The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched instrument of the brass family. It is also the most recent addition to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th-century. Orchestras usually have a single tuba and it is the principal bass instrument in symphonic and military bands. It is often played to reinforce the bass voices of strings and woodwinds, as well as a solo instrument, and are used in concert bands, marching bands, drum and bugle corps, jazz bands, and orchestras. A tuba can be played either sitting down or standing and when in American marching bands, wraps around the body and is called a sousaphone after American bandmaster and composer, John Philip Sousa, requested its more comfortable and mobile design for his marching band tuba players in the 1890s.
Nearly all trombones have a telescoping slide mechanism that changes the length of the instrument to vary its pitch. A variety of mutes can be used with the instrument to alter its timbre; many are held in place with the use of grips and others fit over the horn like a bucket. Additionally, mutes can be held in front of horn, called a bell, and moved back and forth to create a “wah-wah” effect, the familiar sound of adult conversation in the Peanuts cartoon with Charlie Brown. The trombone can be found in wind ensembles, concert bands, symphony orchestras, marching bands, military bands, chamber music, brass bands, and brass choirs which can number from five to more than twenty members.
One of the oldest musical instruments dating back to 1500 BC, the trumpet has the highest register in the brass family. The instrument is played by closing one’s lips and blowing air to produce a buzzing sound. Primarily made of brass these days, through history trumpets have been made of bronze and silver in Egypt, Scandinavia, Peru, and Central Asia. Trumpet players were often among the most prized members of a troop as they were responsible for relaying military instructions to other sections of an army. Today, the trumpet can be heard in classical music, jazz, big band, and pop. Its repertoire consists of solo pieces, ensembles, orchestra, and band parts. Played around the world the trumpet is often associated with its most notable players, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis.
Originally played by blowing on the actual horns of animals, today the French horn is an orchestral instrument made of over 12 feet of brass tubing and wrapped into a series of complex coils flaring out into what’s called a bell. Musicians of the French horn are known as horn players. Sound is played by buzzing through one’s closed lips, and pitch is controlled through adjusting one’s lip tension in the mouthpiece and operating 3 valves with the left hand to control the flow of air. The French horn is the third highest sounding instrument in the brass family, below the trumpet and the cornet and is often utilized in school bands and orchestras. It is commonly played in chamber music and as part of an orchestra.
