A fanfare (or flourish) is a short musical flourish that is typically played by trumpets or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion , a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental performance" . By extension, the word may also designate a short, prominent passage for brass instruments in an orchestral composition. In French usage, fanfare also may refer to a hunting signal (given either on "starting" a stag, or after the kill when the hounds are given their share of the animal), and in both France and Italy was the name given in the 19th century to a military or civilian brass band . In French, this usage continues to the present, and distinguishes the all-brass band from bands of mixed brass and woodwind, which is called Harmonie .