Learn to play brass
Jump to: Trombone , French Horn , Tuba
Trumpet
The trumpet is a folded tube opening at the end into a bell, normally with three valves and a separate mouthpiece.
Why learn?
The trumpet has got guts. It can go beyond the volume of most other instruments, but it can also hide beneath the softest of textures. Bold, brash, colourful, exciting, comical and tender, the trumpet offers many performance opportunities.
Getting a Taste
From Moscow with Love
Sergei Nakariakov
Teldec 8573855582
Haydn/Hummel
Trumpet Concertos
Hakan Hardenberger
Philips 4202032
Buying advice
The trumpet is quite a simple instrument, so a new instrument may cost you as little as £200. The more money you spend, the better quality the brass. If you're a beginner take a teacher or friend along to help you select the right instrument for you.
Webwatch
A world-wide network of trumpeters and a good place to start is the International Trumpet Guild
Trombone
This is the long cylindrical brass instrument with a slide which the player uses to vary the length of the tube - hence the term 'slide trombone'.
Why learn?
The trombone is a great 'show-off' instrument. For example, listen to Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries'. If a composer wants a theme to stand out, then the trombone is a great choice. And it is a great instrument for reggae music. New concertos are being written all the time for the trombone as it enjoys a solo renaissance.
Getting a Taste
The Trombone
Armin Rosin / Berlin RAIS Sinfonietta
Koch 31342
Yoshimatsu
Symphony No.4
Ian Bousfield / BBC Philharmonic
Chandos CHAN 9960
Buying advice
A good trombone costs around £300. However, it is worth looking at second-hand instruments also - brass instruments are pretty solid and tend to last longer than other types. Unlike the compact trumpet, small children will have difficulty extending the slide to its full length due to the size of their arms.
Webwatch
The online magazine for the British Trombone Society - with plenty of news and discussion groups.
French Horn
The French Horn mainly consists of a tube in the form of a circle with five parts - the body, bell, valve system, mouthpiece and mouthpipe.
Why learn?
The French Horn has some of the best orchestral score lines. Sometimes classified as a woodwind instrument, it can sound heroic in film music, evoke the outdoors in Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and ooze romance in the Rachmaninov piano concertos. There is also some fabulous chamber music written for the French Horn.
Getting a Taste
R.Strauss - Horn Concerto
Dennis Brain / Philharmonia
EMI CDC 47834
Mozart - Horn Concertos
Dennis Brain / Philharmonia
EMI CDM 5668982
Buying advice
The complex nature of the horn makes it expensive. Factory-made rather than custom-made horns are around £1,000 with the latter requiring a small mortgage. Get advice from a pro.
Webwatch
Find out all you need to know about French Horns here.
Tuba
One of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century. It has a massive tone so is more like the horn than trumpet or trombone and is an impressive instrument not only physically, as one of the largest low-brass instruments, but also tonally.
Why learn?
The tuba is an instrument that, probably due to its sheer size, less people seem to be taking up as their instrument of choice. Therefore, if you do choose the tuba, and work hard, you may have some great career opportunities.
Getting a Taste
Wagner, Faust overture, performed 1855
Hector Berlioz 'Symphonie Fantastique' - this was the first major work orchestrated for tuba.
Webwatch
Visit the International Tuba Euphonium Association
