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Posts Tagged ‘Trombone’

The sound created from the families of brass and woodwind instruments depend on the length. The longer the instrument, the lower the sound. The sound you hear is created when air vibrates inside. The first woodwind instruments were created from wood. Today wood is still primary but some are made from metal. Brass instruments are just that, created from brass.
When listening to an orchestra, you will hear many instruments from the brass and woodwind group. The brass section of the orchestra has trumpets, tubas, trombones and French horns. The woodwind section is comprised of clarinets, flutes, bassoons, oboes and at times saxophones.
A great variety of music is played with the brass and woodwind musical instruments including folk music, pop, jazz and rock.
The French Horn
If you pulled a French horn straight out, it would be nearly 30 feet long. It is made from metal tubing which is coiled with a wide cone shaped bell at one end. The French horn plays a very important role in brass bands and orchestras. The French horn player puts one hand inside the bell to play. They blow into to mouthpiece and make the different sounds by changing the shape of their lips. There are three levers that the players push to create different sounds.
The Trumpet
Bronze and silver trumpets were played thousands of years ago by the ancient Egyptians. Since that time, trumpets have been played all over the world. Today they are tightly coiled metal tubes with a cone bell at one end and a mouthpiece at the other. The player of the trumpet pushes down the small valves to make the different notes.
The Trombone
The metal tube of the trombone is curled twice. It has a section which moves in and out to create the different notes. This section is called the slide The trombone plays lower notes than the trumpet as the tube is longer. It was first played approximately 600 years ago.
The Tuba
Widely known as the granddaddy of all brass instruments, the tuba plays the lowest notes. It is so large that whoever plays it must sit down and rest this large musical instrument on his or her knee. The biggest tuba is eight feet high and when uncoiled is nearly forty-five feed long.
The Sousaphone
John Philip Sousa, an American, invented the sousaphone approximately 100 years ago. He wanted to create a low sounding brass instrument for marching bands. The sousaphone does indeed have a very low deep sound. The size of this musical instrument is so large that the player has to carry it looped over their body and resting on their shoulder. Small button valves close and open to make the different sounds.
The Oboe
Beautiful sweet notes come from the long thin shape of the oboe. Oboe players blow through a double reed which is made from two small slices of cane which are tied together tightly. The player covers the finger holes and presses the small metal caps, called keys, to create the different notes. Oboes are used in orchestras and ensembles main for classical music.
The Clarinet
First heard in the 1700s the sound of the clarinet is sweet and shrill. It is also played through a reed made of cane and the player can change the sound by moving his or her mouth changing the vibrations made by the reed. There are finger holes and metals keys on the clarinet. These create the different notes. The soprano clarinet is the most common, but there are several types.
The Bassoon
The bassoon is a doubled up wooden tube with a curved metal crook. This crook holds the reed. The crook makes it much easier for the player to blow through the mouthpiece and to press the keys at the same time. The bassoonists wear their musical instrument on a neck strap when they play.
The Saxophone
The metal saxophone is actually a woodwind instrument and was invented about one hundred and fifty years ago. The saxophone is a tube of thin metal that widens at one end into a cone shape. There are 18-21 finger holes which are covered by small keys. A reed, made again of cane, is attached to the mouthpiece. The saxophone produces a rich smooth sound. The smallest saxophone plays the highest notes. The contrabass is the largest saxophone and the most popular are the alto and tenor.
The Harmonica
A small metal box with a row of reeds inside, the harmonica is played when the person blows or sucks on it. Harmonicas were first created about one hundred and fifty years ago and are also called mouth organs. Many people play the harmonica at the same time as the guitar and can be held in place by a metal frame around the singer’s neck.
The Sheng
The Chinese sheng was invented thousands of years ago. It is made from 17 bamboo pipes and a gourd. A metal ban holds the pipes together and each has a finger hole and a reed that vibrates when the finger covers the hole. This musical instrument is played often in Chinese orchestras.
Bagpipes
The bagpipes are just that, a bag of air with several pipes sticking out of it at various angles. The bagpipes are played in many countries, including Scotland, Ireland, England, Italy, France, Greece, India and Eastern European countries. The bagpipes make a loud wailing sound that carries a great distance. The bagpiper blows into a long pipe called a blowpipe. This fills the bag with air. The air escapes through the other pipes. A small pipe called the chanter has finger holes that the piper covers to make different notes.

Have you played trumpet, trombone or saxophone in the past and have the desire to play again? If so, you are not alone. Millions of people over the last 50 years have participated in band or school jazz groups while in high school or college, but for one reason or another lacked the opportunities to continue performing after they entered the work force and began raising families.Very few musicians who play a musical instrument well will ever make a living at it, but that does not mean you should quit and sell your horn on eBay! Forming a community big band or small jazz group may be a the best excuse for dusting off that old instrument and beginning a regular practice and performing routine once again. A community jazz group not only offers local musicians a creative outlet, but it also offers members of your local community a chance to hear big band music performed on a regular basis.The first step in starting your local community band is to identify the size of group you would like to assemble. Jazz groups can range in size from a trio to a full big band. The size of your group will most likely depend on the availability of musicians in your area. If you live in a sparsely populated area, the task of finding available (or any) musicians could turn out to be a rough task. Every reasonably populated city or town, however, should be able to produce enough musicians to outfit a small or medium sized jazz group or even a big band.Local Musicians UnionThe first place to look for available musicians should be the local musicians union membership. The local union will have a list of all members of the union, both professional and non-professional. If you are a member yourself, you should receive a directory of all other musicians who are members. This directory will contain all contact information for every member of the union. Don’t be afraid to approach or contact the best musicians in your area when putting your band together. Good musicians like to peform in groups (paying or non-paying) that are top notch in quality. You will have a better chance of putting together a better band if you go after the best players first.ReferralsOnce you have contacted a handful of skilled players in each section of your band, ask those same players for referrals of other musicians they would like to have in their section. For example, Joe is the best lead trumpet player in your area and he agrees to come to rehearsal and play in the band. Immediately after getting Joe’s positive response, ask him if he knows other trumpet players that he would recommend. Invariably, the musicians you ask for referrals will always give you names of other top players in town. When calling these new “prospects” always mention that “Joe” (or whoever the referal came from) told you to call. Mention that they were referred to you as one of the best players in town. This approach will not only help break the ice when calling but it will give you credibility at the same time. Use this referral tactic with all sections of the band that need to be filled – trumpets, trombones, saxes and rhythm section. Referrals are a powerful way to put together a highly skilled ensemble.CraigslistThe popular website Craigslist may help you pull musicians “out of the woodwork” as well. Place an ad under the music categories to find any spots that need to be filled within your band. Make your ad specific to the type of player you are trying to reach. Don’t simply put: bass player wanted. Be specific as to the type of music you will be performing and the level of musician you are looking for. Always audition musicians that respond to classified ads, and do not promise anything until you have made sure they perform to a level that you are seeking. The world is full of instrument “owners” who think they can play!Starting and organizing a community big band or jazz group can be a rewarding endeavor for both musician and listeners. The monetary compensation will never be great, but the emotional and esthetic rewards will more than make up for it.

Jazz is an American art form whose roots date back to the mid-19th century slave songs and chants. The early 20th century saw the art form blossom as instrumental music in the southern United States, mainly along the Mississippi river and specifically New Orleans, Louisiana.Early instrumental jazz combos of New Orleans varied in instrumentation. More often than not, these early jazz groups generally consisted of trumpet, clarinet, trombone, tuba and drums. This instrumentation became what is known as the “dixieland” combo, making its way up the Mississippi river to Chicago where the music became popularized by jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong.Dixieland combos can be thought of as groups that play “polyphonic” improvisational music. Each instrument is independent of every other instrument, with each player creating separate musical improvisations based on known melodies, or “tunes” of the day.The players of these early jazz combos each had a separate role within the group. The trumpet player was depended upon to state the melody of the song, while the clarinet would improvise complex lines above him. The trombonists role was to improvise or “fill in” the middle register with lines and notes that were essential to the chord changes of the song itself. The tuba player (or bass player) generally laid down root notes (and 5ths) of each chord on beats 1 and 3 of each measure. The tuba served as the harmonic anchor for the group. Lastly, it was the drummers role to keep everyone together by keeping a steady beat throughout the entirety of the song.As jazz music developed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, jazz combo instrumentation began to become more standardized. The jazz “quintet” and “sextet” became very popular during this time. The quintet consisted of trumpet and alto (or tenor) sax as the main melodic instruments while the rhythm section (piano, bass and drums) took care of rhythm and harmony. The sextet added a trombone to form what essentially was a three horn front line, with rhythm section accompaniment. The extra melodic instrument of the sextet made it possible for the horns to add more harmonic depth to the sound of the group. Each instrument had a role not only as a melodic voice, but also as an integral component of the harmonic structure as well.Modern jazz combos consist of a variety of instrumentation – 4, 5 horn combos are common place. As the group grows in size however, the name “combo” is replaced by “band” or “little big band”. The jazz combo has provided a musical and creative outlet for countless musicians over the last 100 years. The jazz combo continues to provide jazz musicians the opportunity to work together to make music not only as a group but also to develop their own voice as individual jazz improvisers. It is, and probably always will be, the perfect vehicle for learning the art of jazz improvisation.