The
brass band dates back to the early nineteenth century and England's
Industrial Revolution. With increasing urbanization, employers
began to finance company bands to decrease the political activity,
which preoccupied the working classes during their leisure time.
Thus, the brass band tradition was founded.
By 1860 there were over 750 brass
bands in England alone. Although these bands were not fully
comprised of brass instruments until the second half of the
nineteenth century, the tradition developed to the present day
current instrumentation of cornets, flugel horn, tenor horns,
baritones, trombones, euphoniums, B flat and E flat basses and
percussion.
Brass bands in Great Britain
presently number in the thousands with many of the bands having
origins prior to 1900. Originally coalmines, mills, funded the bands
and many retain corporate sponsorship today. The bands use only
non-professional musicians who in former years were usually employed
at the sponsoring company. As a result of their brass band
experiences, many players moved on to become professional musicians.
The number of members is usually
limited to between twenty-eight and thirty players. The repertoire
is very flexible, with concert programs consisting of original
works, orchestral transcriptions and featured soloists, novelty
items, marches, medleys, and hymn tune arrangements.
If you plan a trip to England, be
sure to find a brass band concert to attend.
Only in the last fifteen years has a brass band resurgence
begun in North America.
WHAT IS THE BRASS BAND INSTRUMENT?
The Cornets usually carry the tune
in brass bands and come in various sizes. Pitch depends on the
length of tubing in the instrument. The smaller the instrument, the
higher its pitch.
One Flugelhorn to a brass band is
the rule. The flugelhorn is in the same family as a trumpet and
cornet. However, the tubing on a flugelhorn expands in size more
rapidly than a cornet's and the resulting tone is a bridge between
the cornets and the lower-pitched instruments.
The Alto (or tenor) Horns are the
smaller upright horns. In concert bands and orchestras, the French
horn has replaced the alto horn.
The Baritone, a cousin of the alto
or tenor horn, is easily confused with a euphonium. However, the
tubing on a baritone is smaller in diameter than a euphonium and
that gives the baritone horn a more subdued tone.
The Trombone tubing gives a
different tone than the mellow one produced by conical instruments.
A slide rather than valves changes the pitch.
Euphoniums have much larger tubing
than the alto and baritones but they are considerably smaller than
the tuba. Euphoniums
frequently play solos and counter melodies that a cello might play
in an orchestra.
The Tuba is the largest and
lowest-pitched brass instrument in the band. The E-flat tuba is the
smaller of the two models. Typically, a brass band has two E-flat
tubas and two double B-flat tubas. The double B-flat tuba requires
18 feet of tubing to bring forth its deep bass notes.
Percussion instruments include the
bass, snare and timpani (kettle) drums, and such instruments as
triangles, whistles, wood blocks and cymbals. Percussion adds
variety and spice to the brass band's performance.
