Brass Instruments Vs. Reed Instruments

When comparing the experience of playing a brass instrument to the experience of playing a reed instrument, it is revealed that while there may appear to be several differences, there are also a lot of similarities. A brass instrument, such as a trumpet, tuba, or trombone, is an instrument that is made of brass and whose sound is changed by the length of tubing the air travels through. A reed instrument, like a clarinet or saxophone, is an instrument that uses vibrations from a reed to produce its sound. The specific sound is determined by where the air is escaping from the instrument. Both brass and reeds play their instrument by using a mouth piece. These mouth pieces are much different though. In brass instruments, the mouth piece is placed against the lips and the vibration that the musician make with their lips, along with the large amounts of air they are producing, causes the instrument to make a sound. In reed instruments, the mouth piece is placed into the mouth. The pressure that is made with the mouth of the musician on mouthpiece of the instrument, along with the air that is blown through, causes a sound …show more content…
These keys being pressed down are called fingerings. In brass instruments, there are only three keys that can be pressed down in most instruments. With these three keys, the brass players are able to play any note that they need. In reed instruments, there can be anywhere up to 24 keys on an instrument. This may sound like it would make the instrument a lot harder to play, but some people believe that is actually makes it easier because the mouth is required to do less work. This is because the each fingering can only produce one note, where in a brass instrument, one fingering can be used to produce multiple notes, depending on how the mouth is positioned and the speed of the