Page 58 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

Figure 3.5
Members of the Canadian Brass, with the French horn player at the left and the tuba player at the right
listen to . . . the trumpet and a muted trumpet streaming online.
listen to . . . the trombone streaming online.
listen to . . . the French horn streaming online.
listen to . . . the tuba streaming online.
Brasses
Like the woodwind and string groups of the orchestra, the brass family consists of four primary instruments: trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba (Figure 3.5). Brass players use no reeds, but instead blow into their instruments through a cup-shaped mouthpiece (Figure 3.6). By adjusting valves or moving a slide, the performer can make the length of pipe on the instrument longer or shorter, and hence the pitch lower or higher.
Everyone has heard the high, bright, cutting sound of the trumpet. Whether in a football stadium or an or- chestral hall, the trumpet is an excellent solo instrument because of its agility and penetrating tone. Sometimes the trumpeter is required to play with a mute (a plug placed in the bell of the instrument) to lessen its pierc- ing sound.
Although distantly related to the trumpet, the trombone (Italian for “large trumpet”) plays in the middle range of the brass family. Its sound is large and full. Most impor- tant, the trombone is the only brass instrument to generate sounds by mov- ing a slide in and out to produce higher or lower pitches. Needless to say, the trombone can easily slide from pitch to pitch, sometimes for comical
effect.
The French horn (originally just called “horn”) was the first brass instru-
ment to join the orchestra, back in the late seventeenth century. Because the French horn, like the trombone, sounds in the middle range of the brasses, these two instruments are often almost impossible to distinguish. The French horn, however, has a slightly mellower, more “veiled” sound than does the clearer, “in your face” trombone.
The tuba is the largest and lowest-sounding of the brass instruments. It pro- duces a full, though sometimes muffled, tone in its lowest notes. Like the double bass of the violin group, the tuba is most often used to set a base, or foundation, for the melody.
Percussion
Want to make your own percussion instrument? Just find a metal trash can and strike its side with your hand. Percussion instruments are simply resonating objects that sound when hit or scraped with an implement in one fashion or another. Some percussion instruments, like the timpani (kettledrums), pro- duce a specific pitch, while others generate sound that, while rhythmically precise, has no recognizable musical pitch. It is the job of the percussion instruments to sharpen the rhythmic contour of the music. They can also add density to the sounds of other instruments and, when played loudly, can heighten the sense of climax in a piece. Percussion instruments work well outdoors, and they never need amplification!
Figure 3.6
Three mouthpieces for brass instruments
36 chapter three color, texture, and form
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Photograph by Martin Reichenthal courtesy of Opening Day Entertainment for the Canadian Brass ©