Euphonium Euphonium The euphonium is a large, conical-bore, baritone-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word "euphōnos", meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( "eu" means "well" or "good" and "phōnē" means "sound", hence "of good sound"). The euphonium is a valved instrument. Nearly all current models have piston valves, though models with rotary valves do exist. The euphonium may be played in bass clef as a non-transposing instrument or in treble clef as a transposing instrument. In British brass bands, it is typically treated as a treble-clef instrument, while in American band music, parts may be written in
Pitch of brass instruments valve that puts it into E, and when combined, these put the instrument into the key of B. The B contrabass is often fitted with a valve in F and has been fitted with both a valve in F and G, so that it matches its bass trombone counterpart, but is pitched an octave lower. See Types of trombones The bass tuba is commonly available in F and E, while contrabass tubas are available in C and B. Pitch of brass instruments The pitch of a brass instrument is determined by its vibratory length, which determines the fundamental frequency of