Brass Instrument Mouthpieces

The mouthpieces of different brass instruments are significantly different and contribute to the characteristic timbre of the instruments. They consist of a cup with a rim to accommodate the lips and a backbore tube to connect to the rest of the instrument. Besides providing the place for the player's lips to vibrate, the mouthpiece lowers the high resonances of the instrument (the mouthpiece effect). 不同铜制乐器的嘴子差异显著，它们对乐器的特色音色起着重要作用。嘴子包括一个带有边缘以容纳嘴唇的杯状体，以及一个连接到乐器其余部分的后孔管。除了为演奏者提供嘴唇振动的空间外，嘴子还会降低乐器的高频共振（即嘴子效应）。

The "Lip Reed"

Brass instruments achieve their air column excitation from the action of the player's lips against the mouthpiece of the instrument. This so-called "lip reed" action of the lips provides the brass player with a wide range of adjustment of both the pitch and quality of the tone, but requires training and practice.

The embouchure formed by the player's lips against the mouthpiece must seal the opening so that maximum use of the airflow is made, and the lips must tighten by the right amount to excite the higher vibrational modes of the air column to produce the higher notes.

Playing Ranges of Brasses

The low bass brass instruments such as the tuba and trombone make strong use of their pedal tones. The French horn has a very low range as well, but can reach higher than the other bass brasses because of the sharpness of its high resonances which makes more of them playable. The trumpet does not make use of pedal tones in normal playing. 低音铜管乐器，如大号和小号，强烈地利用了其低音区的音色。法国号也有非常低的音域，但由于其高音区的锐利性，使其能够比其他低音铜管乐器演奏出更高的音域。小号在正常演奏中并不使用低音区的音色。