Welcome, Future Long Band Members!
We are so excited that you are interested in pursuing band at Long Middle School. At Long, we treat all band members like family while we share our love and passion for music. We can't wait to meet you! Below, you can find more information about the different instruments in the band as well as our social media accounts!
The Woodwind Family
There are three groups of woodwind instruments:
Those where you blow across an open hole (flute, piccolo)
Those with a single wood reed on the mouthpiece (clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone)
Those that use two small wooden reeds tied together in a specific way (oboe and bassoon)
Flute
FLUTES ARE PLAYED BY HOLDING THE INSTRUMENT SIDEWAYS WITH BOTH HANDS AND BLOWING ACROSS A HOLE IN THE MOUTHPIECE, MUCH LIKE BLOWING ACROSS THE TOP OF A BOTTLE. THE PLAYER’S FINGERS OPEN AND CLOSE THE KEYS, WHICH CHANGES THE PITCH. FLUTES GENERALLY PLAY MELODIC PARTS OF A COMPOSITION
Clarinet
CLARINETS ARE KNOWN AS SINGLE-REED INSTRUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY USE ONE REED, ATTACHED TO THE HORN BY A LIGATURE, TO PRODUCE SOUND. THE CLARINET IS PLAYED BY HOLDING IT UPRIGHT, BLOWING THROUGH THE MOUTHPIECE AND REED, AND USING THE HANDS TO CHANGE THE PITCHES BY OPENING AND CLOSING THE KEYS WITH YOUR FINGERS
Saxophone
SAXOPHONES ARE ALSO SINGLE-REED INSTRUMENTS AND ARE RELATIVELY NEW, INVENTED JUST 150 YEAR AGO. THEY ARE IMPORTANT INSTRUMENTS FOR JAZZ AND BLUES STYLES OF MUSIC, BUT ALSO HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO CLASSICAL WORKS. THE SAXOPHONE IS PLAYED IN THE SAME MANNER AS THE CLARINET.
Oboe
THE OBOE IS A DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENT, NOT A SINGLE REED INSTRUMENT LIKE THE CLARINET AND SAXOPHONE. DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS USE TWO PRECISELY CUT, SMALL PIECES OF CANE BOUND TOGETHER AT THE BASE. THE FINISHED, BOUND REED IS INSERTED INTO THE INSTRUMENT AND VIBRATES AS AIR IS FORCED BETWEEN THE TWO PIECES.
Bassoon
BASSOONS, WHICH ARE ALSO DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS, ARE THE LARGEST MEMBER OF THE WOODWIND FAMILY AND WITH THE LOWEST PITCH, SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE CELLO. THE BASSOON A LONG PIPE, DOUBLED IN HALF, MADE OF WOOD, WITH MANY KEYS.
The Brass Family
If you think the brass family got its name because the instruments are made of brass, you're right! This family of instruments can play louder than any other in the orchestra and can also be heard from far away. Although their early ancestors are known to have been made of wood, tusks, animal horns or shells, today's modern instruments are made entirely of brass. Brass instruments are essentially very long pipes that widen at their ends into a bell-like shape. The pipes have been curved and twisted into different shapes to make them easier to hold and play.
Like the woodwind family, brass players use their breath to produce sound, but instead of blowing into a reed, you vibrate your own lips by buzzing them against a metal cup-shaped mouthpiece. The mouthpiece helps to amplify the buzzing of the lips, which creates the sound. Most brass instruments have valves attached to their long pipes; the valves look like buttons. When you press down on the valves, they open and close different parts of the pipe. You change the pitch and sound by pressing different valves and buzzing your lips harder or softer. The brass family members that are most commonly used in the orchestra include the trumpet, French horn, trombone, and the tuba.
Trumpet
The ancestors of the modern trumpet have been a part of human culture for a very long time. Old trumpet-like instruments played by ancient peoples were made of conch-shell, animal horn, wood or metal. Throughout history the trumpet has been used to sound alarms, gather people together, as a call to war, and to add luster to parade music. The trumpet is the smallest member of its family and plays the highest pitches with its bright and vibrant sound. Today's modern trumpet is a slender brass pipe with three attached valves, which is curved and bent into long loops. If you stretched out the trumpet to its full length, it would be 6 ½ feet long!
French Horn
the French horn does originally come from France and is unquestionably a horn. It comes from the French hunting horn of the 1600s, and produces a wide variety of sound ranging from very loud to very soft, and from harsh and blaring to mellow and smooth. The French horn's 18 feet of tubing is rolled up into a circular shape, with a large bell at its end. There are anywhere from 2 to 8 French horns in an orchestra, and they play both melody and harmony as well as rhythm.
Trombone
The trombone is the only instrument in the brass family that uses a slide instead of valves to change pitch. A standard trombone is made of long thin brass pipes. Two U-shaped pipes are linked at opposite ends to form an "S." One pipe slides into the other so the total length of the pipe can be extended or shortened. You play the trombone by holding it horizontally, buzzing into the mouthpiece, and using your right hand to change pitch by pushing or pulling the slide to one of seven different positions. If you stretch the trombone out straight, it is about 9 feet long.
Euphonium
Slightly smaller than the tuba, the euphonium is what is called a "color instrument" in the concert band. The euphonium adds a sweet and low sound to the ensemble. The euphonium often times has the melody and solos, but also can be an accompanying instrument.
Tuba
This is the grandfather of the brass family. The tuba is the largest and lowest brass instrument and anchors the harmony not only of the brass family but the whole orchestra with its deep rich sound. Like the other brasses, the tuba is a long metal tube, curved into an oblong shape, with a huge bell at the end. Tubas range in size from 9 to 18 feet; the longer they are, the lower they sound. Standard tubas have about 16 feet of tubing. There is generally only one tuba in an orchestra and it usually plays harmony.
The Percussion Family
The percussion family includes all of the instruments that are “struck” in some way. We have no official records of when humans first used percussion instruments, but from ancient times, drums have been used for tribal dances and for communications of all kinds. Today, there are more instruments in the percussion family than in any other. They can be grouped into two types:
1. Percussion instruments that make just one pitch. These include:
Snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, wood block, gong, maracas and castanets and
2. Percussion instruments that can make several pitches. These include: the timpani, xylophone, marimba, piano, and celeste
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