Blowing into a woodwind instrument makes air inside vibrate: this produces the musical notes. Covering the holes in the tube with fingers or keys changes the length of the vibrating air, producing different notes. The instruments with the shortest tubes, such as the piccolo, make the highest notes. Other woodwind instruments are the bassoon, English horn, saxophone, clarinet, oboe, and flute.
4. BRASS
Some of the most exciting sounds in music come from brass instruments. This group includes the French horn, trumpet, bugle, cornet, trombone, and tuba. The instruments are long tubes of brass or other metal curved around for easier handling. Sounds produced by the musician’s lips on the mouthpiece vibrate down the tube. Pressing the valves opens more of the tube, making the pitch of the note lower. The trumpet has a long history. Then the Egyptians buried King Tutankhamen more than 3,000 years ago, they placed a trumpet in his tomb.
a) THE CORNET
Musicians in military and brass bands often play the cornet, which is descended from the horns that were blown to announce the arrival of a mail coach. The cornet is one of the smallest brass instruments, with a tube about 1,5m (4.5 ft) long.
b) FRENCH HORN
Uncurled, this horn is 5 m (17 ft) long. It developed from an 18th-century hunting horn and makes a rich, warm sound. The Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created four pieces of music for the French horn.