What gives the trumpet its clarion ring and the tuba its gut-shaking 'omm pah pah?'
是什么赋予小号清澈的声音，是什么让大号发出荡气回肠的“蓬叭叭”？
And what makes the trombone so jazzy?
又是什么赋予长号爵士风？
The answer lies not in the brass these instruments are made of,
答案并不在于它们的材质--铜，
but in the journey air takes from the musician's lungs to the instrument's bell.
而在于空气从音乐家肺部到乐器的旅程。
Like any sound, music consists of vibrations traveling through air.
跟所有声音一样，音乐依靠空气震动来传播。
Instruments are classified based on how those vibrations are produced.
乐器是震动产生方式的不同而分类的。
Percussion instruments are struck.
就像打击乐靠敲击。
String instruments are plucked or bowed.
弦乐器靠弹拉。
Woodwinds have air blown against a reed or sharp edge.
木管乐器靠吹奏。
For brass instruments, however, the vibration come directly from the musician's mouth.
而对于铜管乐器来说，演奏者的嘴巴才是震动的直接来源。
One of the first things a brass player must learn is to breathe in deeply,
铜管乐器演奏家要学的第一件事就是深呼吸，
until every possible particle of air is crammed into the lungs.
直到空气几乎填满肺部的每个角落。
Once all that air is inside, it must come out through the mouth,
空气充满后，想要出去就必须经过口腔，
but there, an internal battle takes place as the musician simultaneously tries to hold their lips firmly closed
但在那里便会出现一场争斗，作为一个音乐家需尝试一边紧闭嘴唇，
while blowing enough air to force them open.
一边吹足空气使乐器发声。
The escaping air meets resistance from the lip muscles,
溢出的空气遇上了来自嘴唇的阻力，
forms an opening called the aperture and creates the vibration that brass players call 'the buzz.'
从而形成空穴，就能产生铜管演奏家所说的嗡嗡声。
When a mouthpiece is held up to those vibrating lips, it slightly refines the buzz,
当乐器吹口紧贴嘴唇时便会产生出细微的嗡嗡声。
amplifying the vibration at certain frequencies.
放大出某些特殊的振动频率。
But things get really interesting depending on what instrument is attached to that mouthpiece.
真正有趣的是不同的乐器和嘴连接后产生的不同效果。

A brass instrument's body is essentially a tube that resonates with the air column blowing through it.
铜管乐器的器身，其实就是一段能与空气柱共振的管体。
The way that sound waves travel through this column forms a limited pattern of pitches known as the harmonic series,
声波穿过这段柱体，形成有限的一组固定样式的音调，叫做泛音，
with notes spaced far apart at the lower end, but coming closer together as the pitch increases.
这些音符在低音区分得很开，但当音调升高时音符就变得紧凑起来。
The musician can alter the pitch of the note through slight contractions of the lips and alterations to air volume and speed.
通过轻微收缩嘴唇，改变空气的体积和流速，音乐家就可以改变音符的音高。
Slower, warm sighing air produces lower pitches,
缓慢、柔和的呼气产生低音，
and faster, cool, flowing air produces higher pitches in the series.
快速、冰冷、涌动的空气形成一系列高音。
But any single harmonic series has gaps where pitches are missing
但任何简单的泛音都会因音调的缺失而产生缺口，
and the versatility of brass instruments lies in their ability to switch between multiple series.
所以铜管乐器的多功能性得依靠它们在多重演奏中的转换能力。
On instruments like the trumpet, valves can be lowered to increase the length of tubing the air travels through,
像在小号那样的乐器上，活塞可以变低，增加空气流过管体的距离，
while on a trombone, this is done by extending its slide.
而在长号上则通过拉动滑管来完成。
Lengthening the tube stretches the vibrating air column,
拉动滑管来延伸空气柱的波长，
reducing the frequency of vibrations and resulting in a lower pitch.
降低振动频率产生低音。
This is why the tuba, the largest brass instrument, is also the one capable of playing the lowest notes.
这就是大型铜管乐器能够演奏重低音的原因。
So changing the instrument length shifts its harmonic series,
所以调节乐器长度改变泛音，
while slight variations of the air flow and the player's lips produce the different notes within it.
流动的空气就会在演奏者的嘴唇产生微妙的变化。
And those notes finally emerge through the flared bell opening at the end.
而这些最终会以音符形式出现在喇叭开口末端。
What started as a deep breath and a vibrating buzz on the lips has now been transformed into a bold and brassy tune.
由一开始的深呼吸到嘴唇的震动，再到现在转变为雄壮威武的曲调。
The musician's skillful manipulation of every part of the process from lungs, to lips, to the mouthpiece,
音乐家们对每一步都能够得心应手，从肺部到嘴唇再到乐器衔口，
to the instrument itself creates an amazing palette of pitches that can be heard in musical genres across the globe.
乐器本身就像调色盘，创造了许多神奇的音乐，使得全世界各地都能听到不同的音乐类型。
By harnessing the power of natural resonance in a flexible and controllable way,
通过一种可调可控的方式对自然共振能量的驾驭，
brass instruments are great examples of the fusion of human creativity with the physics of our world.
铜管乐器成为了人类创造力和物理学融合的一个很好的例证。