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Brass instrument
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A brass band in uniform marches and plays instruments during a children's parade on Constitution Day in Oslo, with green trees in the background. Two shiny brass horns with valves rest on a wooden surface, reflecting light. Tuba
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Gong. Closeup of a khong wong gong circle chime. Thai classical musical instrument, part of piphat ensemble. (percussion, music)
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Trumpet musical instrument.
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A brass band in uniform marches and plays instruments during a children's parade on Constitution Day in Oslo, with green trees in the background.
Brass band A band featuring bass instruments plays in a children's parade on Constitution Day, Oslo.

Brass instrument

music
Also known as: brass
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History
Top Questions

What defines brass instruments?

How is pitch determined in brass instruments?

What role do valves play in brass instruments?

Two shiny brass horns with valves rest on a wooden surface, reflecting light.
Brass instrumentsModern orchestras often feature multiple different types of brass instruments, including trumpets and tubas.

Brass instrument, in music, any wind instrument—usually of brass or other metal but formerly of wood or horn—in which the vibration of the player’s lips against a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece causes the initial vibration of an air column. A more precise term is lip-vibrated instrument. Ethnologists frequently refer to any instrument of this class as a trumpet; but when they are made of or derived from animal horns, they are also often known as horns. Typical brass instruments in a Western orchestra are the trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba.

Quick facts about brass instruments
  • Brass instruments are defined not by their construction material but by the vibration of the player’s lips against a mouthpiece.
  • The length of a brass instrument’s tubing determines its pitch; thus, the longer the tubing, the lower the notes a brass instrument can produce.
  • Valves on a brass instrument alter the course of air, causing it to flow through additional tubing, thereby lengthening the airflow column and lowering pitch. In the case of the trombone, this same affect is produced using the slide.
  • The bell of a brass instrument influences its sound, in particular helping to efficiently project its sound.
Tuba
TubaA deep-pitched brass instrument, the tuba features valves and a wide conical bore.

A lip-vibrated instrument consisting of a cylindrical or conical tube produces only a fundamental note and, when vigorously overblown, its natural harmonic series (as, for the fundamental note C: c–g–c′–e′–g′–b♭′ [approximate pitch]–c″–d″–e″, etc.). Most modern brass instruments are provided with valves or slides that alter the length of the tube. This gives the players several fundamentals, each with its own harmonic series, thus making available a full chromatic (12-note) scale. Brass instruments, like all wind instruments, are classified as aerophones.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.