Brass Band Instruments For Festival Music

Alot of festivals and fanfares rely on live band music to make the parade go down with a good spectacle. Brass band instruments have been around for hundreds of years, and their live sound can carry for miles without any amplification, which makes them the perfect instruments to be played on the move. The history of brass band instruments is a very interesting one, so let’s have a look and get into it the history behind these amazing instruments.

brass band instruments

A Brief History of Brass Band Instruments

A brass band instrument is simply a musical instrument which produces a distinctive sound by using sympathetic vibration of air within a hollow tubular resonator in accordion-like sympathy with the sound of the performer’s voice. Brass instruments are generally known as labros or labrosens, in Greek and Latin terms meaning ‘mouth’ and ‘singing’. Brass bands were first used as musical instruments in Egypt around 5000 B.C and were soon adopted by other civilizations. The first brass instruments were simple wind instruments with wooden bodies and open lips, and a metal cone-shaped bell on top to release air into the mouth. Brass instruments became popular in Europe after the middle ages, where they were used in court games, by soldiers in battle, and as harps, lutes, drums, trumpets and fifes.

brass band instruments

Brass Instruments in Today’s World

Brass band instruments are played in the western world with the modern versions using modern-day technology to increase the clarity of sound and reduce background noise. For example, contemporary wind instruments such as trumpet or saxophone use wind chimes or bells as a resonating device to create an ensemble sound in harmony with the wind’s sound. The instruments can be played with two, four, six, eight or even sixteen bells in the same piece. There is also a wide selection of instruments for brass bands and the range of different instruments depends upon their use. In fact, brass bands are commonly used by classical guitarists, who use the instruments to produce a very rich and distinctive sound when playing solo notes or parts. It’s a common misconception that a brass band can only be played in harmony with a guitar. However, there are many bands today which do not have to play in harmony with the guitar, and some are made specifically for use with one instrument.

saxophone

How Are They Made?

Brass band instruments were originally made from bronze, tin, iron, copper, wood and other materials. The brass band is usually an oblong shaped bell, which is made in round, square, rectangular, oval, hexagonal, or octagonal shapes, depending on its construction. Brass is considered one of the most versatile metals and the combination of various elements can be used to produce a large variety of brass instruments. The most common types of brass instruments include the trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, recorder, flute, French horn, and trombone. {and many others. Brass bands are found in all genres of music, including classical, rock, jazz, reggae and folk, pop, and pop music. The most popular brass band instrument in North America is the trumpet.