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
Wind instrument the last method, often in combination with one of the others, to extend their register. Wind instruments are typically grouped into two families: Although brass instruments were originally made of brass and woodwind instruments have traditionally been made of wood, the material used to make the body of the instrument is not always a reliable guide to its family type. A more accurate way to determine whether an instrument is brass or woodwind is to examine how the player produces sound. For example, the saxophone is typically made of brass, but is classified as a woodwind instrument because it produces