Brass Instrument - Ensembles

Ensembles

Brass instruments are one of the major classical instrument families and are played across a range of musical ensembles.

Orchestras include a varying number of brass instruments depending on music style and era, typically:

• Classical symphony orchestra:

• two to five trumpets
• two to eight horns
• two tenor trombones
• one bass trombone
• one tuba

• Baroque orchestras may include valveless trumpets or bugles, or trumpets/cornets playing these parts.
• Romantic, modern, and contemporary orchestras may include larger numbers of brass including more exotic instruments.

British brass bands are made entirely up of brass, mostly conical bore instruments. Typical membership is:

• one soprano cornet
• five to ten cornets
• one flugelhorn
• three to five tenor horns (alto horns)
• two baritones
• two to three tenor trombones
• one bass trombone
• two euphoniums
• two E♭ tubas
• two B♭ tubas

quintets are common small brass ensembles, a quintet typically contains:

• two trumpets
• one horn
• one trombone
• one tuba or bass trombone

Big Bands and other jazz bands commonly contain cylindrical bore brass instruments

• A Big band typically includes:

• three to five trumpets
• three or four tenor trombones and sometimes a bass trombone

• Smaller jazz ensembles may include a single trumpet or trombone soloist.

Concert bands have similar brass instrumentation to an orchestra, typically:

• two to four trumpets or cornets
• two to four horns
• two to three tenor trombones (and occasionally an additional bass trombone)
• one or two baritones or euphoniums
• one or two tubas

Mexican Bandas have:

• three trumpets
• three trombones
• two alto horns, also called "charchetas" and "saxores"
• one sousaphone, called "tuba"

Single brass instruments are also often used to accompany other instruments or ensembles such as an organ, or a choir.