BRASSWIND
The term Brasswind is used to describe wind instruments made of brass thus called brasswind instruments. The category contains a lot of instrument types, with and without valves, from piccolo trumpet through bugle and trombone to tuba and sousaphone.
Brasswind instruments are used in i.e. symphony orchestra, big band, marching band, wind band, concert band, fanfare band and brass band etc. The instruments with valves are equipped with piston valves (mostly belonging to the Saxhorn family), or rotary valves. In some cases both types.
In general the brasswind instruments are played with a mouthpiece that transfers the vibrations of the lips to the column of air in the instrument thus creating the standing wave that makes the instrument produce its timbre.
Saxophones however are also made of brass but belong to the Woodwind Instruments category, but that's a different story altogether...
Brass is an alloy consisting of copper (Cu) and zink (Zn), occasionally with a small amount of other metals. The mixing ratio between copper and zink varies depending of the use of the alloy. The brass used in wind instruments is called Yellow Brass and typically consists of 72% copper and 28% zink. Sometimes the mixing ratio is 85/15 and called Gold Brass, while the 90/10 ratio is called Red Brass.
