Brass Instruments Facts & Worksheets

Have you ever watched or heard an orchestra play? Among the instruments, the loudest you can hear in an orchestra belongs to the family of brass instruments. These instruments were originally made of wood, animal horns, shells, or tusks. Now, they are mostly made of brass.

See the fact file below for more information on Brass Instruments, or you can download our 29-page Brass Instruments worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

WHAT IS A BRASS INSTRUMENT?

• A brass instrument is a type of musical instrument made of curved tubes of brass, such as trumpets, tubas, French horns, and trombones.
• It is characterized by a long cylindrical or conical metal tube that is usually curved two or more times and ends in a flared bell.
• Brass instruments are also known as labrosones or labrophones from the Latin and Greek words that mean lip and sound.
• Brass instruments produce sound by the player’s lips blowing against a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece, and this causes the air in the instrument to vibrate.
• The player can produce all the tones or pitches within the instrument’s range by adjusting parts such as the valve and slides.
• Brass instruments use valves or slides to change tones into a harmonic series while the player blows into the mouthpiece.
• A valve is a button-like shape that is attached to the pipe. 
• The valves redirect the air into shorter or longer routes by pressing into them to divert the air stream by opening or closing the different parts of the pipe, which makes the pitch go up and down. 
• To adjust the notes through the slides, move the tube’s length by pulling it in or out to make it longer or shorter.
• If the slide is pulled out and becomes longer, the pitch is flattened.
• If it is pulled in and becomes shorter, it becomes sharper.
• Usually, slides are found in trombones.
• The player can also change the instrument’s pitch by making their lips tighter or looser.

BRIEF HISTORY OF BRASS INSTRUMENTS

• During the Renaissance, trumpets and horns existed but were only functional, non-musical instruments.
• Brass instruments were used to communicate a message rather than to produce music. 
• They were made from wood, bone, and animal horns (either straight or curved open horns). 
• The trumpet was used to signal heralding, while the horn was for hunting, allowing communication with people further away.
• The Brass instruments existed during the earliest cultures of Egypt, India, New Guinea, Brazil, and Australia.
• The first trumpet was documented in the 10th century BCE and is called Shofar, an ancient Hebrew instrument made from a ram’s horn. 
• It is still used in Jewish ceremonies today.
• Another one is called Didgeridoo, which is thousands of years old and is still popular among Aborigines in Australia.
• In 1400-1600, during the Renaissance period, brass instruments started to develop into musical instruments that are familiar to most people today. 
• In the early 15th century, curved trumpets evolved, followed by the folded and slide trumpets. 
• The trombone was developed from the slide trumpet around 1450 century and was known as sackbut.
• At the end of 1500, people began to use brass instruments, particularly the sackbut, as a musical instrument and mixed ensembles. An Italian composer named Giovanni Gabrieli, an organist at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, composed the earliest known piece, Sonata pian’ e forte, for specific brass instruments in 1597.
• In the 17th century, brass instruments began to be used more extensively as ensemble instruments. 
• Most were used in outdoor performances, such as a supportive voice in church choirs. 
• Sackbut was frequently used in various court ensembles and municipal bands. 
• The trombone was developed in a vocal-like playing style to contrast the period’s fanfare trumpet style.
• The first solo alto trombone pieces were written in the mid-18th century by Leopold Mozart, Christoph Wagenseil, Michael Haydn, and Johann Albrechtsberger. 
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute are the most famous examples. 
• During the 18th century, the horn evolved as a musical instrument. In the 1700s, a Viennese instrument maker named Michael Leichnam Schneider began to put terminal crooks on horns to play them in different keys. The first significant horn concerto was in 1762, written by Franz Joseph Haydn.
• The most significant period for brass instruments was in the 19th century, with their development and modernization.
• It was in the 20th century that many variations of the standard brass instruments were made. 
• Improved instrument design and many variations on the quality of brass instruments and the development of musicians through increased technical and musical ability made it possible for the trumpet, trombone, horn, euphonium, and tuba to become standard parts of the orchestra.

FAMILY OF BRASS INSTRUMENTS

• There are several families of brass instruments. These are the most commonly used instruments in orchestras:

Trumpet

• History records that a trumpet was used to sound arms and gather people together, as a call to war, and to add radiance to a music parade.
• Trumpets are the smallest member of the brass family and have the highest pitches with bright and vibrant sounds.
• Trumpeters are individualists but can also get along with others.
• The instrument has a slender brass pipe with three attached valves, which are curved and bent into loops. 
• Valves are pressed with the fingers and are called piston valves.
• Trumpets use valves to create sound. 
• It is played by holding it horizontally, blowing into the mouthpiece, and pressing down the three valves in different combinations to change pitch. 
• The age recommended to start playing the trumpet is at 8-years-old and above.

Trombone

• The trombone is the only instrument in the brass family that uses the slide only, with no valves, to alter the pitch.
• It is made of long thin brass pipes, with the two U-shaped pipes linked at the opposite ends to form an S.
• The trombone is usually played in jazz, orchestras, and concert bands.
• The trombone has a slide that extends beyond the trombone’s bell. 
• Its slide would be about 9 feet long if stretched out straight.
• It is played by holding it horizontally, blowing into the mouthpiece, and changing the pitch by pushing or pulling the slide with the right hand.

Horn (French Horn)

• This instrument from France came from the French hunting horn in the 1600s.
• It produces a diverse sound ranging from very loud to very soft.
• Its structure consists of 18 feet of tubing rolled up into a circular shape with a large bell at its end.
• French horns are ideal for warm and rich musical tone lovers.
• The French horn has rotary valves instead of piston valves.
• There are double and single French horns; their difference is whether there are one or two sets of tubing on the horn.
• It is played by holding it with the bell curving downward and blowing into the mouthpiece. 
• The three valves are played with the left hand, and the character of the sound can be changed by how the right hand is placed into the bell.

Tuba and Euphonium

• Euphonium is the second-largest, while Tuba is the largest in the Brass family.
• Euphonium uses piston valves and is sometimes called the baritone or baritone horn.
• The tuba and euphonium are made from long metal tubes, curved into an oblong shape with a large bell at the end.
• Tuba is the lowest brass instrument with a deep and rich sound.
• It anchors the harmony of the whole orchestra. 
• Tubas range from 9 to 18 feet long; the longer they are, the lower the sound they create.
• To play the tuba and euphonium, the musician must sit with the instrument on the lap while the bell faces up. 
• Players blow into the large mouthpiece and use their fingers to press down on the valves to change the pitch.

FAMOUS BRASS PLAYERS

BOBBY HACKETT

• He was considered the best jazz cornetist of his time. 
• He was known as the perfect soloist during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

• At around 1930, Louis Armstrong replaced his cornet with a trumpet and often played very high notes, hitting the C note. 
• He is famous for playing songs like Hello Dolly, Wonderful World, and Uncle Satchmo’s Lullaby.

MILES DAVIS

• He was one of the most influential and innovative jazz musicians of the 20th century. 
• Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player, composer, and bandleader. 
• He was famous for his sensitive harmonic tone.

BOBAN MARKOVIĆ

• Boban Marković won the “Golden Trumpet” several times at the legendary Serbian trumpet festival at Guča. 
• The festival welcomed more than 500,000 spectators last 2009.

ROGER BOBO

• Roger Bobo was a brass legend, most famous tuba player, virtuoso soloist, and a world-famous teacher. 
• He was born in Los Angeles, California, and has traveled the world as a brass musician and pedagogue.

Brass Instruments Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Brass Instruments 29 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Brass Instruments. Among the instruments, the loudest you can hear in an orchestra belongs to the family of brass instruments.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Brass Instruments Facts
2. Adjusting Your Brass
3. Is It Right?
4. All About That Brass
5. The Brass and Nots
6. Sounds Like
7. From What Family Are You?
8. Well Played
9. Trombone’s Body
10. The Orchestra
11. If I Could Be…

Frequently Asked Questions

What are brass instruments made of?

Brass instruments are made primarily of brass, a metal alloy composed of copper and zinc. The proportions of these metals can vary, giving each instrument a unique tone and characteristics. The tubing of the instrument is usually coiled or shaped to create the desired instrument, such as trumpets, trombones, French horns, and tubas.

How do brass instruments produce sound?

Brass instruments produce sound through the vibration of the player’s lips against the mouthpiece. When the player blows air into the instrument and tightens or loosens their lips, the air causes the lips to vibrate. This creates sound waves that resonate through the instrument’s tubing, producing the distinct brass sound.

What is the difference between valves and slides in brass instruments?

Brass instruments use either valves or slides to change the length of tubing and alter the pitch of the instrument. Trumpets and cornets, for example, have valves that redirect the airflow through additional lengths of tubing. This changes the effective length of the instrument and allows the player to play different notes. Trombones, on the other hand, use a slide to extend or shorten the tubing, changing the pitch as the player moves the slide in and out.

What are the main members of the brass instrument family?

The main members of the brass instrument family include:

• Trumpet
• Trombone
• French Horn (often simply called horn)
• Tuba
• Cornet
• Euphonium
• Baritone
• Flugelhorn

What are some famous classical pieces featuring brass instruments?

Brass instruments play a significant role in classical music. Some famous pieces featuring brass instruments include:

• “Ride of the Valkyries” from Wagner’s “Die Walküre”
• “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland
• “Symphony No. 9” (Eroica) by Beethoven (which includes French horn solos)
• “Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra” by Haydn
• “Symphony No. 5” by Mahler (which features a prominent trombone solo)

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