Waterford Concert Series
Musical Overviews
The Story of Brass Instruments
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About this Series
The Waterford Concert Series Musical
Overviews are written for new music
listeners. They are intended to enhance
the enjoyment of the concerts and to encourage others to explore
the pleasures of classical music. We welcome your participation
through comments and suggestions.
These overviews were written by music
aficionado Marie Anderson of Waterford, Virginia. |
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The technical term for a brass instrument is an aerophone, indicating
that the sound is made by air blown into it. The musician produces
the tone by vibrating the lips (embouchure) into a
mouthpiece. The instrument, like all pitched instruments, will
vibrate at certain frequencies depending on the length of the string
or tube. The musician controls and produces different pitches by
altering the length of the tube through valves, slides (in the
case of the trombone) and by placing the hand in the bell.
 The Horn
The horn is commonly regarded as the most difficult to play.
It has twelve feet of narrow tubing wound into a circle and has
the widest usable range, up to four octaves for a skilled player.
It is played by controlling lip tension and blowing air while the
left hand plays the valves and the right hand is inserted into
the bell. The first horns were made from the horns of animals and
were used during the hunt to give directions. Their sophisticated
descendants are still used during fox hunts to this day.
 The Trombone
Until the mid nineteenth century this instrument
was known as a sackbut, from the French verbs to push and pull.
The word “trombone” means
large trumpet, even though it differs from the trumpet in many
respects. Unlike the other brass instruments, it has no valves.
The player controls the pitch by means of a telescopic slide
to vary the length of the tube; consequently it can “slide” from
one note to another. Trombones were often used in the eighteenth
century to portray religious or supernatural effects. A good
example of this use can be heard in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Beethoven was the first major composer to include trombones in
his symphonic works, scoring for three trombones in his fifth
and ninth symphonies.
 The Trumpet
The trumpet is probably the most popular brass instrument
as well as the oldest. It can play very high notes, and the sound
can be changed by inserting a mute into the bell. From the early
sixteenth century, large European courts maintained corps of
trumpeters to announce the arrival of the monarch with a “fanfare” and
other purposes of heraldry. During the Baroque period the trumpet
was brought into prominence by J.S. Bach, who composed a great
deal of music for trumpet virtuoso Gottgried Reiche.
In the twentieth century the jazz styles of trombone and trumpet
playing began to influence other composers writing for brass instruments.
Trumpeter Louis Armstrong and trombonist Tommy Dorsey are two of
the jazz brass players whose astounding technical abilities helped
to raise the standards for all brass musicians.
This link from the Capistrano School will provide short excerpts
of
music representing the sounds of the instruments.
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