Which of the following is a brass instrument listed among common instruments?

Which of the following is a brass instrument listed among common instruments?

• A. Timpani
• B. Marimba
• C. Trumpet
• D. Piano

Answer: (C)

Brass instruments produce sound by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece, and pitch is changed by lengthening the air column with valves or slides. The trumpet fits this idea: it’s made of brass, you buzz into its mouthpiece, and you alter notes with three valves that route air through more tubing and into a bell. The other items aren’t brass: timpani are percussion drums struck with mallets, marimba is a wooden percussion keyboard instrument, and the piano is a keyboard instrument whose sound comes from hammers striking strings inside. So among common instruments listed, the trumpet is the brass one.

Brass instruments produce sound by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece, and pitch is changed by lengthening the air column with valves or slides. The trumpet fits this idea: it’s made of brass, you buzz into its mouthpiece, and you alter notes with three valves that route air through more tubing and into a bell. The other items aren’t brass: timpani are percussion drums struck with mallets, marimba is a wooden percussion keyboard instrument, and the piano is a keyboard instrument whose sound comes from hammers striking strings inside. So among common instruments listed, the trumpet is the brass one.