"THE PHYSICS OF BRASS MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: WHAT DO HORN PLAYERS DO WITH THEIR RIGHT HAND ANYWAY?"
A brass musical instrument such as a trumpet consists
of
four parts: a flared bell, a cylindrical middle section,
a conical
leadpipe, and a cup-shaped mouthpiece. I will build
a trumpet
to show and explain the acoustical significance of these
parts.
Although the bell seems designed to deliver sound into
a
room, I will explain why the bell prevents most of the
sound from escaping the instrument. I show why
brasses
use valves, instead of the side holes favored by woodwinds.
Horn players in the time of Mozart learned to augment
their
meager supply of open notes by putting their right hands
in the bell. I show why the horn remains acoustically
necessary
in the modern instrument. I conclude with Beethoven's
Sonata
in F Op. 17, performed on a valveless instrument similar
to those
in use in Beethoven's day.