Wind band

A wind band is an group of musicians comprised of woodwinds, brasses, and percussion. More specific terms referring to this type of ensemble include:

• Concert band/wind band: a generally large ensemble that includes sections of several players per part. It is most commonly an amateur band.
• Symphonic band/wind symphony: a large but often more technically skilled ensemble.
• Wind ensemble: a generally smaller ensemble, comprising of a minimum number of players per part.
• Marching band: any ensemble of varying size and skill level that primarily exists for marching, as opposed to concert performances. They are very common at the high school level in the United States.

Instrumentation at a glance

	Concert Band (large)		Professional Wind Ensemble (small)		Marching Band (average)
Group	No.	Instrument	No.	Instrument	No.	Instrument
Woodwinds	1-2	Piccolo (may double Flute)	1	Piccolo (Flute III)	0-2	Piccolo
	1-6	Flute I	1	Flute I	3-8	Flute I
	1-6	Flute II	1	Flute II (may double Alto Flute)	3-8	Flute II
	1-6	Flute III (not often called for)
	1-2	Oboe I	1	Oboe I	0-2	Oboe (very rare)
	0-2	Oboe II (may double English Horn)	1	Oboe II (may double English Horn)
	0-1	English Horn	0-1	English Horn
	0-1	Eb Clarinet (may also play Bb Clarinet I)	0-1	Eb Clarinet (may also play Bb Clarinet I)
	2-6	Bb Clarinet I (one player may double on Eb Clarinet)	2-3	Bb Clarinet I (one player may double on Eb Clarinet)	2-6	Bb Clarinet I
	2-6	Bb Clarinet II	2-3	Bb Clarinet II	2-6	Bb Clarinet II
	2-6	Bb Clarinet III	2-3	Bb Clarinet III	2-6	Bb Clarinet III
	0-2	Eb Alto Clarinet	0-1	Eb Alto Clarinet
	1-4	Bb Bass Clarinet	1	Bb Bass Clarinet	0-2	Bass Clarinet
	0-2	Eb Contra-alto Clarinet	0-1	Eb Contra-alto Clarinet
	0-2	Bb Contrabass Clarinet	0-1	Bb Contrabass Clarinet
	0-1	Bassoon I	1	Bassoon I
	0-1	Bassoon II	1	Bassoon II
	0-1	Contrabassoon	0-1	Contrabassoon
	1-4	Eb Alto Saxophone I (may double Bb Soprano Saxophone)	1	Eb Alto Saxophone I (may double Bb Soprano Saxophone)	2-4	Eb Alto Saxophone I
	1-4	Eb Alto Saxophone II	1	Eb Alto Saxophone II	2-4	Eb Alto Saxophone II
	1-4	Bb Tenor Saxophone	1	Bb Tenor Saxophone	1-4	Bb Tenor Saxophone
	1-2	Eb Baritone Saxophone	1	Eb Baritone Saxophone	0-2	Eb Baritone Saxophone
Brass	6-12	Bb Trumpets/Cornet (divided, see below)	4-5	Bb Trumpets/Cornet (divided, see below)	8-16	Bb Trumpets/Cornet (divided, see below)
	1-2	1st Horn in F	1	1st Horn in F	2-4	1st Horn in F (mellophone)
	1-2	2nd Horn in F	1	2nd Horn in F	2-4	2nd Horn in F (mellophone)
	0-2	3rd Horn in F	1	3rd Horn in F
	0-2	4th Horn in F	1	4th Horn in F
	1-3	Trombone I	1	Trombone I	2-6	Trombone I
	1-3	Trombone II	1	Trombone II	2-6	Trombone II
	1-3	Trombone III (Bass Trombone)	1	Trombone III (Bass Trombone)	0-2	Trombone III (Bass Trombone)
	2-4	Euphonium	1-2	Euphonium	2-8	Euphonium
	2-4	Tuba	2-3	Tubas	2-6	Tubas
	0-1	String Bass	0-1	String Bass
Percussion	1	Timpani (3 to 5 drums)	1	Timpani (4 to 5 drums)	0-10	Pit percussion/Front ensemble
	4-7	Percussion	3-5	Percussion	3-6	Marching snare
					1-3	Tenor drums (usually quads or quints)
					5	Tuned bass drums
					3-6	Marching cymbals

Brass

Trumpets

In present day wind bands, the trumpet section is frequently asked of to divide into sections consisting of three cornet parts (to be played on trumpet), and two trumpet parts when playing older repertoire. Cornets typically play more melodic lines and trumpets usually fill static harmonies. This practice is inherited from historic wind band writing when proper cornets were used and present day compositions should typically ask the trumpet section to divide into three parts only.