Musical Metals

Music is one of the finest of arts. It expresses emotion, tells stories, enhances the human experience, and adds compelling dynamics to other arts (e.g. ballet, theater, film, television). Music is one of the things that defines us and enriches our lives. Without mining, however, music would be substantially different.

Thanks to mined metals, particularly brass (an alloy of copper, tin, nickel, and zinc among other ingredients), we can enjoy concerts featuring instruments like violins, pianos, trumpets, and saxophones. Among other metals, brass is one of the most common materials used in musical instruments. It’s so common in fact that an entire instrumental family is named for it! Brass instruments such as trumpets, trombones, tubas, and french horns are almost wholly built from brass. Woodwind instruments too, despite what their name might suggest, also depend on this metal alloy. Flutes and saxophones are predominantly made from brass, and clarinets, while primarily made of a hardened plastic resin, still use brass for their keys as well as their ligatures (devices also used by saxophones that hold the reed in place).

While brass is one of the most extensively used instrumental materials, it is far from the only one. While percussion instruments like the snare and bass drum use brass, others use a variety of metals including copper (timpanis, triangles), aluminum (vibraphones), bronze (cymbals, gongs). Woodwinds and brass, even with their high brass content, are plated with metals like gold, silver, and even copper to given them a shiny, pleasing appearance and improved corrosion resistance. Strings for orchestral instruments like the violin are often made with a steel core, wound with other metals. The E-string (the highest, thinnest string) is frequently made with either solid steel or a core wound with aluminum. Pianos use carbon steel in their strings (for durability), and their bass strings are often composed of a steel core wrapped with copper wire (to avoid overpowering higher notes). Additionally, the body of the piano is made using a cast iron frame.

While instruments can be made with more rudimentary materials like horn, bone, and wood, the more modern instruments we have become so familiar with are unquestionably dependent on mining. The use of mined metals in music has unlocked new capabilities for instruments and enhanced the quality of the relatively primitive versions that came before. If you love music, thank mining!