Brass instruments, such as the trumpet, the French horn, the trombone and the tuba, usually work alongside other instruments. OK, so the French horn and tuba are more specialist and you’re most likely to find them in orchestras. But the trumpet and the trombone get everywhere – jazz, soul bands, big bands, Mariachi, even folk. They provide the ultimate in power and impact.
But at this point, I want to see what you can achieve with ensembles that only have brass. These are the instruments I’ve chosen to work with:
| Range | |
| Trumpet (Bb) | F#3-D6 |
| French Horn (F) | F#2-C6 |
| Tenor Trombone (Bb) | E2-F5 |
| Tuba | D1-D4 |
My first piece is essentially a rearrangement of an existing song. I used the Symphony Essentials – Brass Solo samples from Native Instruments:
If you’re interested, I’ve just put together a video that shows the score.
What’s next? Well, I’m going to move on to try my hand at composing for a traditional British brass band and for a classical ensemble. So far, I’m of the opinion that brass instruments provide plenty of scope for creative expression in all sorts of genres. We’ll see.
