The brass line brings the sound and the flare to any modern marching band and drum corp. The section, if played correctly can blend perfectly together. Each instrument has its own unique history and has evolved from their ancestors into almost a completely different instrument. From being used for religious purposes to signaling or provoking fear into enemies eyes, the instruments have evolved into the beautiful yet powerful sounding instruments today. Brass instruments have vastly different histories and origins which have evolved to work perfectly together in terms of sound in any band or corp.
The trumpet has been around the longest out of all brass instruments. Trumpets can be traced back to 1500BC. Trumpets were found in King Tut's …show more content…
These tubas had a great similarity to the flute. Being made of wood and metal and having six holes instead of valves. The mouthpiece did not have a set material that it was made of. It could have been made from anything from bone to ivory ("History of the Tuba"). Once keys were added, to make playing easier the tuba became part of the valved bugle family. Over time the tuba’s shape changed to wound around itself. It also gained valves and could be played in different keys. The modern day tuba design arose so after. It has a four valve BB flat design that has become standard for marching bands and orchestras today ("History of the Tuba"). That design of tuba was not marching band accessible. To make it easier to march with a tuba and get their sound more directional, John Philip Sousa created the Sousaphone. The sousaphone is placed around the musicians shoulder to make it marching accessible. The bell is raised so it can have directional sound (Ardley). The sousaphone is not allowed to be used in a drum corp so the contrabass tuba was made. Modifications were made to make the best instrument as possible for a drum corp. The bell on the contra tuba has been modified from the concert version to provide the sound needed on the field. The tuning slide for the contra tuba is made longer than the concert tuba to account for the change of weather conditions (Miles
The trumpet has been around the longest out of all brass instruments. Trumpets can be traced back to 1500BC. Trumpets were found in King Tut's …show more content…
These tubas had a great similarity to the flute. Being made of wood and metal and having six holes instead of valves. The mouthpiece did not have a set material that it was made of. It could have been made from anything from bone to ivory ("History of the Tuba"). Once keys were added, to make playing easier the tuba became part of the valved bugle family. Over time the tuba’s shape changed to wound around itself. It also gained valves and could be played in different keys. The modern day tuba design arose so after. It has a four valve BB flat design that has become standard for marching bands and orchestras today ("History of the Tuba"). That design of tuba was not marching band accessible. To make it easier to march with a tuba and get their sound more directional, John Philip Sousa created the Sousaphone. The sousaphone is placed around the musicians shoulder to make it marching accessible. The bell is raised so it can have directional sound (Ardley). The sousaphone is not allowed to be used in a drum corp so the contrabass tuba was made. Modifications were made to make the best instrument as possible for a drum corp. The bell on the contra tuba has been modified from the concert version to provide the sound needed on the field. The tuning slide for the contra tuba is made longer than the concert tuba to account for the change of weather conditions (Miles