Brass instrument the player of a brass instrument has direct control of the prime vibrator (the lips), brass instruments exploit the player's ability to select the harmonic at which the instrument's column of air vibrates. By making the instrument about twice as long as the equivalent woodwind instrument and starting with the second harmonic, players can get a good range of notes simply by varying the tension of their lips (see embouchure). Most brass instruments are fitted with a removable mouthpiece. Different shapes, sizes and styles of mouthpiece may be used to suit different embouchures, or to more easily produce certain tonal
Woodwind doubler Woodwind doubler A woodwind doubler (or reed doubler) is a musician who can play two or more instruments from the five woodwind families (clarinets, saxophones, oboes, bassoons and flutes) or other folk or ethnic woodwind instruments (e.g., recorder, panflute, irish flute), and can play more than one instrument during a performance. A player who plays two instruments from the same family (e.g., oboe and English horn, clarinet and bass clarinet, flute and piccolo) is also often considered a woodwind doubler, but is usually paid less than a player who plays instruments from different families. Longtime classical music practice has expected