Three Wind Ensembles: Harmonic, Fanfare & Brass

In the world of wind instruments, an ensemble can take many different forms, but if you’re not an insider, you’re unlikely to know the difference between a harmonic ensemble, a fanfare ensemble and a brass band. All of them are different types of ensembles, but what exactly is the difference?

The History of Harmonic, Fanfare and Brass Bands

Harmonic and fanfare ensembles as well as brass bands all originally stemmed from the military bands. Since the era of ancient Egypt, wind instruments and drums were used to support military regiments on the battlefield, but it wasn’t until the great technological strides that were made during the 18th and 19th centuries that wind orchestras could really start taking shape. The development of valves for brass instruments and the key system for woodwind instruments suddenly meant that different instruments could now be played harmoniously with one another. Later, the saxophone came along and filled a big hole in the mid-frequencies. During the same period, larger music corps were established within the military – not necessarily for the battlefield, but to lift and maintain the morale of the troops.

It was these military corps that actually gave rise to the civilian orchestras and marching bands that we know today. Civilian orchestras were first founded for pure entertainment, not only for their members, but for their communities. These orchestras would play at all of the local and regional events and festivals, sometimes on a stage or sometimes they would be marching through the streets. Wind instruments were cheaper and easier to look after than bowed instruments at the time, which made music more accessible to working people who simply had less to spend. This general history might be shared by all three ensemble forms, but what makes them different?

Harmonic Orchestras

First, we’ll look at the harmonic orchestra. This is a kind of ensemble that’s made up of woodwind and reed instruments and percussion. Within the woodwind section, the clarinets are the most important instrument, which has a warm tone that can play a similar role to the violins in a symphony orchestra, so they usually take on the main melodies. The higher registers within the music are taken care of by oboes, flutes and piccolos. In the reed section, you have saxophones, spanning from the alto to the baritone saxophone, which combine to take care of the middle and lower registers. In a harmonic ensemble, a soprano saxophone isn’t needed, since the same register is covered by other instruments but, to really give the global sound some bass, a bassoon will often be included in the ranks.

Besides woodwind, you’re also likely to find a lot of brass instruments in harmonic ensembles. So the higher register can be often supported by trumpets. In the mid range we find French horns, baritone horns and trombones, while the bass is delivered by bass trombones and tubas. In some cases, this is also filled out by a bass guitar or a double bass. The percussion section of any orchestra or ensemble always has a special spot, which we’ll talk more about later. First, we’ll move onto fanfare bands.

Fanfare Ensembles

The fanfare ensemble is largely the same as the harmonic ensemble, and they also share the same roots and often the same kind of repertoire, but what makes them different is the instrument line-up. Fanfare bands are made up of a lot of brass instruments, saxophones and percussion. The saxophone is listed separately because it’s not strictly a brass instrument, but a woodwind instrument because it uses a reed. Unlike the harmonic ensemble, fanfare ensembles do feature soprano saxophones, which take care of the highest registers. But other than saxophones, there are no other woodwind instruments, which gives the total sound of the fanfare ensemble a very different timbre to that of a harmonic ensemble.
Within the fanfare orchestra, you’ll come across a more diverse selection of brass instruments, including the bugle which, because of its warm and round tone, takes on the same role as the clarinet does for the harmony ensemble. So, in the standard fanfare line-up, it’s the bugle that takes most of the main melody lines. Trumpets and sometimes cornets are often also present, but because of their sharper sound, take on the melody less frequently. The mid-registers are covered by French horns, euphoniums and trombones while the lower, bass registers are covered by bass trombones and tubas. As you can see, the difference between a harmonic and fanfare ensemble lies in who takes on the higher registers.

Brass Bands

The brass band is a form of ensemble that’s exclusively made up of brass instruments and percussion. The brass band differs from the fanfare in that there are no saxophones. There are no trumpets or bugles either. However, there will be a large section of cornets, which play the same melodic role as the clarinets of a harmonic ensemble and the bugles of a fanfare ensemble. The French horn is replaced by an alto horn, but you will also find the euphonium, trombone, bass trombone and the tuba. While brass bands only include brass instruments, the global sound of the ensemble isn’t too sharp, largely because of the conical bore of the design of the instruments. This means that the tubing of the instruments gradually widens, resulting in a warmer tone. You can find out more about different brass instruments in our other blog: Brass Instruments From Low to High.

The Percussion Section

All three band forms include a percussion section. Earlier, this section would have been pretty basic, including nothing more than timpani, a bass drum, cymbals and a small and sharp drum (like a snare drum). This setup stemmed from classical music and marching music but, as the music that was being composed became more varied, so did the percussion section. Now, we find the section is often expanded with a complete drum kit, more tuned percussion like a xylophone or marimba and a whole litany of percussion and effect instruments.

The Standard Lineup

Ideally, within each band form, a beautiful balance between the different instrument sections can be devised. Unfortunately, this ideal is rarely achieved because musical associations need to work with what they have. This means that sometimes an ensemble will include fewer clarinets or more trombones. This also means that every ensemble, even if it’s the same type, will have a different sound to it, which besides the number of available instruments and musicians, partly depends on the conductor.

In Closing

Hopefully you feel a little more knowledgeable about the differences between a harmonic ensemble, a fanfare ensemble and a brass band. To really know what each different kind of band sounds like, I can only suggest having a listen. Most groups will have a website or at least a Facebook or Instagram page where they list their upcoming performances and events, so get out there and show some support for your local ‘morale officers’.