"Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music." - Ray Charles
There are many varieties of musical instruments that were created and developed, aiming to aid musicians to create new music or sound. Common musical instruments that easily comes to mind are stringed instrument like a guitar, percussion instrument like drum, or the classic keyboard/piano--all of which are common denominators that are being used by bands, local or globally, professionals or amateurs.
However, there are a group of instruments that are seemed to be overlooked by many. These instruments are the wind instruments. Examples of these musical instruments are flutes, clarinets, and those under from the brass section--like trumpets, trombones, saxophones, etc. Unlike stringed instruments and in the piano that presses different combination of strings and different combination of keys, respectively, wind instruments utilize the breathing capability and capacity of the musician. In order to play such instruments, the musician needs to adjust the tightness of their lips in order to control or restrict the amount of air being released into the instrument. Built-in features of these instruments like buttons or slidable parts will then help to adjust the sound being produced by the instrument. With the technicality of properly controlling one's breathing, it could even be justified that players of wind instruments are both singing--how singers need to reach a certain key and how wind instrument players need to reach a certain note (which will be discussed further in this blog)--and playing their instrument at the same time.
The notes, which are equivalent to the lyrics (for singers) or the chords (for guitarists or pianists), being read by wind instrument players are divided into two. The first one is the treble clef scale. This scale has the treble clef or most commonly known as G clef on the stave (the horizontal lines where the notes are being placed). This scale is being used by high-octave instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet, flute, and saxophone. In other words, these instruments take the role of the lead in a band.
(Left) Images of trumpet, flute, clarinet, and saxophone. (Right) Treble clef scale.
Meanwhile, instruments like the trombone and tuba, which are commonly utilized as an accompaniment or support to the music, uses the bass clef scale. As both aforementioned instruments has a lower octave compared to instruments using the treble clef scale, the bass clef scale comparatively increase the notes for trombone and tuba by placing the first note several stave higher.
(Left) Musicians playing trombone and tuba. (Right) Bass clef scale.
The creation of these wind instruments, particularly the clarinet managed to grab the curiosity of one of the world's renowned composer, Wolfgang Mozart. Mozart's fascination with the clarinet eventually led to the creation of an ensemble specifically written for the said instrument. Eventually, when other brass instruments during the 19th century emerged, they were then immediately integrated into musical art forms being enjoyed by the people like symphonies and orchestra.
The integration of wind and brass instruments continued during the beginning of the 19th century. During this period, it can be seen that French composers accepts the concept of including the said instruments when they are making their compositions. Some notable pieces that provided focus with the wind instruments were Igor Stravinski's Octet for Winds (1922) and Darius Milhaud's La Création Du Monde (1923). Up to this day, modern-day orchestras being performed globally still include different wind instruments. Take these videos from BBC National Orchestra of Wales for example, each videos provided example how crucial each roles of both wind and brass instruments are to their performance, and what sounds these instruments can produce.
BBC National Orchestra of Wales - Woodwind
BBC National Orchestra of Wales - Brass
Jazz it up!
The utilization of wind and brass instruments were also a part when the musical genre Jazz was developed. Jazz was developed by African Americans and influenced by both European harmonic structure and African rhythms. It was developed partially from ragtime and blues and is often characterized by syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, often deliberate deviations of pitch, and the use of original timbres. (Schuller, G., n.d.)
As the Jazz genre spread around the world, several variations of the genre emerged. One noticeable variation of the genre was the New Orleans Jazz, which included a band composed of different brass instruments, while having some French influences in some aspect. From this variation of Jazz, one prominent musician emerged and became one who played a huge influence on what is the Jazz genre today. This person is New Orleans-native Louis Armstrong.
Armstrong, despite his young age, immediately showed his knack for music, especially for Jazz, when he was deemed talented enough to replace King Oliver--considered to be the greatest cornetist in New Orleans and pioneer of Jazz at the time. Armstrong has performed many compositions, including this video that shows his performance playing "When the Saints Go Marching In". Armstrong was also the singer of the iconic song "What a Wonderful World".
Louis Armstrong "When The Saints Go Marching In"
Source: The Ed Sullivan Show
March to the Beat
Another noticeable use of brass and wind instruments in the 19th century up to the present day is for marches--especially for military and celebratory events. In fact, some military all around the globe has even created a marching band specifically for these events. One famous military marching band is the United States Army Field Band.
One example of an iconic piece that was composed from these bands is the "Washington Post March", a march that was composed in the United States and are being used globally. This next video is the performance of the said piece by the US Army Field Band.
Washington Post March
Source: US Army Field Band
Brass and Wind Instruments in the Philippines
In the Philippines, the presence of a marching band composed of brass and wind instruments is an indicator of a celebration--particularly a fiesta or feast day of a patron saint of a certain town or city. Common songs being played during this feasts are religious songs (e.g. Ave Maria) or Filipino songs and other marches for other events. The first video below shows a marching band playing Ave Maria during a procession, while the other video shows the joyous musical marches being played by different marching bands.
During this modern era, it can be noticed that brass and wind instruments are now being utilized more when it comes to the creation of new music. The addition of such instruments has created a unique tune or sound that is catchy to the ear. An example of this is young OPM artist Kiyo added trumpet sounds in his hit single "Ikaw Lang". The unique and complex sound from the trumpet can be clearly heard at around 1:48 of the music video below.
Other noticeable modern music that utilizes the sound of either brass or wind instruments are from music created by international artists. Some examples are "New Thang" by Redfoo and "Trumpets" by Jason Derulo--which focuses hugely on the sound of trumpets, despite the music also has some explicit contents.
Summary
Using and learning of brass and wind instruments may have been overlooked by many since nowadays, stringed instrument or piano is the common musical instrument to learn. However, brass and wind instruments themselves has their own unique capabilities, especially to the sounds each instrument can produce. The usage of such instrument is even backed with a colorful history and how it also contributed to the formation of music up to this day. Due to this, it is safe to say that like breathing--the main component in order for brass and wind instruments to work--music will never die as long as there are those who find themselves playing such musical instruments.
Schuller, G. (n.d.). jazz | Definition, History, Musicians, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/art/jazz
Schumann, G. (2013, January 28). The Importance of Wind Instruments to early 20th-Century French Composers. University Musical Society. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://ums.org/2013/01/28/the-importance-of-wind-instruments-to-early-20th-century-french-composers/
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