Original article: https://soundtrack.academy/brass-instruments/ Brass instruments are often seen as “loud” and “brassy” with their only purpose being marching or military use. That’s far from the truth, as brass instruments are capable of a whole range of tones; from warm, mellow horns to bright, brilliant trumpets. We’re going to explore the brass family in this article, looking at ranges, articulations, and common uses of each instrument. Get my FREE eBook, "The Media Scoring Guide": https://soundtrack.academy/ebook

1. Brass Instruments:
Orchestration

2. Brass Instruments
Brass instruments are often seen as “loud” and “brassy”
with their only purpose being marching or military use.
That’s far from the truth, as brass instruments are
capable of a whole range of tones; from warm, mellow
horns to bright, brilliant trumpets.
We’re going to explore the brass family in this
slideshare, looking at ranges, articulations, and common
uses of each instrument.

3. Brass Instruments
The four main instruments in the brass family are:
• Horns in F
• Trumpets in Bb or C
• Trombones
• Tubas

4. Brass Instruments
The brass section has appeared in an almost countless variety of
numbers over the history of the orchestra, but a fairly typical
modern orchestra might compose of:
• 4 horns
• 3 trumpets
• 3 trombones (or 2 tenor trombones + bass trombone)
• 1 tuba
Of course, that’s only a guideline and those number have been more
than tripled by some composers!

5. Brass Instruments
The brass section can easily overpower the entire orchestra, so
this needs to be borne in mind when orchestrating.
Good players (and conductors) are well aware of this, and know
that “fortissimo” written in the score often means “powerfully but
not full volume” – nevertheless, in order to keep samples sounding
realistic, or to make sure your a live performance of your piece
works, you should think carefully about balance across the
orchestra.
For example, in the loudest part of your piece, instead of having
the whole orchestra playing fortissimo for the whole passage
(meaning we’ll only really hear brass) consider having the brass
only play on accented notes as punctuation. That’s just one
solution!

6. Playing Technique

7. Embouchure
Brass instruments are played with a cone-shaped metal
mouthpiece.
The player essentially “blows raspberries” into the
mouthpiece causing the tubing of the instrument to
vibrate at different pitches.
That’s a real oversimplification, but gives you an idea!
For low notes, the player’s lips must be loose, and for
high notes they must be tight – extremely high notes
require real skill and strong facial muscles.

8. Mouthpiece
More than most other instruments, a lot of time is spent
by brass players searching for the perfect mouthpiece
that matches their personal lip shape.
In terms of mouthpiece design, the shallower the
“cup” (bit that it blown into) the more forceful the
sound will be, and the deeper the cup the more mellow it
will be.
That is why horns naturally sound so much softer than
trumpets.

9. Fundamentals & Harmonics
The different pitches at which the instrument vibrates
are the harmonics.
The fundamental tone is called the “pedal tone” on brass,
and isn’t always playable, and if it is it can sound
pretty awful.
So, the majority of the time players are actually playing
various harmonics of the series.

10. Fundamentals & Harmonics
Instruments that DO play the pedal tones are often call
“whole-tube” instruments, vs. “half-tube” for those that
only play harmonics.
If you imagine a brass instrument straightened out into
one long tube, the fundamental tone would be that tube
vibrating at its “natural” rate, and the harmonics are
the notes that ring out over the top.
By altering the speed at which the player’s lips are
vibrating, those harmonics can be emphasised to become
the main note instead.

11. Fundamentals & Harmonics
So, if the “pedal tone” (fundamental) is
C1 (MIDI octave), the notes available to
the player JUST by using their lips are:
• 1 – C1 (“pedal” tone)
• 2 – C2
• 3 – G2
• 4 – C3
• 5 – E3
• 6 – G3
• 7 – Bb3 (out of tune)
• 8 – C4
• 9 – D4
• 10 – E4
• 11 – F#4 (out of tune)
• 12 – G4
• 13 – A4 (out of tune)
• 14 – A#4 (out of tune)
• 15 – B4
• 16 – C5

12. Fundamentals & Harmonics
An interesting fact is that the diameter of the “tubing”
of the instrument doesn’t affect pitch at all.
Only the length affects the pitch.
However, the wider the diameter the easier it is to play
lower notes, and vice versa.

13. Fundamentals & Harmonics
It used to be that brass instruments were only tuned to
one single “fundamental” with “crooks” to change the
pitch of the instrument.
These crooks were essentially bits of extra tubing that
would be swapped on the instrument to change the overall
length of the tubing.
Basically, in order to change the pitch of your
instrument you needed to momentarily become a plumber!

14. Fundamentals & Harmonics
Of course, the trombone overcame that hurdle by adding a
sliding tube enabling the player to change the length of
the instrument almost instantaneously.
“Valves” were introduced to other brass instruments in
the mid-19th century, allowing them to change their
tuning instantly, minus the plumbing.
Basically, when a valve is pressed it redirects the flow
of air around the instrument, lengthening/shortening the
overall length of the tube.

15. Valves
There are two types of valve: piston and rotary. Piston
valves literally slide a “piston” with angled holes in
down the chamber to redirect the airflow.
Rotary valves have a drum wound with wire, and when the
valve is pressed it twists the drum, opening up a new
section of tubing for the air to flow around.
Valves are controlled with the right hand, with the
exception of the horn that uses the left hand.

16. Valves
The valves lower the pitch of the instrument as follows:

17. Valves
Technically speaking, a player could just use their lips to
move around the 12th-16th harmonics (as they are mostly
chromatic), but using different valve fingerings improves
intonation and can make articulations clearer. That said,
slurring between adjacent harmonics using just the lips gives
a smoother legato.
Due to the fact that instrumentalists are using pure skill
and experience to hit the correct harmonic, leaps can be
difficult, as well as stepwise legato where valves need to be
changed. The player has to simultaneously change valves AND
lip pressure to hit the exact harmonic, which is not easy!

18. Tonguing
Both soft and hard tonguing is available, including very
fast staccato tonguing.
However, lower registers won’t be as quick due to the
softer lips and larger mouthpiece.
That said, all instruments in the brass family are
capable of single, double, triple, and even flutter
tonguing – but super-fast bits should be left to the
trumpets (and cornets).

19. Breathing
Don’t forget that brass instruments require a LOT of
breath – particularly low brass.
If you’re working with sample libraries, think about
where the players will breath.
Long brass passages with no breathing space is a dead
giveaway of sample libraries; even an “untrained”
audience will subconsciously notice that something isn’t
right.

20. Mutes
There are a wide range of “mutes” available to brass
instruments.
Mutes are usually pushed into the bell of the instrument
and perform a variety of functions, from simply softening
the volume to completely altering the sound.
In orchestral music, it tends to only be the cone-mute
(or “straight” mute) that is used, that give a metallic,
oboe-esque ring to the brass instruments.

21. Mutes
Other mutes include:
• Cup – gives a more muffled, darker tone
• Solotone – emphasises treble frequencies
• Buzz-wah – gives a buzzy, kazoo-like sound
• Wah-wah – creates a very shallow/empty sound
• Bucket – soft, muffled tone
• Plunger – literally a rubber sink plunger without the handle. As it
isn’t actually pushed into the bell of the instrument, the sound can
be modified on-the-fly by the player creating some interesting
effects. Think of the iconic “Goldfinger” sound.

22. Stopping
Horn players often mute with their hands, called
“stopping.”
This is used both as a tone affect, to create a more
mellow tone, and also to help with tuning – shoving the
hand down the bell can change the pitch up a half-tone or
more.

23. Instrument Specifics & Ranges

24. Ranges
NOTE: When describing ranges I am using conventional MIDI
numbers to describe the octave, as opposed to the
traditional octave descriptions.
Therefore you should assume “Middle C” to be “C3”

25. Horns
The most common modern horn is the Horn in F, giving the most
versatile sound.
“Double horns” are also common. A double horn is literally that: two
horns in one – one in F for the lower register and one in Bb for the
higher register. They have two sets of tubing, selected via a thumb
switch.
The horn in F is a transposing instrument, sounding a fifth lower than
written, and it has a huge range, spanning from C1 to F5.
However, most sample libraries limit the top note to around F4.
On scores horns are usually written in two parts: Horns 1 & 2, and
Horn 3 & 4. Parts are written in treble or bass clef.

26. Horns - Stopping
On modern horns “stopped notes” (putting the hand down
the bell) can be used for effect, and tend to
be fully stopped (almost completely blocking the hole),
causing a muted, metallic sound.
This makes notes sound a half-tone higher, so some horns
have an extra valve (“stop” or “transposing” valve) to
correct the pitch.

27. Horns
• Horns are capable of glissandos across the harmonic
series (more effective in higher registers)
• Trills are possible, but certain intervals may be slow
• “Campana in Aria” means to point the bell of the
instrument in the air with the hand out of the bell.
Adds a new timbre to blasting passages.

28. Horns
Horns are incredibly versatile, capable of incredibly
beautiful, soft passages as well as thunderously
aggressive parts.
They can be used in solos, unison, and harmony.
That said, they aren’t hugely agile, so incredibly fast
passages are best avoided.

29. Horns
The mid-range of the horn is full-sounding, but the lower
and higher registers can sound weaker. In horn solos,
it’s best to double the horns on higher/lower notes.
Horns playing in octaves give a rich, full sound. They’re
often used as harmony instruments, as four horns in four
part harmony creates a wonderfully full backdrop to the
orchestra.

30. Horns
Importantly, due to their less “brassy” sound, horns are
often used to link the brass section to the woodwinds –
they combine better with other orchestral instruments
than the rest of the brass section.

31. Trumpets
The most common modern trumpet is the trumpet in Bb,
sounding a tone below written.
Its range is E2 to around C5 at the very top of the
range, but most sample libraries will limit the top note
to around E5.
Bear in mind that tone quality in the top range will
depend highly on the players’ ability.
It’s safest to keep melodies between C3 and G4. Trumpet
parts are written in treble clef.

32. Trumpets
• Mutes for trumpets give a really piercing sound in
louder dynamics, can also give a hollow/echoey sound
if used softly
• Tonguing is sharper and more direct than on horn
• Trills are generally quick
• Not very good at blending with other instrument
sections (except when muted)

33. Cornet
As standard, the Cornet also in Bb and like the trumpet
it is incredibly agile.
However, unlike the trumpet, its tone allows it to blend
a bit better with other instrument families – it has a
slightly warmer tone, like a blend between trumpets and
horns.

34. Trombone
The trombone has barely changed since its beginnings as a “Sackbut” almost
600 years ago.
It has a “slide” instead of valves, allowing finer adjustment of intonation,
and is tuned to concert pitch.
Parts are written in bass clef (or tenor clef for extended higher passages).
The tone of the trombone is slightly harder than the horn, but generally
soft across its range.
Higher notes are brighter and realistically cannot be played quieter than
mezzoforte, and low notes can be very brassy and aggressive if played
loudly.
The trombone section alone could easily overpower the entire orchestra.

35. Trombone
The range of the trombone is E1 to F4, but sample
libraries often limit the top to C4.
Many libraries also combine the bass trombone with the
tenor trombone, so lower nots (down to Bb0) are
available.
The range of the bass trombone is usually Bb0 to F4.

36. Trombone
• Even in legato passages trombones are usually gently tongued to
avoid “sliding” between notes
• Trombones require a lot of wind, so phrasing should be planned
around frequent breaths
• Trills are only available with lip trills in one position –
something to bear in mind when working with sample libraries,
particularly if the piece will later be played on live instruments
• Glissandos can be done up to a maximum of an augmented fourth,
depending on the start/end note, using the slide. Alternatively,
lip glissandos can be done, like the horn.
• Muted trombone is not as piercing as trumpets, and can be really
sinister in the low range

37. Trombone
Trombones are usually used in 3-part harmony, and often
combined with the horns.
Both close and open voicings work on the trombone.
Another common usage is to combine them with the tuba in
either 4-part harmony, or bass trombone doubled with
tuba.
Solo trombone is not very common, with melody passages
usually either tutti or in octaves (2 on the main note,
one an octave below).

38. Tuba
The more common varieties include:
• Euphonium/tenor tuba in Bb
◦ Range:
▪ Pedal notes: F0 to Bb0
▪ Harmonics: Bb1 to Bb3
• Bass Tuba in F (probably the most common)
◦ Range:
▪ Pedal notes: D0 to F0
▪ Harmonics: D1-G3
• Bass Tuba in Eb:
◦ Heavier tone than F tuba
◦ Range:
▪ Pedal notes: D0 to Eb0
▪ Harmonics: Eb1 to F1
• Bass Tuba in C
◦ Range D0 to D3
• Contrabass Bb Tuba:
◦ Range: D0 to Bb2
There are many different types of tuba, used for different purposes.
Wagner wanted to create full sections (e.g. a treble, tenor, and bass part) per brass instrument
family, and so there is also a “Wagner Tuba” that is more similar to a horn.

39. Tuba
• Tubas often have a 4th, 5th, or even 6th valve played with the left
hand to extend the bottom range and provide alternate fingering to
help with intonation problems, which are more pronounced in the
lower ranges of brass.
• Lips are usually very soft, meaning lots of air required – often
one breath per note!
• The tone of the tuba is rounded and smooth, closer to the horn than
the trumpet. The high register can sound “shouty” and low staccato
can sound like double bass pizzicato
• Muted tuba is generally just quieter, but muffled and strained in
the higher register
• Trills are easy, but not often used as they sound muddy so low down

40. Tuba
Other than phrases needing to be limited in length, tubas are
very agile, able to perform fast passages and large leaps with
ease.
Most commonly, tubas are used to double other bass instruments
to give stability – either in unison or an octave below.
They’re also used alongside the trombones, as mentioned above,
and also used with the woodwinds to support the low end.
It’s not uncommon for tuba players to swap instruments mid
piece, particularly for solo sections – so if you ever write
for solo tuba, consider exactly which tuba you are writing for.

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