Historical

In 1764, the French-guards are the first wind formation (1 flute, 6 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 1 trumpet, 2 horns, 1 snake, cymbals and bass drum). From the French Revolution and throughout the XIX^th century, the instrumental bill and the development of wind instruments enhances the development of wind bands. After the consecration of the clarinet in the second half of the XVIII^th century technological revolutions like those of Theobald Boehm and the advent of new instruments such as those of Adolphe Sax enrich the wind music born in the revolution of 1789 and disseminated in the whole of Europe to the New World. If certain courses are specialized in military music, ambulatory or street party with bands sometimes joining or battery-bands, others have preferred to develop the concert music kiosks or indoors. In the late XIX^th century and early XX^th century many wind bands have been created by groups of workers (factories, coal-mines, etc. ...). These bands were later developed their music in schools to educate future musicians able to join them and contributed to a first grid education in France.

Repertoire

If the original directory of wind bands consisted primarily of works of military music, over time, he amassed arrangements of music classical (opera overtures, concertos, masses) of light music (operetta. ..), but also many original compositions highlighting the qualities of these wind ensembles. For several years now, many arrangements of film music and jazz have appeared in the repertoire of wind bands.

Typical composition

Even today, the enrolment of an orchestra to another can be very variable in number and variety of musical instruments. Generally, it found :

- small timber :

• Flutes, one of which can play the Piccolo
• Oboe, including one that can play the English Horn
• Bassoons which one can play the contrabassoon (rare)

- single-reed instruments :

• Small Clarinet in E (optional), Clarinet in B, in 2 or 3 voices, console the most numerous, Alto Clarinet in E (optional), Bass-Clarinet(s) and sometimes a Contrabass Clarinet (rare)
• Soprano Saxophone (rare), Alto Saxophone, in two voices, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone(s) and Bass Saxophone (rare)

- brass :

• Trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorns in 2 or 3 voices
• Horns, Altos Saxhorns, in 2 ou 4 voices
• Trombones slide (more rarely piston), in 3 voices, one that can play the Bass Trombone
• Euphonium, Baritone Saxhorns
• Tubas, Bass and Contrabass Saxhorns

- percussion :

• Timpani
• Battery
• Bass Drum, Cymbals
• Accessories
• Xylophone, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel

- optional :

• Sting Bass
• Harp
• Electric Bass
• Synthetizer