Introduction to Brass Music - North Tyneside Brass in Schools

North Tyneside Brass in Schools is all about learning to play a brass instrument within an ensemble (a small group) and developing all round musical abilities.

Actually, most of the instruments we use are not made of brass at all – they are made of plastic (with some brass parts)! However, they are still classed as “brass” instruments because of the way they are played. In our brass groups, we play cornets and trombones:

Cornets are similar to trumpets and are played the same way but have a more compact, rounded shape and produce a more mellow tone than a trumpet. They have 3 valves which can be pressed in any combination to allow different notes to be produced.

Trombones have slides that are pushed out or pulled in to alter the length of tubing to allow different notes to be produced.

We learn how to make music by playing together and producing different notes with our brass instruments. We learn about musical notes, rhythm, melody and harmony. We learn to play by listening and by reading from a written musical “score”.

Brass instruments are widely used in many forms (“genres”) of music e.g. popular music, classical orchestras, jazz, brass and wind bands. You’ll find a selection here.

Learn more

You will find lots and lots of really interesting facts and information in our pages – just click on any of the links below and start exploring the wonderful world of brass music!

What is a Brass Musical Instrument?

Introducing Brass Musical Instruments

How do Brass Musical Instruments work?

B♭ versus E♭ (transposing instruments)

Enjoy our selection of Brass Music

Brass Bands

Try our brass instrument picture quiz!