The stars of this series are the ‘tools' of music: its instruments. Children attending will get the chance to familiarise themselves with these instruments under the guidance of expert musicians. In this half year we will embark on a journey into the realm of the musical instruments of a classic symphonic orchestra. Children who join the expedition will have the chance to learn about the orchestra and its most important instrument groups.
The brass section of the symphony orchestra is its shiniest and most sparkling in both appearance and sound. The virtuoso trumpet, the soft-toned French horn, the slide trombone and the growling tuba all contribute their distinctive colours to the orchestral palette. Their most important common feature is not that they are made of a thin metallic, primarily copper alloy, but that each instrument produces sound through the vibration of the player's lips placed against a funnel-shaped mouthpiece. To make different pitches of sounds you need different lengths of pipes. The trombone, for example, has for a long time operated with a telescopic mechanism that produces different lengths through its sliding pieces. For over a hundred years, the other brass instruments have been fitted with valves. These guide the air into the right size of the extension tubes, making it possible to play all kinds of sounds and therefore any melody.

Age: 8-12 year

Presented by: Müpa Budapest