brass instruments are a class of musical instruments that use valves and call upon players to produce sound by vibrating their lips while blowing air through a cup-shaped or cone-shaped mouthpiece. These wind instruments are used in all types of music, from classical to pop, and they are necessary to seat a full symphony orchestra.
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History
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Early brass instruments could not play all the notes of a scale and so weren't orchestra regulars. The trumpet and the horn were the first to develop the ability around the turn of the nineteenth century. Previously, trumpets always saw play during high occasions, while horns were used for the hunt. The trombone started as a trumpet with a slide and was used in churches. It wasn't played in symphony orchestras until the Romantic Period.
Types
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Brass instruments can be sorted into those using valves and those with slides. Another way to sort is by tubing. Cylindrical instruments like trumpets make bright noises. Conical instruments like French horns have tubing of increasing diameter, resulting in mellower sounds. Natural brass instruments like bugles cannot play all the notes of an octave. Fingered brass instruments have holes or keys like those you might find on a woodwind, such as the recorder or oboe.
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Features
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Together, brass instruments make a range of sounds from the bass of a tuba to trumpet sounds higher than what many soprano singers can achieve. Valves on brass instruments help make their ranges possible. Air blows straight through until the valve is pressed and diverts air through tubing, effectively lengthening the instrument and enabling lower tones. Slides on trombones also lengthen the instrument. The flared end or bell of a brass instrument radiates sound waves, much like a megaphone.
Effects
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Brass instruments tend to have a bright, straight-forward sound that can ring out clearly, especially those shaped cylindrically. These bright sounds create fanfares that naturally have found use in ceremonial and royal occasions. The ability of brass instruments to flow out over noise and long distances has led to their employ not only to sound hunting calls, but battlefield calls.
Facts
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Brass instruments aren't always made of brass. Nickel, bronze and other materials are also used to fashion them. Brass instruments are members of the lip reed family, so called because the buzzing lips of the player serve the same function as reeds, used by woodwinds like oboes and clarinets: they create vibration. Brass instruments can play above and below the range of notes they produce reliably and well---the designated range. Sounds below the designated range are called pedal tones.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Sophia Lemon
