Intonation

Orval, Francis

The F/Bb horn with whole-tone ascending 3rd valve

A different horn, a different approach: Francis Orval explores how an ascending 3rd valve reshapes technique, intonation and response.

Huber, Heinrich

The trombone: changing times, changing slide positions

Did trombonists always use seven positions? Heinrich Huber reveals how history, theory and early music reshaped the slide.

Westhof, Theo

My new developed descant double horn

Why does the ideal horn not exist? Theo Westhof designs a new descant double horn to solve tuning and tone issues—without compromise.

Kurath, Willi

Tuba and Euphonium today

A new era for low brass: Willy Kurath explores how modern tuba and euphonium design—driven by innovation and collaboration—redefines sound, technique, and solo potential.

Thein, Heinrich

The contrabass trombone

Picture and sketches, taking particularly into account the construction principles (1973)

Inside the workshop of innovation: Heinrich Thein reveals how rethinking every detail—from valves to bell—transforms the contrabass trombone into a modern orchestral instrument

Bloch, Colin

The bell-tuning trumpet

Colin Bloch examines bell- and slide-tuned trumpets, comparing intonation patterns through controlled tests and outlining structural causes behind observed deviations.

Stevens, Thomas

The Trumpet in the USA

Gadgets I

From Schilke soundposts to piccolo trumpet extensions, American performers turned technical frustrations into specialized tools for modern playing.

Stevens, Thomas

Editorial

So your trumpet plays in tune

Keyboard tuning, just intonation and string phrasing place brass players between conflicting pitch systems, as Thomas Stevens outlines practical compromises.

Stamp, James

Practical Hints

Built around Herbert L. Clarke’s Technical Studies, these practice routines refine flexibility, intonation and note placement through structured brass exercises.

Ferron, Emile

On the sensitivity of brass instruments

Metal, pressure nodes and temperature shifts shape response, timbre and tuning, as Emile Ferron links instrument acoustics to the player’s imprint.

Sluchin, Benny

A Trombone Martyr

Auguste Léonard de la Tuilerie

A Paris apothecary turned trombone evangelist challenges 19th-century musical habits, imagining the slide trombone as the future voice of harmony.

Bishop, Ronald T.

Cleveland Orchestra Audition in 1966

George Szell’s demanding 1966 audition process unfolds through orchestral excerpts, dynamic extremes and the search for absolute ensemble precision.

Leuba, Christopher

A study of musical intonation

Resultant tones, harmonic series ratios and chord spacing challenge equal temperament, linking acoustics and practical ensemble intonation.

Stevens, Thomas

The Trumpet in the USA

Gadgets II

Mouthpiece backbores for piccolo and C trumpet are compared through practical performer testing, linking equipment choices to sound, volume and intonation.

Leuba, Christopher

A study of musical intonation

From harmonic-series tuning to valve-slide adjustments on the horn, practical listening and resonance become more reliable guides than equal temperament alone.

Ferron, Emile

Harmonics or partials?

Behind every brass note lies a compromise between acoustical theory and instrument design, as E. Ferron questions what players call a harmonic.

Leuba, Christopher

A study of musical intonation

From wind quintets to brass sections, balance, overtones and perception shape intonation in ways that often diverge from measurable frequency.

Ferron, Emile

Instrument Making and the Ear

From hearing physiology to workshop testing, E. Ferron links instrument design, acoustics and perception, where no two ears judge sound in quite the same way.

Sluchin, Benny

Playing and singing simultaneously on brass instruments

From Weber and Vivier to contemporary solo works, singing into the brass instrument becomes a multiphonic technique shaped by notation, acoustics, and practice.

Goodwin, John

Brass instrument research at Surrey University

Acoustics, materials, bore design, and player perception meet in Surrey research linking laboratory measurements with the realities of brass performance.

Weiner, Howard

The trombone: changing times, changing slide positions

From Virgiliano to Praetorius and Eisel, early sources reshape long-held assumptions about trombone tuning, slide positions and historical playing practice.

Sluchin, Benny

Playing and singing simultaneously on brass instruments

From Weber's Concertino to Berlioz's chord writing, acoustic principles explain how combination tones emerge from simultaneous playing and singing on brass.

Bowsher, J. M. · Watkinson, P. S.

Manufacturers' Opinions about Brass Instruments

Between workshop lore and acoustic certainty, brass makers’ claims expose a restless debate over metal, finish, resonance, and playing quality.

Willener, Alfred

James Stamp, subtle teaching

Intonation, held notes and mouthpiece work shape James Stamp's subtle approach to trumpet playing, where listening and physical economy guide technique.

Barantsev, Anatoly

Akim Alexeyevich Kozlov

A Trombone Artist

Behind decades of orchestral excellence, one trombonist shaped a school of playing whose influence reached far beyond Leningrad and the concert hall.

Holland, Jack

An Introduction to "In Tune"

the Scale of Just Intonation

Long before electronic tuners, brass players faced a choice between mathematical order and acoustic truth, with consequences that still shape ensemble playing today.

Stevens, Thomas

The Trumpet in the USA

Diverse makers

As trumpet makers rethink their standard instruments, Monette, Malone and Blackburn bring leadpipe design into a new dialogue between players and workshops.