Instrument Selection Guide

The flute is a woodwind instrument. (While today it’s silver-plated, the earliest flutes were made of wood.) Each note has a different fingering, and the sound is made by the player blowing over the hole in the headjoint (the part without the keys). The flute can play some of the highest notes in the band and often gets to play the melody and some of the “flashy” parts in the music.

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The clarinet and the flute are both woodwinds and both use keys to reach all of the different notes. 

The clarinet can play notes that are are high and notes that are much lower.  Sound comes from a vibrating the reed attached to the mouthpiece. Reeds wear out and are replaced regularly. Because it can play high and low notes, the clarinet can do many jobs in band and can be teamed up with a variety of instruments.

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The saxophone is between the woodwinds and the brass. It uses a reed like the clarinet, but is made of brass like trumpets and trombones. That makes it louder than the other woodwinds, but it still uses a different fingering for each note. Saxophones are used in band and especially in jazz groups, but they aren’t found in orchestras very often. In band they play background parts a lot, but they are usually featured in jazz ensembles.

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The trumpet is a brass instrument and uses its three valves to open different tubing for its notes. Players have to “buzz” their lips to make a sound, and make their lips tighter or looser for high and low notes. That’s why the same fingering can make several notes: the player is changing muscle tension, too. Trumpets play a lot of melody parts, and often get to play the loudest parts of a song. Trumpets are used in band, orchestra and jazz ensemble

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