High Brass
By Cameron Shepherd and Jessica
Middleton
Trumpet: History
• One of the oldest
instruments
• First was a long tube
with no valves, used for
signaling in ancient
China, Egypt, and
Scandinavia
• By Roman times, used
for military ceremonies
Trumpet: History
• First musical use of the
Trumpet was in the late 14th
Century
• This is when it adopted the
folded form
• Late 1700’s, Trumpet
became part of the
Orchestra
• Valves were invented in 1815
Trumpet: Construction
• Total tube length approx. 1.4m (4 1/2 ft)
• Folded twice to a narrow rectangular shape about
14 inches long
• Cylindrical bore, with a flared bell
Trumpet: Construction
• Most trumpets are
made of brass
• Either lacquered or
plated with silver, nickel,
or, more rarely, gold
Trumpet: Construction
• Three valves, located in the center of the
instrument
• Valves vary the length of the instrument, making it
possible to access different registers and pitches
• Second Valve: Lowers pitch by 1 semitone
• First Valve: Lowers pitch by whole tone
• Third Valve: Lowers pitch by tone-and-a-half
• Analogy: Railway junction
Trumpet Mutes
• Mutes can be added to
the bell of the trumpet
to produce various
effects
• “Straight” mutes and
“Cup” mutes are the
most common
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Trumpet: Key and
Transposition
• The most common
trumpet is the B-flat
trumpet
• This means that if the
trumpet player plays a
“C” as it is notated in
their music, it would
sound a B-flat
• Trumpet music is
notated in the treble
clef
Other Kinds of Trumpets
• Piccolo Trumpet
• Half the length of a B-flat
trumpet
• An Octave Higher
•Four Valves - hard to play!
• Pocket Trumpet
•Same length of tubing as regular
trumpet, folded smaller than
piccolo trumpet
• Hard to have good intonation and
tone clarity
More Kinds of Trumpets
• Bass Trumpet
• Rotary-Valve Trumpet
• Invented by Richard Wagner
• Dark, mellow sound
• More similar to trombone sound
•Played with keys on the side instead of
facing upwards
Trumpet: Sound
Production
• The mouthpiece: a shallow cupped shape,
made of metal
• Sound produced by buzzing lips into
mouthpiece
• Resonates the air column, producing sound
Resources for
Introducing the Trumpet
• http://www.musicked.com
• http://www.instructorweb.com/music.asp
• To consider:
• Students must be able to support a trumpet and
manipulate three valves to be successful. Also,
they must be able to buzz their lips.
A 4 Minute Trumpet Lesson
Click Here
French Horn:
Construction
• Very Curly!
• Approximately 17ft. Worth of tubing in a single
horn
• Conical bore which flares into a 27 1/2 - 35cm bell
French Horn: History
• Developed in 1650 in France as a larger
version of smaller, circularly coiled horns
• Used primarily as a hunting horn
• Entered the orchestra in the early 1700’s,
could play 12 tones of the natural harmonic
series
French Horn: History
• Gained more flexibility around 1750 when the
technique of “hand stopping” was invented
• By placing the hand in the bell, a player can alter
pitch by as much as a whole tone
• The invention of valves in the early 19th
century revolutionized the horn, and led to
the horn we know today
Natural Harmonic Series
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
French Horn:
Construction
• French horns are
generally made of
brass, with a smaller,
more conical
mouthpiece than the
“cupped” mouthpiece of
the trumpet
French Horn:
Construction
• On a single, or “F”, horn, there are 3 valves
that allow the player to play chromatically
over 3 octaves, starting with the B below
bass clef
• A double horn, which plays in the keys of
both F and B-flat, also has a fourth valve
(often referred to as a “trigger”) which allows
the player to play on the B-flat tubing
French Horn: Key and
Transposition
• An typical horn is
pitched in F
• This means that when
the player plays a C, the
note that sounds is the F
below it
• In other words, the horn
sounds a perfect 5th
lower than what is
written
• A B-flat horn is pitched
in…B-flat!
• This means that when a
player plays a C, the note
that sounds is the B-flat
below it
• In other words, the B-flat
horn sounds a major
second lower than what
is written
French Horn: Sound
Production
• Very Similar to trumpet - buzz lips into
mouthpiece, which resonates air column
• Buzzing in a French Horn mouthpiece is different
from buzzing in a trumpet mouthpiece…lips must
be tighter and air must be more direct
Interesting Fact…
• Because the range of the horn is so wide with
the prominence of the double horn, most
professional players eventually find their
“niche” on their instrument and specialize in
either the upper or lower range
Resources for
Introducing the French
Horn
• http://www.frhorn.com
• http://www.hornplayer.net
• To Consider: Horn players must have above-average musical
aptitude, due to the fact that tuning is difficult, and a constant
responsibility. Also, the size of a students lips and hand/arm
dexterity must be considered.
The Wide Range of the French
Horn
Click Here
Trumpet Resources
• http://www.rit.edu/~mam5183/imm/project1/typesoftrump
ets.html
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=gUij8FCg0z8
• http://www.infovisual.info/04/036_en.html
• http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/the_orc
hestra/instruments/trumpets/
• http://www.geocities.com/bourbonstreet/square/6766/trum
pethistory.html
• http://www.oldbeads.com/china514.jpg
French Horn Resources
• http://www.hornplanet.com/hornpage/museum/history/hor
n_history2.html
• http://www.frhorn.com/
• http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/horn.html
• http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/th
e_orchestra/instruments/horns/
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=5XRkCfsiKlY