Differences: An experiment in Q&A
author: Peter Kaiser
The vast majority of people in the band world don't know a number of things about it,
and that's more than understandable - aside from medicine, music is the second most
complex field in terms of the volume of information that exists. This article addresses
several minor but confusing issues you may have run across or may hear of some day.
If you have a question about the marching or concert band world that you don't see answered
here, e-mail me and I'll try to answer it for you in another column.
Baritone vs. Euphonium / Trumpet vs. Cornet
This one's actually pretty straightforward, but there are several details of common usage that
complicate things a bit. American music publishers usually make no distinction between a baritone
(above left) and a euphonium (above right), and the same goes for the majority of band directors
in the United States. In British brass bands, though, the distinction needs to be made since both
instruments have parts specifically written for them. Let's take a look at the two instruments and
see what they have in common and what's different about them.
Both instruments are in the key of B-flat, have the same length of tubing, take similar mouthpieces,
and have three or four valves. They produce the same pitches with the same valve combinations and so
on. So far, so good. While they have this much in common, which is quite a bit, there's one main
difference that most people don't notice by looking at or hearing the instruments. The baritone is a
bit more compact than its cousin, and all of its tubing, except at the bell flare, is cylindrical.
This makes for a smooth, even tone quality like that of the trombone. The euphonium, on the other
hand, has a conical bore to its tubing, which gives it a more lush, more velvety tone color like the horn's.
So after all that, the difference between the baritone and euphonium isn't all that major. But think of
it this way - the baritone is to the trumpet what the euphonium is to the cornet. What? They're different?
You bet your sweet pedal tones they are. The nice thing is, they're different in the same way the baritone
and euphonium are, and cornets even take a different kind of mouthpiece to help give it its characteristic
mellow tone quality. The flügelhorn is a bit more extreme and has an even more conical bore than the
cornet, and because of this it produces a really fat, dark sound that a trumpet could never make. Of
course, the trumpet isn't meant for dark and velvet - fanfares might sound kind of odd that way.
Extra Valves on Euphoniums
So you've just seen a euphonium like the little guy pictured below...it has three valves up where
they're supposed to be, but then there's another one down there that a player's pinky could never
reach. So what the heck is it?
You're looking at a compensating euphonium, (above left). This is a nifty instrument for a
bunch of reasons:
First off, it costs more than other euphoniums since it's usually made to higher standards than
most three-valve models.
Second, that fourth valve down there practically adds a whole new instrument. When the fourth
valve is pressed, the euphonium effectively changes from a B-flat instrument to an F instrument
(much like using the trigger on a double horn or a bass trombone).
In addition to the "new instrument" the compensating valve brings, it gives several advantages to the player.
New fingering possibilities to work around difficult passages, more notes down low.
A complete chromatic scale down to the low B-flat (as well as a full octave below that down to
the pedal B-flat and more pedal tones below that)
Better intonation on "longer" fingerings. Most fingerings that involve the third valve tend to
be sharp due to the nature of brass instruments and the way the valves work (and it's a wonder the
system works as well as it does). By adding the fourth valve in the place of a 1-3 combination,
intonation on any note that normally uses 1-3 will be much improved.
So what's the difference between a compensating euphonium and a regular four-valve model (above left),
you ask? More than you might think. The four-valve does extend the range and offer somewhat better
intonation, as well as the 1-3 substitution possibility mentioned above, but it's just a fourth valve.
The compensating valve actually reroutes the air through a different tubing system for the other three
valves (which retains a more consistent conical shape) while the fourth valve on an "inline four"
simply adds more tubing to the existing valve combination. So, while they have some of the same overall
effects, a compensating valve preserves intonation and tone quality better, but at a much greater price
and more weight for the player to carry. The "inline four" usually isn't much more expensive than a standard
three-valve model and offers enough of the same benefits that it's much more justifiable for a school to
buy a couple for its students. Professionals and college music majors mostly play compensating euphoniums.
Concert Band vs. Symphonic Band vs. Wind Ensemble
A lot of people might assume a band that's sitting down can be called any of the three names up
there and still be basically the same thing. Or that "Wind Ensemble" just means the group plays
more difficult music. There are more specific differences in instrumentation that go beyond the
repertoire the three groups play, and while any of these three groups can play a lot of the same
works, a lot of concert groups don't pay much attention to the differences for naming purposes.
Concert Band:
This is the basic band setup. While the concert band allows for plenty of flexibility of
instrumentation, there's usually a tendency toward a certain kind of balance. The instrumentation
can vary quite a bit from this, depending on the needs of a given piece of music, but the one
given below is versatile.
6 flutes 10 trumpets
1 piccolo 4-5 horns
2 oboes 3 euphoniums
1 English horn 4 trombones
12 clarinets (3-4-5) 1 bass trombone
2 bass clarinets 2-3 tubas
1 contrabass clarinet 4-6 percussion
(E-flat or B-flat) (piano)
2-4 bassoons (harp)
4 alto saxophones
2 tenor saxophones
1 baritone saxophone 60-66 total players
Symphonic Band:
This is more like a "wind orchestra". This is a rather large group for most stages, and the
emphasis is on the complete clarinet family and lots of low brass power. Percussion parts are
often more involved as well.
8 flutes 16 trumpets
1 piccolo 8 horns
4 oboes 4 euphoniums
1 English horn 6 trombones
24 clarinets (7-8-9) 1 bass trombone
3 bass clarinets 5 tubas
2 contrabass clarinets 6-8 percussion
(E-flat and B-flat) (piano)
4 bassoons (harp)
(contrabassoon)
6 alto saxophones
2-3 tenor saxophones
1-2 baritone saxophones 108-115 total players
Wind Ensemble:
Although not much smaller than the skeleton concert band instrumentation given above,
the wind ensemble is almost more of a large chamber group than it is a small concert band.
Aside from flutes and clarinets, each player covers his or her own part, and parts are much
more heavily interdependent between instruments. The more exposed nature of texturing in wind
ensemble music lends itself to much greater complexity due to the interplay between instruments,
and more emphasis is placed on a wide palette of tone colors. Wind ensemble music often employs the
less frequently used wind instruments; alto and contrabass clarinets and bass saxophones are more
often required in wind ensemble literature, and the difference between cornet and trumpet parts
tends to be more pronounced.
4 flutes 6 cornets
1 piccolo 2 trumpets
2 oboes 4 horns
1 English horn 2 euphoniums
7 clarinets (2-2-3) 2-3 trombones
1 bass clarinet 1 bass trombone
1-2 contrabass clarinets 1 tuba
(E-flat and/or B-flat) 6-8 percussion
2 bassoons (piano)
1 contrabassoon (harp)
2 alto saxophones
1 tenor saxophone
1 baritone saxophone 48-52 total players
Just for reference purposes, here are several standard instrumentations for other musical groups.
Jazz Band:
2-3 alto saxophones 4 trumpets
2 tenor saxophones 3 trombones
1 baritone saxophone 1 bass trombone
1 piano 1 guitar
1 acoustic or electric bass 1 drum set
(trap percussionist) 17-19 total players
British Brass Band:
1 E-flat soprano cornet 3 E-flat alto horns
3 Solo B-flat cornets 2 baritones
3 2nd cornets 3 trombones
3 3rd cornets 1 bass trombone in G
1 ripieno cornet 2 percussion
1 flügelhorn
2 euphoniums
2 E-flat basses
2 B-flat basses 29 total players
Full Orchestra:
12-16 violins I 2-3 flutes (1 piccolo)
12-16 violins II 2-3 oboes (1 English horn)
8-12violas 2-4 clarinets (A & B-flat)
8-12 'cellos 2-4 bassoons
6-10 double basses 1 contrabassoon
6-8 percussion piano/celesta/harpsichord/organ
3 trumpets 3 trombones
4-5 horns 1 bass trombone
1 tuba 1-2 harps
75-105+ total players
(Other unusual instruments such as guitars, saxophones, bass flutes, heckelphones, Wagner
tubas, and so on may be used as well, depending upon the music)
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Peter Kaiser is a Music Education major (Saxophone) at Indiana University
and has become somewhat of a regular columnist for our site. We appreciate
his willingness to contribute and share his experience with our followers.
If you're interested in contributing an article for the site, please let us
know by dropping us an email at
info@simplyinstrumental.com.
We'd love to hear from you!
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