What is a brass quintet?
A traditional brass quintet is a musical ensemble that is usually made up of two trumpets, a french horn, a trombone and a tuba. As we are all
brass band players we have brass band instruments, so We have replaced the trumpets with cornets, the french horn with a tenor
horn, the trombone with a euphonium and a kept the tuba.
Sometimes the tuba may be replaced by a bass trombone and one of the trumpets may be replaced by a flugel horn.
Some famous brass quintets are:
- Canadian Brass
- Chicago Brass Quintet
- Empire Brass
- New York Brass Quintet
- Synergy Brass Quintet
Cornet
The cornet is the highest pitched instrument in the group. It is similar to a trumpet but is not as long and produces a sound that is less ‘bright’. Using a standard four part harmony, the cornet would play the soprano part. The cornets often play the melody with the other instruments playing the accompanying parts.
Tenor Horn
The tenor horn’s name is somewhat confusing as it actually plays the alto part. It is designed to blend into the brass band sound so has a more mellow sound than the French horn. The tenor horn along with the softer cornet sound gives our quintet a slightly smoother timbre than a traditional quintet. This works really well for background music and pieces such as Moon River (one of our favourites from our repertoire).
Euphonium
The euphonium is almost like a miniature tuba. It has a wide ranging warm sound and works very well playing the melody with the tuba providing the bass line and the other instruments playing the accompaniments. It usually plays the tenor part in a four part harmony.
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched instrument in the ensemble. It nearly always provides the bass line, although the bass line can be given to the euphonium to create an interesting variation in the sound of the group. The tuba adds depth to the sound of the group and as it usually plays on the beat, creates the steady rhythmic foundation that would normally be provided by a drum kit.