How did you get on?
A) What instrument is this girl playing?
Answer: a Cornet
B) What instrument are these children playing?
Answer: Trombones
C) Name the parts of the instrument numbered 1 to 7 in the picture. What are each of these parts for?
Answers:
- the mouthpiece, and you blow/buzz into it to play the instrument;
- the bell that the sound comes out from – the shape helps make a nice sound;
- valves which you press down to open extra lengths of tubing to play different notes;
- valve caps which can be carefully unscrewed when the valves need fixing (but don’t do this unless we’ve shown you how to do it properly, or you could damage the instrument!);
- water keys – these are used to get rid of water condensation;
- the pinkie ring – place the end of your little finger on it to steady your right hand;
- tuning slides which can be pulled out slightly to tune to instrument;
D) Name the part of an instrument pictured below. What instrument does it belong to? What is it for?
Answer: It’s a “slide” from a trombone, and you push it out or pull it in to make the trombone longer or shorter to play different notes
E) to M) Name the instrument!
Answers: E is a tuba; F is a French Horn;
G is a Flugelhorn; H is a Trumpet, here being played by the famous Louis Armstrong;
I is a bugle – it has no valves; J is a Jewish Shofar made from a ram’s horn;
K are Sousaphones, like tubas but worn round the body; L is a Tenor Horn;
M is a Post-horn
N) What other brass instruments can you name? Here’s a few: Euphonium; Baritone Horn; Soprano Cornet; Piccolo Trumpet; Bass Trombone; Alto Trombone; Cimbasso; Hunting Horn; Mellophone; Serpent;
If you said “Saxophone” it was a good guess, since saxophones are usually made of brass, and often feature in bands with trumpets and trombones but, technically speaking, saxophones are classed as “woodwind” instruments like the clarinet, oboe and bassoon, etc.
The difference between woodwind and brass is that woodwind instruments are played by blowing into a reed mouthpiece, rather than buzzing into a cup mouthpiece. In woodwind the sound comes from vibrating the reed. In brass the sound comes from vibrating the lips.
