Brass Instruments Research Articles

Occupational hearing loss in music performers of Cuenca’s Symphonic Orchestra, 2019

BACKGROUND: Noise-induced hearing loss (NHL) is the second leading cause of hearing loss, after presbycusis. It is considered an occupational disease and a public health problem. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of occupational noise-induced hearing loss and its association with other sociodemographic and occupational variables in performers of Cuenca’s Symphonic Orchestra in 2019. METHODS: This is an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study, whose universe was conformed by the professional musicians of Cuenca’s Symphonic Orchestra in 2019. We aimed to establish the risk of noise-induced hearing loss in association with variables such as age, sex, hours of daily practice, material of the instrument played, and years of exercise as a musician, throught Odds Ratio statistical test. The 45 musicians were surveyed and audiometric tests were performed. RESULTS: The universe consisted of 45 musicians: 38 males and 7 females. The average age was 40 years. 46.7% played a musical instrument profesionaly for more than ten years and 53.3% for up to ten years. 60% practiced more than 10 hours a day. 53.3% played string instruments, 20% woodwind instruments, 17.8% brass instruments and 8.9% percussion instruments. The prevalence of hearing loss was 17.8%: 13.3% bilateral and 4.4% unilateral. The prevalence of mild hearing loss was 8.9%; moderate in 6.7% and acoustic trauma occurred in 2.2%. Age (>30 years) and working time (>10 years) represented risks for hearing loss development. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss was 17.8%, mostly mild and bilateral. All those who were affected were male. The prevalence was higher among musicians who played wind-metal instruments; however, no statistically significant association was found. Being older than 30, and having played professionally for more than years are risk factors for noise-induce hearing loss.

Modern brass band: its components and activities

The article covers the modern composition of a brass band, the main musical instruments that make up performing groups; the features of sound, range, tessitura of traditional musical instruments. Attention is also paid to the peculiarities of brass band leadership and professional skills of the conductor. One of the main differences of a brass band is the possibility of its use outdoors. Its powerful and loud sound does not need to be amplified by various technical devices – microphones, etc. Therefore, this type of performance of wind music is used mainly to accompany the solemn processions of various kinds, as well as to perform dance music. The highest type of brass band is the "large mixed brass band", which has the ability to perform works of considerable complexity. The composition of the "large mixed brass band" has been characterised, first of all, by the introduction of three or four trombones, three parts of trumpets, four parts of horns. In addition, the "large mixed brass band" has a much more complete group of wooden wind instruments, consisting of three flutes (piccolo flute and two large flutes), two oboes, the English horn, a large group of clarinets with their varieties, two bassoons, contraphagot and saxophones. To provide low-register sounds, helicons are introduced into the "large mixed brass band" – a low-sounding brass instrument arranged in a circle. In the modern composition of the orchestra helicons are replaced by tubes. The effective functioning of the brass band and its management is a historically established process of a special kind of musical and creative activity, which includes constructive and technical inventions of musical instruments, skills and abilities of performance, effective management of the orchestra through professional, communicative and personal qualities of the orchestra leader (conductor).

Study of the optimal active control of a trombone

In the brass instrument family, the sound can be modified or attenuated using a mute, which is usually inserted in the bell of the instrument. The objective of this paper is to study the principle and the technological feasibility of an active mute using loudspeakers placed in front or around the instrument bell. This mute must reduce the acoustic power emitted by the instrument while avoiding any impact on its playability. At this stage, an optimal control is considered and no real-time controller is implemented. Results show that an active control placed outside the trombone is theoretically feasible and can be efficient to reduce the acoustic power up to 2000 Hz by placing a ring of sources around the bell and a source in front of the trombone. The instrument input impedance is very slightly affected by the control. In accordance with numerical simulations, the experiment showed that placing a control speaker very close in front of the bell of the instrument modifies the pressure field of the instrument in such a way that it allows to obtain a power attenuation greater than the predicted one. The control is technologically achievable but requires a high power for the closest source.

Parameter identification of a physical model of brass instruments by constrained continuation

Numerical continuation using the Asymptotic Numerical Method (ANM), together with the Harmonic Balance Method (HBM), makes it possible to follow the periodic solutions of non-linear dynamical systems such as physical models of wind instruments. This has been recently applied to practical problems such as the categorization of musical instruments from the calculated bifurcation diagrams [V. Fréour et al. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 148 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0001603]. Nevertheless, one problem often encountered concerns the uncertainty on some parameters of the model (reed parameters in particular), the values of which are set almost arbitrarily because they are too difficult to measure experimentally. In this work we propose a novel approach where constraints, defined from experimental measurements, are added to the system. This operation allows uncertain parameters of the model to be relaxed and the continuation of the periodic solution with constraints to be performed. It is thus possible to quantify the variations of the relaxed parameters along the solution branch. The application of this technique to a physical model of a trumpet is presented in this paper, with constraints derived from experimental measurements on a trumpet player.

Diversity of ghost notes in tubas, euphoniums and saxhorns

The ghost note is a natural note which can be played exclusively on bass brass instruments with a predominantly-expanding bore profile such as tubas, euphoniums or saxhorns. It stands between the pedal note – the lowest natural note playable, or first regime – and the instrument’s second regime. However, if the interval between the pedal note and the second regime remains close to an octave regardless of the instrument, the interval between the pedal note and the ghost note vary from a minor third to a perfect fourth. References about this note are very scarce, and it is not commonly known among tuba players. This study shows that an elementary brass model describing the player coupled to the instrument is capable of bringing both the ghost and the pedal note to light. Here, we adopt a dynamical systems point of view and perform a bifurcation analysis using a software of numerical continuation. The numerical results provided in terms of frequency intervals between pedal note and ghost note are compared with frequency intervals experimentally inferred from recordings of seven different types of tuba, each of them being played by two professional tuba players.

The Development of the !trumpet

The !trumpet is software synthesis system controlled from, and playing back through, a trumpet. It is not an electronically extended trumpet: the player produces no acoustic sounds by blowing through the mouthpiece. Instead, breath pressure and valve movement on the brass instrument are read by an embedded Arduino microcontroller and sent to a laptop, where the data is mapped onto various parameters in synthesis software; the resulting electronic sound is returned to the trumpet, where it plays through a loudspeaker inside the bell, and is further processed acoustically by valve position (changes in the length of tubing filter the speaker output), movement of a plunger mute (wah-wah style filtering), and orientation of the instrument in space (panning).

Un Vistazo a la Historia de las Bandas de Música de Viento en México

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Trumpet News from Jean-Francois Madeuf

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Instrument Report

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Archive Corner

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Archive Corner

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Mass for the Assumption

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

In Brief: Bitesized News from the Historic Brass Community

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Reviews: Books and CDs

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Museum Report: David Jarratt-Knock visits The Bate Collection

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Reviews: Books and CDs

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

In Brief: Bitesized News from the Historic Brass Community

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Editorial: Introducing Historic Brass Today

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Course Report by Wayne Plummer

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.

Snapshots in Band History

The Historic Brass Society is an international music organization concerned with the entire range of early brass music, from Ancient Antiquity and the Biblical period through the present including the development of jazz and its influence on brass instruments, literature and playing techniques. The history, music, literature and performance practice of early brass instruments such as natural trumpet, natural horn, early trombone, cornetto, serpent, keyed bugle, keyed trumpet, early valve horn, 19th century brass instruments are some of the main issues of concern to the HBS. The HBS publishes the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, The Historic Brass Journal and our periodic newsletter Historic Brass Today, as well as news, articles and reviews on its website and social media.