Trumpet
The first trumpets originated from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Africa and Greece. They were constructed of wood, bronze and even silver and did not have valves!

The addition of the valves to the trumpet in 1814, by inventor Heinrich Stotzel, allowed the trumpet performer the ability to play melodies.  This was mainly due to the fact that all the notes of the chromatic scale could be played. The modern trumpet is the highest pitch instrument of the brass family and it is even found in a smaller version called the piccolo trumpet which can go even higher. Trumpets are made in several different natural key versions for their open notes such as a trumpet in the key of D, E flat or C but the most common natural key is the B flat version.

French Horn
The French Horn originated from the hunting horn of the 16th century, which did not have valves.  It received the name “French Horn” after the trompe horn, a horn with 2 ½-coiled tubing, was introduced in France in 1660.   Soon after Heinrich Stotzel added valves to the trumpet, he and another German instrument maker named Bluhmel added valves to the “French Horn”.

Trombone
The slide trombone is a unique member of the brass family.  Its slide makes it the only instrument that doesn’t have valves to push up or down to change pitch.   You change the notes by blowing air through the horn and moving the slide out or back in to special positions.   You can also slide to a note making a glissando effect.

The trombone can be dated back to the 15th century in Europe and was commonly used in court bands in the 16th century.

The Trombone is a very popular instrument used in all types of music, including; concert, theatre, classical, jazz, rock, Latin and world music’s.