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Yes, a brass group of instruments. These are those shiny pipes filled with air that you control by buzzing your lips into the mouthpiece like this. Oh. Sounds better when plugged in. In an orchestra, these are bright, dynamic instruments that can really grab your attention. The Copper Band is the last place you would go looking for a lullaby. Let's get acquainted with the trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba. Whereas woodwinds require all your fingers, this trumpet requires a lot of air, strong lips, and three fingers-and you're already playing in a brass band. So, a brass quartet. This is so cool. We have four different
brass instruments. I would appreciate it if each of you would take a few seconds and tell us a little about your instrument. Okay, pipe. So, it's a pipe, as you just said. And this is the mouthpiece. The sound travels through the tube to the valves, where you can change the notes. It then passes through the main channel and exits through a bell, which helps direct the sound. Let's listen to your scale. And we see that you produce all these different notes with just three pistons. Great.
Oho. Tell us about your instrument. It is a little more complicated than a pipe. This is a French horn. This is the middle voice in the brass band. When I play, I put my hand in the bell. This helps to change the pitch of the sound and make it clearer. Hey, I'm really curious why each of you chose to play your particular instrument. My school program has a "trial orchestra" in sixth grade. When you join an orchestra, everyone tries to play different instruments. And I was the only one all evening who could get a sound out of it. So after that they told me, "You have to play the French horn." I replied, "Well, I guess I will." Just play me a major scale. This is brilliant, but something even more brilliant is a simple backstage that always puts you in complete
control. What's wrong with their trombone? So, this is a trombone. This is, as we like to joke, a bunch of PVC pipes. You hum into the mouthpiece and the sound goes through the wings. And when you extend the slide, the instrument becomes longer and the note changes. And now you have the largest brass instrument. Tell us about the tuba. Yes. So, the tuba, although it is the largest representative of the brass family, is actually the youngest. The first tuba was created around 1835, which makes it old, but relatively young for brass instruments. Um, there are different types of tubes. So, this is a tuba in the key of C. It is in the key of C, has four upper pistons that can be pressed with four fingers, as well as a rotary valve under the thumb, which is
also called a trigger. But my trigger is a little different from what you see on a French horn, because it only lowers the pitch by a whole tone, and doesn't change the entire tuning system of my instrument. Very smart. Well, let's talk about what shapes the character of music. What exactly affects the difference in sound? They are made of different materials, which is one of the factors that helps change the vibration of the instrument. Another thing that is often changed is the mouthpiece you use. So, you choose a mouthpiece. I think you can all choose a mouthpiece depending on what you're going to play and what sound you want. Regarding the trombone, what is your opinion on how the sound can change
through the mouthpiece? There are many different sizes for the trombone. They range from almost trumpet-like in size to almost tuba-like in size. So larger mouthpiece sizes usually mean you'll have a more open, much warmer sound, and it's much easier to play low notes, just be freer in your playing. I have a horn here. This is probably the simplest tool we have right now. Can you do something similar with your lips without using the pistons on the tube? Wow, you need to hear this to play it straight, don't you?
Yes. That's the hardest thing for me on the horn, because if I don't imagine the melody. You see, it was sloppy. Try again, because you can imagine it and you will succeed. You will cope. In brass instruments, where the thought goes, the lips go. Oh, yes. So part of your playing is thinking about the music you want to express and then translating that through the vibration of your lips into a physical instrument. I wonder what you do when you play and hum, and after half an hour, a little saliva builds up inside the instrument, right? Do you have a So the main valve is here, but there's also an additional one right here. In addition, there are these
backstages that don't have valves for draining condensate, but you can remove them and shake out the water. All wind instruments require air to be blown into the tubes, but it is the design of these tubes that shapes the timbre, and their length determines the pitch. To make this musical tunnel of air longer or shorter in trumpets, horns, and tubas, you use your fingers on the valves. And for the trombone you use a backstage. And yes, thanks to the water drain valve, the sound won't be like you're playing through a breathing tube. Wind instruments can be very loud and powerful, and it all starts here, with the vibration of the lips. So let's listen to the piece performed by our brass band.
It's clear that when you need a fanfare for a king, to inspire your compatriots or cheer on your team, when you want to make a loud statement about yourself- wind instruments are the best fit. Composers use them to immortalize a story, add drama, or build a musical story plot with a climax. They add strength to the orchestra. If you want to make a statement, there's only one way to do it- with wind instruments.
