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Familiarise yourself with instrumental families in this quiz.

Grade 4 - Instruments (Part 2)

Explore the brass family in Grade 4 Theory. Learn how valves and the trombone slide change pitch, and how different mutes transform tone and character.

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Fascinating Fact:

Trombone changes pitch with a slide, most brass use valves. Cup, straight, and harmon mutes colour the sound from gentle to buzzy.

In Specialist Music Theory Grade 4, you compare brass instruments by how they alter pitch and colour. Valves redirect air through extra tubing for new notes, while the trombone slide lengthens or shortens the tube smoothly. Common mutes, such as cup, straight, and harmon, change timbre for expressive effects in band and orchestral writing.

Key Terms

Valve: A mechanism that adds or removes tubing to change the pitch of a brass instrument.
Slide: A movable tube on the trombone that lengthens or shortens the air column to alter pitch.
Mute: A device placed in or on the bell of a brass instrument to change tone colour and volume.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do valves work on brass instruments?

Pressing a valve diverts air through extra tubing, making the instrument longer and the pitch lower. Combinations of valves create many notes across the chromatic scale.

Why does the trombone use a slide instead of valves?

The slide allows continuous changes in tube length, so the trombone can glide between notes and tune precisely without valve steps.

What do different brass mutes sound like?

A straight mute sounds bright and edgy, a cup mute is softer and covered, and a harmon mute is buzzy with a focused, trumpet like whisper.