Updated On 24th September 2007

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Brass banding is a truly British phenomena which is has it's roots in the working class. It is unique in it's principally amateur status and remains a home for amateur music makers the length and breadth of the country.
 

The brass band movement has it roots in the industrial revolution at the turn of the nineteenth century. Brass bands flourished in any town of city where there was organised industry, and not just in the North of England as is commonly believed. The bands usually formed away from the big conurbations at the heart of many industrial cities but tended towards the surrounding villages. In these villages there was less in the way of entertainment than in the cities. Therefore a small, close knit community of about a thousand could easily form a large band.

But firstly, why brass bands? The first bands that came into existence around 1815, and were principally brass and wind bands, more akin to our modern day military bands. The most important development for all brass bands was the invention of the valve for brass instruments in 1815. Once applied to the cornet, it enabled the brass to have what would become a leading melody instrument in the ensemble. Second in importance was the invention of the saxhorn family by the renowned instrument maker, Adolphe Sax, in the 1840's. The saxhorn family gave the brass a complete set of instruments from the highest treble to the deepest bass. An instrument that satisfyingly supplied the bass to the ensemble was always a problem, the ophicleide was too weak and hadn't the deep lower notes needed. The primitive tubas used in orchestras at the time were still to weak to support an ensemble. The answer came with the lowest member of the saxhorn family, the BB flat bass, which is now so closely related to the tuba that had become synonymous with it. So with these two developments, the brass had a choir which was homogenous in tone, and so the wind gradually fell out of use in the band.

The music they played were almost exclusively arrangements of classical works of the day, usually opera or symphony related, and published accordingly. The publishing companies themselves were very successful at the height of the brass banding's popularity, although original compositions for band didn't come 'in vogue' till early in the twentieth century.

Bands were usually formed as the result of a large group of people having common interests and needs coming together. The obvious place is the work place. Bands were formed in two ways, either the bands which were self-initiated by the workers themselves or those which were given help by their employers. Those that started off without any help were usually supported by the whole community, by means of subscriptions from fellow work members and people from higher up the social ladder alike. The ones with company sponsorship, or rarely, private patronage were usually the more successful due to the higher money they would have. The more money a band had, the more attractive it became to players, in return bands could 'poach' players from rival bands by promises of new instruments and the like.

Bandsmen were often trained and conducted by someone with a 'proper' musical backing. Many did it for a wage that could only be described as expenses, some even less. The conductor and bandmaster were responsible for the organisation of the band as a musical force. Only later did subsidiary positions such as secretary, treasurer and the like come into force. These positions would normally be filled by band members.

The bands attained some of their prestige from concerts and more importantly contests. The concerts were usually in public halls to local people. Only bands of some note or fame could fill concert venues in other towns. The contests, though, provided a great avenue for the players to compete against bands not only in their town or city, but nation-wide. Around the turn of the century contests would have audiences of seventy to eighty thousand people in venues such as Belle Vue, Manchester. The contest material would be either own choice or a set piece. They would usually be selections of composers famous works, overtures or opera compilations. In this way, bands of all standards had something to aim for, whether it be to impress at local concert halls or national contests in front of mass audiences.

The traditional British brass band consists roughly of 27 players, who play three basic types of instrument - a valved metal wind instrument, the trombone and percussion.

The normal line up in a Brass Band is as follows:-

One of the beauties of playing in a brass band is that most of the instruments operate in exactly the same way and so there is scope for moving around from one instrument to another as a person's physique changes or as a way of achieving variety in one's musical satisfaction.
 

The linking factor between all the traditional brass instruments (excluding trombones) is that they have 3 (or occasionally 4) valves and that the same combination of valves produce the same written note on each instrument. This is not to say that each instrument produces the same physical note in response to a given valve combination but that the combination of the instrument's tuning and the key in which the music is written for any one part allows the player to use the same valve combination for an 'A' on both the cornet and the Eb Bass. Obviously this simplifies teaching and the transfer from one instrument to another, indeed, many players will happily change instruments at short notice to fill gaps in the band.

Obviously, these notes could also be produces by depressing both the first and second valves together and this allows some flexibility in playing difficult passages. By various combination of these valves the full 13 note octave can be produced as follows:-
 

looks like a large cornet and provides the link between the cornet and horn sections. It is tuned in the key of Bb and has a beautiful mellow tone which is best displayed in the haunting melody solos written typically for this instrument.

is the smallest of the tuba-like instruments in that its bell points upwards when played instead if forward like a cornet. It is tuned in the key of Eb and provides the musical filling between the melody and counter melody in many pieces. It is also sometimes used as a solo instrument although, as it is somewhat lacking in power, these tend to be romantic reflective pieces where its mellow sound is supported by quiet chording from the rest of the band.

is slightly larger than the tenor horn, is tuned in the key of Bb, and again mainly provides the filling or rhythmical parts of the music.

is the second principal solo instrument of the band. Larger again than the Baritone it is also tuned in Bb and is sometimes provided with a fourth valve which duplicates the action of pressing valves 1+3 down but using an additional length of tubing such as to give exact tuning in the lower registers. This instrument is always on the go! Its parts often double up the cornet melodies in a lower register whilst also providing the 'twiddly bit' infill whilst the cornets are resting. At other times the Euphonium plays a counter melody or helps out the Bass section.

are really the 'odd ones out' in the band. These instruments, of course use a slide for tuning the different notes rather than valves and it is for this reason - that they are not constrained to whole notes - that they are included. Their strident glissandos are characteristic of many marches and colourful pieces. The Bass Trombone is normally tuned in the key of F and provides a link with the Bass section.

are the large Tubas with which everyone is familiar. They come in two varieties, Eb and BBb (double B flat) which are large and 'good God, do you expect me to lift that?' respectively. They generally provide the background 'oompah' of the bass beat but also occasionally have quite moving passages in the low register. They are not recommended to persons with small faces as they may fall into the mouthpiece and disappear.

section normally has two players, one playing a normal drum kit of Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Tom Toms, High Hat, and Crash and Ride Cymbals whilst the other plays Kettle Drums (Timpani), Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Tubular Bells etc.
 

Brass Bands have had a wide and chequered history since the turn of the 19th Century and flourished in the working classes around the industrialised Villages, Town's and City's. If you would like to see more information please click on the link below!

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