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
Vibrato and shaping of the lips and facial muscles, essentially repeatedly "bending" the note. This is called lip-vibrato, and is probably the most commonly used technique of vibrato on a lower brass instrument. It is also known to give the best sound and timbre on a brass instrument and is encouraged in upper-level or militaristic style brass ensembles. Players may also produce vibrato by gently shaking the horn which varies the pressure of the mouthpiece against the lip. This is referred to as hand vibrato. It is more favored in higher brass, but does not possess the same sound quality as