All other items can be found in zip file
on index page
Origins of Brass Instruments
Orignially the brass
instruments were not intended for the orchestra and were not really
composed for. They were quite unwieldy things and had very little
standardization between instruments. Originally they were used as
1. Calls for the hunting
2. Notificiation of public
announcements (ie civil disasters) 3. Military Functions
Standardization of Brass Instruments
It wasnt until the 19th century and the
advent of the "crook" and "valve" system (see below) that the instruments became
enough standardized to occupy a place in the orchestra. The early
orchestral brass instruments were mechanically different instruments
and had a different set of limitations than the modern instruments we
use today. In general, brass players today can equal the agility
and versatility of any of the other orchestral players.
The brass choir tends to be loud. At full force they can easily
obliterate the entire orchestra and they can not be expected to play as
softly as the strings and winds.
Brass Classification (in score order)
a.Horns in F :No doubling but classified as "high
note" players and "low note" players
b.Trumpets: Bb and C most common. Doubles on Piccolo, D, Cornet,
Flugelhorn
c.Trombone: Tenor most common.
Doubles on Alto and sometimes Bass
With exception given to
the French Horns (Horns) to whom we will always allocate 4 players and
the Tuba to whom we will allocate one player (for now) The layout of
the Brass within the orchestra can be determined by maintaining each of the instruments in groups of twos or
threes similar to the winds.For example,
if we have 2 Trumpets, it is common to have two trombones. If we
have 3 trombones, its common to have 3 trumpets. As well the
brass allotments will often follow that of the winds. If we have
winds in 3's it is common to have brass in 3's. A typical
orchestra with winds in 3s will thus have: 4 French Horns, 3 Trumpets,
3 Tromonbes and 1 Tuba.
The Principle of Transposition
As we saw with wind
instruments like the Bb Clarinet and the Alto Flute, The Various
Trumpets and French Horns are transposing instruments. In
Orchestration I you may write in concert so that the note you write on
the page is the note that the instrument sounds. Be careful when
reviewing the instrument ranges that you are always referring to the
sounding pitch. However, as with the winds YOU
MUST PRESENT TRANSPOSED PARTS TO THE PLAYERS
Note: Adler
states that Horns and Trumpets read without key signatures and their
parts simply contain all necessary accidentals. Whereas this may
be true in certain circumstances, it is becoming increasingly accepted
that these players also read key signatures. We will use key
signatures in all brass instruments.
Principles of the Harmonic Series and Natural Brass
Harmonic Series on Trumpet
We saw with the string instruments that each open string on each
instrument actually contained many notes called overtones in addition
to the Fundamental pitch we hear most. By lightly touching a
"node" on an open string, we could hear primarily the overtone created
at each partial
in the harmonic series. Each of these "natural" harmonics
produced a single note in the harmonic series of pitches above the
fundamental. (http://personal.stevens.edu/~abrick/files/HMU397_notes_02b.html)
We saw the same exact principal applied to wind instruments in which a
wind player (i.e. flute) could "overblow" to create other pitches
without moving any fingers. (http://personal.stevens.edu/~abrick/orchestration1/files/HMU397_notes_06b.html)
The "natural" brass instruments of yesterday did not contain
"levers". The player would blow into the tube via a mouth
piece and the fundamental tone would sound. Just as a longer
string on the Contrabass would create a lower tone than the shorter
string of the violin, or the longer bore of the bassoon producers lower
pitches than the the short bore on the piccolo, the longer the tubing
of a brass instrument, the
lower the fundamental tone it can produce. By "overblowing" the
tube, the player can expose the overtones above the fundamental.
Whereas we confined our string players to only 5 partials, natural
brass players can safely execute 16 partials.
Natural Trumpet
The limitations to the natural brass instruments were 1. Fundamental hard to produce for
beginners 2. Notes between partials were
impossible to produce 3. Certain partials are very out
of tune compared to our tempered scale (Adler CD 3-32)
By the middle of the 18th
century the limitation imposed by the natural brass had been overcome
with the advent of a mechanism that allowed the trumpets to play notes
outside of a single harmonic series. By placing a "crook" on
the instrument, the player could effectively change the length of the
tubing and thereby alter the fundamental and the resultant harmonic
series of that instrument. Given time to place the "crook" on the
instrument, the player could execute passages in almost any key.
The placement of the crook took time. Thus, if the music became
very chromatic or contained frequent key changes, the crook system
became inadequate. By the early 19th centry the advent of the
valve system emerged where additional tubing, permanently attached to
the instrument could be employed by pressing a lever or piston to open
a valve to that tubing.
The trombone is unique amongst the brass in its use of a slide.
Very similar to its 15th century counterpart, the trombone
contains a U shaped slide that when extended, elongates the tubing and
changes the fundamental and overtone series.
In addition to valves and slides, the brass instruments contain a
tuning slide that will allow slight pitch adjustments as necessary.
Tone Production, Articulation and Tonguing
Instead of using a reed to set the air column in
motion, brass players "buzz" their lips. Generally, the
player will loosen the lips to create lower pitches and tighten them to
create higher pitches. It is important to note that the brass
instruments require much more air and is much more physically taxing
than the wind instruments. The composer/orchestrator must allow
enough time for breath and must not overwrite to a point of extreme
physical excertion.
Phrasing
Like the winds, the
brass will phrase all slurred passages in one breath. It is very
important to understand that without phrase markings, a brass player
will articulate each note seperately and the resultant sound will be
very detached.
Common
Characteristics and Effect on all Brass
1. Sfz (Sforzando)
and Fp (Forte-piano) Attack (Adler CD3-36) Since the
brass are capable of a great dynamic range and sharp attacks, these
effects are extremely well suited.
2. Double and
Triple tonguing for fast notes (Adler CD3-37-39) Like the
flute, since no reed is in the mouth, it is very common for the player
to rapidly execute the syllables "teh-
keh" and "tuh teh keh" to produce quick notes.
3. Flutter Tongue (Adler
CD3-40) Flutter Tongue
Again,
similar to the flutes, a brass player may roll their "r's" to create a
growling sound. 4. Glissandi (Adler
CD3-41)
a.
Lip Slur Glissandi. (Lip Slut Glissandi Movie) (and a "rip" or lip slur on trumpet) By
quickly changing the embourchure, the player can produce the harmonic
series very rapidly. Since the
first few partials are far apart, this technique is best reserved for
the upper registers.
b.
Valve Glissandi. (Valve Glissandi Movie) By
controlling a partial opening of the valve, the player can execute a
Valve Glissandi c.
Slide Glissandi. (Slide Glissandi Movie) By
extending the slide in or out during a held note the trombone can
execute a Slide Glissandi
5. "Hat" Accents (Hat Accent (Daggers) Movie) Since the
brass are capable of a great dynamic range and sharp attacks, this
articulation is extremely well produed. and has
special meaning to a brass player. One should review the table of
accents from earlier in the semester.
6. Cuivre or
"Brassy" (Cuivre Movie) By
forcing an extreme amount of air through the instrument, the player can
produce a very agitated air column resulting
in a very "brassy "sound.
6. Mutes A brass
mute is a cone shaped plug that is inserted into the bell of the
instrument. Similar to string mutes it not only makes a more
subdued sound, it greatly changes the color of that sound. There
are many different mutes for the trumpets and trombones and a mute that
is available for one is usually available for the other. As well
there are different muting techniques for the horns. Review all
movies in Adler CD 3 thoroughly as well as the folloing movies:
"Wah Wah effect" with harmon mute. "Wah Wah effect" with Plunger mute. Pixie mute with Plunger
String Articulations
Wind Articulations
Brass Articulations
Legato bowing
Slurred (not tongued)
Slurred MUST contain phrase markings
Detache bowing
Articulated (tongued)
Default playing with no phrase
markings
Con Sordino
Con Sordino
Con Sordino of many types.
Straight, harmon, plunger, cup, bucket, solotone, whispa etc...
In addition to mutes and Exclusive to French Horns is the hand stop or
"stopping" technique notated with + and o
Jete and Saltando (spontaneous Spicc)
Double and Triple Tongue
Double and Triple Tongue
Trills
Trills
Trills
Bowed Tremolo
Flutter Tongue
Flutter Tongue
Measured Tremolo
Timbral Trills
None really although trumpets can
multi tongue very fast
Fingered Tremolo
Tremolos
rare
Harmonics
(overblown) Harmonics
Overblown "Cuivre" in horns and
"brassy" in others
