The instrumentation of the modern brass band is now firmly fixed as set out above in
both the concert and contest fields and has been so since the middle of the nineteenth century.
The only major change has been the acceptance of percussion into contesting following its
pioneering appearance in the Edinburgh Festival contest of 1952. In the view of the organisers
of this contest there was no reason for it to remain banned as it was already in widespread
concert use. Such a "radical" perspective strikes at the very roots of banding; any variance from
the accepted norm that has been in use for generations is to be viewed with the greatest of
suspicion. This outlook is also used to greet the mention of french horns and the like.