WEBVTT

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You

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The sound of the orchestra is the sound of many instruments playing together.

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The sound of the band is also a combination of many sounds.

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Near the back of an orchestra or band is the brass section that produces some of the most brilliant and dramatic sounds.

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These instruments are called brasses because they're usually made of brass.

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They have many different sizes and shapes and sounds.

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The two smallest instruments are the cornet and the trumpet.

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From the trumpet we can learn something about all the instruments of the brass section.

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The sound of the trumpet, like the sound of all the brasses, begins at the musician's lips.

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He makes them buzz.

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He does this into the trumpet's mouthpiece.

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The mouthpiece is put on the trumpet.

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You can see how easy it is to make a sound on a brass instrument.

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By pushing down on these valves, the pitch of the notes is changed.

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The pitch is changed by the little tubes called valve slides.

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Let's suppose we could straighten out the trumpet into one long tube with the three valve slides attached to it.

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Now only the long tube is being used to make the sound.

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When you push down the second valve, the valve slide under it is added to the trumpet tube.

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Now the tube making the sound is longer, and the pitch is one half step lower than it was.

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This valve slide is twice as long, so it lowers the pitch two half steps when you add it to the tube.

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This one is three times as long as the first one, so it lowers the pitch three half steps.

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And by pushing down several valves at a time, many different notes are possible.

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The longer the amount of tubing that you add, the lower the note will be.

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This is the way all the instruments in the brass section work.

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The trumpet is important in both band and orchestra.

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The cornet is played in the same way and sounds almost the same.

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The cornet is mostly a band instrument, and it's an excellent instrument for a beginner.

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This is a French horn.

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The horn is the only brass that is fingered with the left hand.

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But you don't have to be left handed to play one.

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Down at the end, or bell of the horn, the musician's right hand steadies the horn, and it's there for another purpose too.

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Listen.

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Sometimes we say that his hand darkens the tone color.

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His hand can soften the sound too.

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The musician learns that his right hand and the bell has several uses in playing the horn.

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Here is a trombone.

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The sound is made in the same way as on the other brass instruments, but look, there aren't any valves.

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How do you get different notes on the trombone?

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By moving the slide, which changes the length of the tubing.

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With the mute, you can soften and change the tone quality.

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This is the tenor trombone.

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There is extra tubing in the bass trombone, so it can play considerably lower sounds.

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Trombones are important in both bands and orchestras.

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The baritone is chiefly a band instrument.

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The bell may tilt forward, or it may point straight up.

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The trombone plays the trombone.

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This kind of tuba is called a sousaphone.

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It's easier to carry when the band is marching than the upright tuba.

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Tubas are the foundation of the brass section.

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Remember the instruments you've seen and heard?

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The trumpet.

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The cornet.

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The horn.

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The trombone.

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The baritone.

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And the tuba.

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These are instruments of the brass section.

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The brasses are important to the orchestra, where their sounds add brilliance to the sound of the full orchestra.

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In the same way, the brasses are important to the full sound of the band.

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The trumpet.

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The trumpet.