Instrumentation

The unique sound of the brass band sets it apart form other performing ensembles which use brass instruments. The brass band has a mellower and richer sound featuring cornets instead of trumpets, E-flat tenor horns instead of French horns and English bore baritone horns.

The standard instrumentation is as follows:

One E flat Soprano Cornet serves as the piccolo voice. It requires a delicate touch and is used frequently as a soloist or to add brightness to the cornet tutti sound.

Four B flat Solo Cornets are the lead voices in the ensemble. The use of four cornets permits players to switch off on parts that are frequently continuous throughout the entire piece. Divisi parts are also frequent.

Two B flat Second Cornets and two B flat Third Cornets fill out the cornet choir.

One B flat Repiano Cornet is the “roving middle linebacker” of the section. Often used as a solo voice or doubling the Soprano Cornet in unison or at the octave. The Repiano is also used to add weight to the other cornet parts.

One B flat Flugelhorn serves as a bridge to the Tenor Horns. It is a frequent solo voice and is often used as the top voice in the horn family.

Three E flat Tenor Horns (Solo, First and Second) often perform as a choir with flugelhorns and baritones. The Solo Horn is a frequent solo voice. Also commonly referred to as the Alto Horn in the United States; it is an upright, three valve instrument with a lighter sound than the French Horn.

Two B flat Euphoniums are the predominant solo tenor voices and also function as tutti enforcers with the basses.

Two B flat Baritones are often doubled with Euphoniums but work best as lower extensions of the Tenor Horn section. As separate voices, their ability to blend and add a middle-low voice without heaviness is a unique feature of the brass band.

Two B flat Tenor Trombones provide punch and drive because of their cylindrical construction.

One Bass Trombone is both a low support for the trombone section and an additional weight to the tubas.

Two E flat Tubas and two B flat Tubas give composers an extraordinary flexibility in dictating the sound of the bass part. The lighter quality of the E flats can have all the Iyricism of the Euphoniums while the fatter B flat Tuba sound adds weight. In octaves or fifths, the section can give the brass band an incredible richness of tone.

Percussionists cover the entire spectrum of percussion instruments.

What makes the brass band unique? All the brass music (with the exception of the bass trombone) is scored in treble clef, a characteristic that over the years has allowed for remarkable freedom among certain bands, making the transition from one instrument to another somewhat easier. The number of members (instrumentation) is rigid, usually limited to between twenty-eight and thirty players, but the repertoire is unusually flexible, with concert programs consisting of anything from original works, orchestral transcriptions and featured soloists to novelty items, marches, medleys, and hymn tune arrangements. With the exception of the trombones, all instruments are conical in design, producing a mellower, richer sound, yet one that has wide dynamic and coloristic variety.

Brass bands held an important musical and societal role in nineteenth-century America, but were eventually superseded by larger concert and marching bands. However, since the late twentieth century, the brass band movement has undergone a resurgence thanks to the formation of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA). Today there are over 100 British-style brass bands throughout the United States and Canada. The Austin Brass Band is proud to represent this rich musical history here in the heart of Texas.

To learn more visit the NABBA website.