Falset (music)

Falset is the latitude for a brasswind player's pitch-control of a harmonic by adjusting lip or air pressure.

This term dates at least from 1620, when Michael Praetorius wrote about falset tones in articles concerning the cornett and sackbut in his Syntagma Musicum.

Works from the Classical period notes descend to low G (written in bass clef as G3).

Recent efforts include a considerably revised view of the structure and genesis of the harmonic series.

[citation needed] Pitches are produced specifically by the player's lips as they vibrate and resonate in conjunction with the mouthpiece but not with the full tube length of the horn as is the case in the trombone.

Trombone first position harmonic series, lowest possible note B ♭ 1 [ 1 ]
Trombone seventh position harmonic series, lowest possible note E1. [ 1 ] Note the gap of theoretically playable notes between E2 and B ♭ 1, which players may fill in with falset tones.