Brass instruments: buzzing lips and shiny tubes

The buzz

A brass player presses their lips against a cup-shaped metal mouthpiece and blows so that the lips buzz. The long metal tube then makes the small buzz much louder and gives it its colour.

Tightening the lips makes the buzz higher, and loosening them makes it lower. With only lip changes, a brass instrument can already play a handful of notes.

Making the tube longer

To play all the notes in between, brass instruments change the length of the tube. A trombone has a slide that the player pushes in and out. Trumpets, horns and tubas have valves: pressing a valve sends the air through an extra loop of tube, making it longer, so the note goes lower.

The family

Brass instruments come in different sizes, from small and high to huge and low.

Trumpet

The smallest and highest of these four, with a bright, shining sound. Usually three valves.

French horn

A long tube coiled into a round shape, with a mellow, warm sound. The player puts a hand inside the wide end.

Trombone

The only one of these four with a slide instead of valves, so it can glide smoothly from note to note.

Tuba

The biggest and lowest of these four, with a deep, round sound. It holds the bottom of the band.

Why "brass"?

The family is called brass because these instruments are traditionally made of brass, a shiny yellow metal. A trumpet can be silver in colour too, and it is still brass in the music world, because of how it makes its sound.