The Brass Family

December 7, 20044th Grade General Music

Mandy Kibler

Groups of Instruments

BrassWoodwindsStringsPercussion

The Brass Family

These instruments are usually made out of brass, although they can be made out of wood, horn, and shell

Brass instruments are really just long metal tubes that flare at the end; they are bent and folded into compact shapes so they can be played more easily

Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba

What Brass Instruments Have in Common

All brass instruments have a mouthpiece that you blow air, or “buzz,” into

They all have flared bells at the end that project the sound

The trumpet, french horn, euphonium, and tuba use valves to change pitch, but the trombone uses a slide

Trumpet

The trumpet can be traced back to Egypt and Greece, but the trumpet as we know it today evolved in the 1800s

Its loud, clear sound has been used to send signals and messages

The trumpet is the highest-sounding instrument in the brass family

Trumpet

To change the pitch, you press the valves

Until valves were added to the trumpet in the 1800s, trumpet players could only change pitch by varying the shape of the lips on the mouthpiece; valves make it so much easier!

Important Parts of

the Trumpet:

French Horn

The very first french horns were made from the horns of animals

The french horn has a sound that can be heard from a far distance, and they were first used for hunting calls

The horn has the biggest range of all the brass instruments

The horn has a slightly lower sound than the trumpet and slightly higher than the trombone

French Horn

The horn is wound in a circle and flares out with a large bell

The valves and extra tubing are in the center of the horn

The left hand works the valves, and the right hand goes inside the bell

Important Parts of the Horn:

Trombone

Trombones were invented around 1400, as an improvement on the trumpet; back then, trumpets didn’t have valves, so a slide was a big improvement

The trombone forms the middle of the brass family

Its sound is between the trumpet and horns on top, and the low tubas below

Trombone

Instead of having valves like a trumpet or horn, the trombone uses a slide, which is about 2 feet long

To change the pitch, you push or pull on the slide

You can play one pitch at a time, or you can slowly change pitch by blowing as you move the slide

Important Parts of the Trombone:

Euphonium

The euphonium was invented in 1843

The euphonium has the same range as the trombone

While the rest of the brass instruments are used in the orchestra, there are only around 20 pieces that include the euphonium

Euphonium

Important Parts of the Euphonium:

1) Mouthpiece 2) Main tube 3) Bell 6) 1st, 2nd, 3rd valves 15) 4th valve 8) Main tuning slide 10) 1st valve slide 11) 2nd valve slide 9) 3rd valve slide

Tuba

The tuba is the largest member of the brass family

It has the lowest sound The tuba is also the

youngest brass instrument; it was first used in military bands

The tuba is very important because it keeps the band or orchestra together with its bass line

Tuba

The tuba has a very wide range and can, in fact, play very fast

Like the trumpet, horn, and euphonium, the tuba uses valves to change pitch

Important Parts of

the Tuba

It’s Quiz Time!!

Name this instrument:

Name this instrument:

Name this instrument:

Name this instrument:

References

www.playmusic.org/brass.html