All brass instruments are different in size and sound but for the most part, they have

pretty similar qualities. In order to play any brass instrument, you first start with the mouthpiece.

To make a sound, the mouthpiece needs to buzz – this buzz creates a vibration throughout the

instrument which causes sound to travel out of the bell. To produce different notes, the player

must use different embouchures and different air flows. Using a tighter embouchure and a faster

air flow, you can produce higher notes, while using a loser embouchure and a slower air flow,

you can produce lower notes.

Brass instruments have different ways to elongate or shorten their tubes to create

different notes and produce different registers. Most brass instruments have valves which can be

pressed down to change the length of the instrument. Some have slides that can be moved to

change its length. A few brass instruments even have both valves and a slide to access a different

range of notes. Elongating the instrument’s tube will produce lower notes, while shortening the

instrument’s tube will result in higher notes. Regardless of whether the instrument has valves or

a slide, the player will still need to utilize their embouchure to produce their desired sounds.

For the trumpet specifically, there are three valves and a slide that can be utilized to

produce different notes. Pressing down on a valve will change the length of the trumpet’s tube,

which results in different notes that travel through the bell. The slide can be combined with the

use of these three valves, which can change the register of the instrument to play higher or lower

notes. The trumpet also has a smaller mouthpiece than other brass instruments, so a slightly

different embouchure should be used than on those other instruments.