Brass Instruments

Brass instruments are trumpets, trombones, French horns, tubas and other instruments that you play by buzzing your lips into a mouthpiece. You change the pitch with the valves, or on a trombone with the slide. Here you will find trumpets, cornets and flugelhorns, trombones, French horns, tenor and baritone horns, euphoniums, tubas as well as hunting horns. The range is made up of instruments from Yamaha, Latone, Roy Benson, Jupiter and Stagg, plus the plastic pTrumpet and pBone.

Which brass instrument should you choose?

• Trumpet: plays the high voice of the brass section and often leads the melody. Almost all the trumpets in the range are in Bb, a few models are in C, and there are piccolo trumpets too.
• Cornet and flugelhorn: both are in Bb, like the trumpet. The cornet is shorter and sounds mellower, while the flugelhorn has a wider bore and a darker, velvety tone.
• Trombone: you change the note with the slide instead of valves. Alongside tenor trombones, there are Bb/F models with an F attachment and bass trombones.
• French horn: a long coiled tube with a wide bell. The V. F. Červený CHR 681 and CHR 781 are F/Bb double horns.
• Tenor horn, baritone, euphonium and tuba: the middle and low voices of wind bands and brass bands. Tubas come in Bb, Eb, F and C.

What comes with a trumpet and what should you consider when buying?

Yamaha trumpets from the YTR 2330 up to the YTR 8335 have Monel valves and come with a mouthpiece and a case. The Roy Benson TR-202 has stainless steel valves and is also supplied with a case and mouthpiece. The Latone LTR 500 includes a case, strap, mouthpiece, valve oil, cleaning cloth and gloves, while Jupiter trumpets come with a soft case and a shoulder strap. Several models are available in two finishes, gold lacquer or silver-plated, for example the Yamaha YTR 4335 GII and GSII or the Latone LTR 500 Classic Gold and Silver Elegance. For a different mouthpiece that suits your lips, browse the mouthpieces, and the full trumpet range is in our trumpets section.

Is a plastic trumpet or trombone a good way to start?

The plastic pTrumpet and pBone are light, colourful and pitched just like their metal counterparts: the pTrumpet in Bb, the pBone as a Bb tenor trombone and the smaller pBone Mini as an Eb alto trombone. On them, children can try out their embouchure and first notes before moving on to an instrument made of brass. The pTrumpet comes with a mouthpiece and a soft case, the pBone Mini with a soft case. Metal trombones from Yamaha and Roy Benson are in our trombones section.