Instruments and Sound Technique THE BRASS FAMILY Instruments and Sound Technique

Instruments Some of the instruments that belong to the brass family are…

Trumpet

French horn

Trombone

Baritone

Sousaphone

Tuba

These instruments are all made of brass.

Most of the brass instruments have a lot of tubing that is curled up Most of the brass instruments have a lot of tubing that is curled up. Always consider that the more tubing the instrument has, the lower the sound will be. The instrument with the longest length of tubing (the Tuba) plays the lowest notes.

Proper Technique and Embouchure A players embouchure refers to the entire oral mechanism of lips, lower facial muscles and the jaw. A brass player will have to learn how to adjust their embouchure to create different pitches.

The player sends air through the tube of the instrument by their tightly stretched lips. Think of stretching the end of a balloon as it has been filled with air and then releasing it – that sometimes annoying sound or “buzzing” is exactly what you want to imitate!

The player changes the pitch in the following ways: by varying the embouchure, his/her lip pressure and breath, and by mechanical means such as a slide (Trombone) or valve (Trumpet, Baritone, etc.).

Tuning A Brass player must know what sound to make before the note is played – if you can sing to the melody or “in tune”, you probably have a good ear and will be able to match pitch.

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