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Basics

-Brass: The brass instrument family is comprised of those instruments constructed on a tube
which would have a bell on one side and a mouthpiece on the other. Sound is produced by a
vibration of a persons lips when pressed into a mouthpiece. Acoustically open tube instrument.
-Overtone series: first 16 partials (C, C, G, C, E, G, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G, A, Bb, B, C)
-the longer the tube, the lower the fundamental (first partial)
-The first overtone=second partial
-mouthpiece=pitched more accurate and easier
-funnel/bell=amplifies sound and improves tone
-no brass instrument will ever be completely in tune
-All brass can get the partials, starting at different notes depending on the instrument
-valves and slides fill in the gaps between partials
-three valves (each one brings down the pitch by one half step)=7 possible lengths
-7 half steps are enough to fill in the gaps between overtones (which is why trombone slides
have 7 positions
-sound is created when lips vibrate on mouthpiece
-pitch is created by how fast the lips vibrate
-256=middle C
-faster air=louder tone
History
-trumpet=conch shell, long silver ones in Egypt, etc
-trumpets were used to military stuff, not for music
-baroque period-brass for music!
-finally valves are created and so other pitches can happen
-trombone=sackbut
-used to double vocal lines
-only brass instrument at the time that was chromatic
-horn--could do harmonic lower neighbors by placing hand in the bell
Breathing
-good posture, string through head and body from ceiling
-roll shoulders, then squeeze shoulder blades. Shoulders should be back and down so chest
can be open
-when standing, feet comfortably apart, weight evenly distributed
-instrument to player, not player to instrument
-relax, tension is bad
-breath in through your mouth with an open throat (HOH sound). Shoulders dont rise. Should fill
lungs from the bottom up.
-do this multiple times to feel what full capacity feels like
-breathe around the mouthpiece, dont breathe into the mouthpiece and dont move your face
away (unless tuba, then move your lower lip away)
-exhale--relax, release warm moist air, focus air into a tight stream, avoid tension, practice
varying air flow

-diaphragm moves down during inhale, and relaxes during exhale


-inhale, then immediate exhale. Dont hold in breath.
Embouchure
-lips, chin, cheek, mouth, tensed in a cooperative manner
-trumpet: upper, lower
-horn: upper, lower
-trombone: 50/50, or upper lower
-lips together, relaxed, like an m; mouthpiece lightly on lips; smile just a tiny bit; flatten chin,
corners of mouth down a bit; take a proper breath; maintain firmness and blow small stream of
air, buzz, any pitch.
-BAD: too much/too little mouthpiece pressure, improper mouthpiece placement (too up down
left right), vibrating soft or inner parts of lip, air pockets (upper lip, lower lip, puffy cheeks),
closing aperture (hole that allows stream of air) resulting in no sound
-Wet v Dry players: dry=lips lock into place without spite; wet=lips only lock into place when they
slide around spit
-using mouthpiece alone is god for practicing steady buzz
Tonguing
-tone is from lips vibrating and air going between
-tongue should hide behind upper teeth (say today to find that position)
-tu tu tu or thu thu thu, no throat tension or artificial build up (which will cause explosion)
-legato on trombone: good legato tonguing, fast slide position
-triple tonguing: tu tu ka very fast tonguing
-double tonguing: tu ka very fast tonguing in 2s
Trumpet and Cornet
-trumpet=highest brass instrument
-6ft
-trumpet in Bb is the most popular
-no assembly, just put the mouthpiece in (gently drop in and twist)
-left hand supports instrument (around valve casing with forefinger by bell and ring finger in 3rd
finger ring), right hand does valves
-some notes go very out of tune, so there are alternate fingers
-in the olden days, the trumpet had no valves and was used for fanfares, while the cornet (more
rounded bell) got valves and was used for melody lines. Then trumpets got valves
-treble clef, transposition--1 whole tone lower. Key sig goes one whole tone higher

Trombone
-first instrument to get to its modern form
-9 ft

-used to be called a sackbut


-trombone means large trumpet
-F Attachment: left thumb rests on the trigger (in control of a valve. when used, lowers
fundamental to F. Also provides alternate positions which make it easier to play.
-bass trombone: bigger mouthpiece, larger bore size, bigger bell diameter. Almost always has
the F attachment. Many also have a D or Eb attachment.
-can be played perfectly in tune all the time because you can just move the slide a little bit in
either direction to get the correct tuning
-trombone can gliss by using the same lips and moving the slide. Gliss goes down.
-bass clef. non transposing instrument
Mouthpiece
-most instruments have a cup, but some have a V (horn)
1) rim (rim of mouthpiece. Can vary in diameter)
2) cup (the actual cup of the mouthpiece. Can vary in depth)
3) bore (the throat of the mouthpiece, where the cup ends and the shank begins)
4) backbore (inside of shank)
5) shank (the long stem of the mouthpiece)
-typical size for trumpet: 6
-typical size for trombone: 12
Mutes
-change the color of the tone
-lower the volume
-when music just says mute it means straight mute
-Mute in F a (change to playing a trumpet in F for that passage)
-Types of mutes
-straight mute--distant sound
-cup mute--keeps the sound closer
-harmon mute (wah wah)--for jazz
-plunger mute--to distort sound, can be used with other mutes
-bucket mute--for jazz, dampens sound
The Horn
-one of the oldest brass instruments
-12 ft
-left hand placed on tubing outside valves, pinky in pinky ring
-right hand inside bell slightly for intonation and controlled sound
-Bring instrument to mouth, should be away from body, but can rest on thigh for beginners
-hand stopping: put hand all the way in bell, makes the instrument go up a half step
-in F
-Double horn--also in F
-combination of F and Bb horn
-left hand thumb controls the change valve, which makes the instrument switch from F
to Bb

-transposition--a P4 up
Compensating Devices
-alternate fingerings sometimes make a note more in tune
-lipping the note, meaning using the embouchure to make a note go up or down in pitch
-Trumpet---has movable 1st and 3rd slides. When notes are sharp, can extend slides. When
notes are flat, youre screwed.
-Horn--by moving your hand a little more in or out of the bell, you can change the intonation (in,
lower. out, higher.)
-trombone--just move the slide!
-tuba/euphonium--4th and 5th valves are sometimes built in to offer alternate fingerings to put
the instrument more in tune. Some have slides by the valves, like a trumpet.
Euphonium and Baritone
-Euphonium is shaped like a tuba, but is half the length, so it is an octave up.
-like a tenor trombone
-generally bass clef, but when reading treble, it sound a 9th below where written
-euphonium and baritone are super similar. The euphonium tends to have 4 valves though
compared with the baritones 3. Also bore diameter (euphonium is larger) and bell shape are
different. Same length and fundamental though.

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