Category:Brass

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments".

There are several factors involved in producing different pitches on a brass instrument: One is alteration of the player's lip tension (or "embouchure"), and another is air flow. Also, slides (or valves) are used to change the length of the tubing, thus changing the harmonic series presented by the instrument to the player.

The view of most scholars (see organology) is that the term "brass instrument" should be defined by the way the sound is made, as above, and not by whether the instrument is actually made of brass. Thus one finds brass instruments made of wood, like the alphorn, the cornett, the serpent and the didgeridoo, while some woodwind instruments are made of brass, like the saxophone.

Because the player of a brass instrument has direct control of the prime vibrator (the lips), brass instruments exploit the player's ability to select the harmonic at which the instrument's column of air will vibrate. By making the instrument about twice as long as the equivalent woodwind instrument and starting with the second harmonic, players can get a good range of notes simply by varying the tension of their lips (see embouchure).

Most brass instruments are fitted with a removable mouthpiece. Different shapes, sizes and styles of mouthpiece may be used to suit different embouchures, or to more easily produce certain tonal characteristics. Trumpets, trombones, and tubas are characteristically fitted with a cupped mouthpiece, while horns are fitted with a conical mouthpiece.

One interesting difference between a woodwind instrument and a brass instrument is that woodwind instruments are non-directional. This means that the sound produced propagates in all directions with approximately equal volume. Brass instruments, on the other hand, are highly directional, with most of the sound produced traveling straight outward from the bell. This difference makes it significantly more difficult to record a brass instrument accurately. It also plays a major role in some performance situations, such as in marching bands.

Ensembles
Brass instruments are one of the major classical instrument families and are played across a range of musical ensembles.

Orchestras include a varying number of brass instruments depending on music style and era, typically:
 * Classical symphony orchestra:
 * two to five trumpets
 * two to eight horns
 * two tenor trombones
 * one bass trombone
 * one tuba
 * Baroque orchestras may include valveless trumpets or bugles, or trumpets/cornets playing these parts.
 * Romantic, modern, and contemporary orchestras may include larger numbers of brass including more exotic instruments.
 * British brass bands are made entirely up of brass, mostly conical bore instruments. Typical membership is:
 * one soprano cornet
 * five to ten cornets
 * one flugelhorn
 * three to five tenor horns (alto horns)
 * two baritones
 * two to three tenor trombones
 * one bass trombone
 * two euphoniums
 * two E♭ tubas
 * two B♭ tubas
 * quintets are common small brass ensembles, a quintet typically contains:
 * two trumpets
 * one horn
 * one trombone
 * one tuba or bass trombone
 * A Big band typically includes:
 * three to five trumpets
 * three or four tenor trombones and sometimes a bass trombone
 * Smaller jazz ensembles may include a single trumpet or trombone soloist.
 * Concert bands have similar brass instrumentation to an orchestra, typically:
 * two to four trumpets or cornets
 * two to four horns
 * two to three tenor trombones (and occasionally an additional bass trombone)
 * one or two baritones or euphoniums
 * one or two tubas
 * Mexican Bandas have:
 * three trumpets
 * three trombones
 * two alto horns, also called "charchetas" and "saxores"
 * one sousaphone, called "tuba"
 * Single brass instruments are also often used to accompany other instruments or ensembles such as an organ, or a choir.