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Brass Family Brass Family instruments produce their unique sound by the player buzzing his/her lips while blowing air through a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece. The main instruments of the brass family include the trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba. #### Trumpet The trumpet makes the highest pitched sound of the brass family. The trumpet sound travels through about 2 metres (6 ½ feet) of tubing bent into an oblong shape. #### Trombone The mouthpiece of the trombone is larger than that of a trumpet, and gives the instrument a more mellow sound. Instead of valves, the trombone has a slide which changes the length of its approximately 2,7 metres (9 feet) of tubing to reach different pitches. #### French Horn The horn or French horn consists of about 3,6 metres (12 feet) of narrow tubing wound into a circle. Tuba The tubing in this instrument is about 4.8 metres (16 feet), and it has the lowest pitch in the brass family. It incorporates four to five valves and the player holds it upright in his lap. Check that you understand what these words mean in this document Buzzing: a sound similar to that produced by insects (e.g.like bees when flying). Funnel: a utensil usually shaped like a hollow cone with a tube extending from the point and used to catch and direct a downward flow. To bend: to curve or cause something to change shape. Pitch: the degree of highness or lowness of a musical note.