trumpet

1. 1. Music. A soprano brass wind instrument consisting of a long metal tube looped once and ending in a flared bell, the modern type being equipped with three valves for producing variations in pitch.
   2. Something shaped or sounding like this instrument.
2. Music. An organ stop that produces a tone like that of the brass wind instrument.
3. A resounding call, as that of the elephant.

1. Music. To play a trumpet.
2. To give forth a resounding call.

To sound or proclaim loudly.

[Middle English trumpette, from Old French trompette, diminutive of trompe, horn, from Old High German trumpa.]

Background

A trumpet is a brass wind instrument noted for its powerful tone sounded by lip vibration against its cup-shaped mouthpiece. A trumpet consists of a cylindrical tube, shaped in a primary oblong loop that flares into a bell. Modern trumpets also have three piston valves as well as small, secondary tubing that act as tuning slides to adjust the tone. Almost all trumpets played today are B-flat. This is the tone naturally played when the trumpet is blown. They have a range between the F-sharp below middle C to two and a half octaves above (ending at B), and are comparatively easier to play than other brass instruments.

The first trumpets were probably sticks that had been hollowed out by insects. Numerous early cultures, such as those in Africa and Australia, developed hollow, straight tubes for use as megaphones in religious rites. These early "trumpets" were made from the horns or tusks of animals, or cane. By 1400 B.C. the Egyptians had developed trumpets made from bronze and silver, with a wide bell. People in India, China, and Tibet also created trumpets, which were usually long and telescoped. Some, like Alpine horns, rested their bells on the ground. Assyrians, Israelites, Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, Celts, and Teutonic tribes all had some form of horn, and many were decorated. These instruments, which produced low, powerful notes, were mainly used in battle or during ceremonies. They were not usually considered to be musical instruments. To make these trumpets, the lost-wax method was used. In this process, wax was placed in a cavity that was in the shape of a trumpet. This mold was then heated so that the wax melted away, and in its place molten bronze was poured, producing a thick-walled instrument.

The Crusades of the late Middle Ages (A.D. 1095-1270) caused most of Europe to come into contact with Arabic cultures, and it is believed that these introduced trumpas made from hammered sheets of metal. To make the tube of the trumpet, a sheet of metal was wrapped around a pole and soldered. To make the bell, a curved piece of metal shaped somewhat like an arc of a phonograph record was dovetailed. One side was cut to form teeth. These teeth were then splayed alternately, and the other side of the piece of metal was brought around and stuck between the teeth. Hammering the seam smoothed it down. Around A.D. 1400 the long, straight trumpets were bent, thus providing the same sound in a smaller, more convenient instrument. Molten lead was poured into the tube and allowed to solidify. This was then beaten to form a nearly perfect curve. The tube was next heated and the lead was poured out. The first bent trumpets were S-shaped, but rapidly the shape evolved to become a more convenient oblong loop.

A variety of trumpets were developed during the last half of the eighteenth century, as both musicians and trumpet makers searched for ways to make the trumpet more versatile. One limitation of the contemporary trumpet was that it could not be played chromatically; that is, it could not play the half-step range called the chromatic scale. In 1750 Anton Joseph Hampel of Dresden suggested placing the hand in the bell to solve the problem, and Michael Woggel and Johann Andreas Stein around 1777 bent the trumpet to make it easier for the player's hand to reach the bell. The consensus was that this created more problems than it solved. The keyed trumpet followed, but it never caught on, and was replaced rapidly by valve trumpets. The English created a slide trumpet, yet many thought the effort to control the slide wasn't worth it.

The first attempt to invent a valve mechanism was tried by Charles Clagget, who took out a patent in 1788. The first practical one, however, was the box tubular valve invented by Heinrich Stoelzel and Friedrich Bluhmel in 1818. Joseph Riedlin in 1832 invented the rotary valve, a form now only popular in Eastern Europe. It was Francois Perinet in 1839 who improved upon the tubular valve to invent the piston valved trumpet, the most preferred trumpet of today. The valves ensured a trumpet that was fully chromatic because they effectively changed the tube length. An open valve lets the air go through the tube fully. A closed valve diverts the air through its short, subsidiary tubing before returning it to the main tube, lengthening its path. A combination of three valves provides all the variation a chromatic trumpet needs.

The first trumpet factory was founded in 1842 by Adolphe Sax in Paris, and it was quickly followed by large-scale manufacturers in England and the United States. Standardized parts, developed by Gustave Auguste Besson, became available in 1856. In 1875 C. G. Conn founded a factory in Elkhart, Indiana, and to this day most brass instruments from the United States are manufactured in this city.

Today some orchestras are not satisfied with only using B-flat trumpets. There has been a revival of natural trumpets, rotary trumpets, and trumpets that sound higher than the standard B-flat. Overall, however, modern trumpets produce high, brilliant, chromatic musical tones in contrast with the low, powerful, inaccurate trumpets of the past.

Raw Materials

Brass instruments are almost universally made from brass, but a solid gold or silver trumpet might be created for special occasions. The most common type of brass used is yellow brass, which is 70 percent copper and 30 percent zinc. Other types include gold brass (80 percent copper and 20 percent zinc), and silver brass (made from copper, zinc, and nickel). The relatively small amount of zinc present in the alloy is necessary to make brass that is workable when cold. Some small manufacturers will use such special brasses as Ambronze (85 percent copper, 2 percent tin, and 13 percent zinc) for making certain parts of the trumpet (such as the bell) because such alloys produce a sonorous, ringing sound when struck. Some manufacturers will silver- or goldplate the basic brass instrument.

Very little of the trumpet is not made of brass. Any screws are usually steel; the water key is usually lined with cork; the rubbing surfaces in the valves and slides might be electroplated with chromium or a stainless nickel alloy such as monel; the valves may be lined with felt; and the valve keys may be decorated with mother-of-pearl.

Design

Most trumpets are intended for beginning students and are mass produced to provide fairly high quality instruments for a reasonable price. The procedure commonly used is to produce replicas of excellent trumpets that are as exact as possible. Professional trumpeters, on the other hand, demand a higher priced, superior instrument, while trumpets for special events are almost universally decorated, engraved with ornate designs. To meet the demand for custom-made trumpets, the manufacturer first asks the musician such questions as: What style of music will be played? What type of orchestra or ensemble will the trumpet be played in? How loud or rich should the trumpet be? The manufacturer can then provide a unique bell, specific shapes of the tuning slides, or different alloys or plating. Once the trumpet is created, the musician plays it and requests any minor adjustments that might need to be made. The trumpet's main pipe can then be tapered slightly. The professional trumpet player will usually have a favorite mouthpiece that the ordered trumpet must be designed to accommodate.

The Manufacturing
Process

The main tube

• The main tube of the trumpet is manufactured from standard machinable brass that is first put on a pole-shaped, tapered mandrel and lubricated. A die that looks like a doughnut is then drawn down its entire length, thus tapering and shaping it properly. Next, the shaped tube is annealed—heated (to around 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit or 538 degrees Celsius) to make it workable. This causes an oxide to form on the surface of the brass. To remove the oxidized residue, the tube must be bathed in diluted sulfuric acid before being bent.
• The main tube may be bent using one of three different methods. Some large manufacturers use hydraulic systems to push high pressure water (at approximately 27,580 kilopascals) through slightly bent tubing that has been placed in a die. The water presses the sides of the tubing to fit the mold exactly. Other large manufacturers send ball bearings of exact size through the tubing. Smaller manufacturers pour pitch into the tube, let it cool, then use a lever to bend the tube in a standard curve before hammering it into shape.

The bell

• The bell is cut from sheet brass using an exact pattern. The flat dress-shaped sheet is then hammered around a pole. Where the tube is cylindrical, the ends are brought together into a butt joint. Where the tube begins to flare, the ends are overlapped to form a lap joint. The entire joint is then brazed with a propane oxygen flame at 1,500 to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit (816 to 871 degrees Celsius) to seal it. To make a rough bell shape, one end is hammered around the horn of a blacksmith anvil. The entire tube is then drawn on a mandrel exactly like the main tube, while the bell is spun on the mandrel. A thin wire is placed around the bell's rim, and metal is crimped around it to give the edge its crisp appearance. The bell is then soldered to the main tube.

The valves

• The knuckles and accessory tubing are first drawn on a mandrel as were the tube and bell. The knuckles are bent into 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-degree angles, and the smaller tubes are bent (using either the hydraulic or ball bearing methods used to bend the main tubing), annealed, and washed in acid to remove oxides and flux from soldering. The valve cases are cut to length from heavy tubing and threaded at the ends. They then need to have holes cut into them that match those of the pistons. Even small manufacturers now have available computer programs that precisely measure where the holes should be drawn. The valve cases can be cut with drills whose heads are either pinpoint or rotary saws that cut the holes, after which pins prick out the scrap disk of metal. The knuckles, tubes and valve cases are then placed in jigs that hold them precisely, and their joints are painted with a solder and flux mixture using a blow torch. After an acid bath, the assembly is polished on a buffing machine, using wax of varying grittiness and muslin discs of varying roughness that rotate at high speeds (2,500 rpm is typical).

Assembly

• The entire trumpet can now be assembled. The side tubes for the valve slides are joined to the knuckles and the main tubing is united end to end by overlapping their ferrules and soldering. Next, the pistons are then inserted, and the entire valve assembly is screwed onto the main tubing. The mouthpiece is then inserted.
• The trumpet is cleaned, polished, and lacquered, or it is sent to be electroplated. The finishing touch is to engrave the name of the company on a prominent piece of tubing. The lettering is transferred to the metal with carbon paper, and a skilled engraver then carves the metal to match the etching.
• Trumpets are shipped either separately for special orders or in mass quantities for high school bands. They are wrapped carefully in thick plastic bubble packaging or other insulating material, placed in heavy boxes full of insulation (such as packaging peanuts) then mailed or sent as freight to the customer.

Quality Control

The most important feature of a trumpet is sound quality. Besides meeting exacting tolerances of approximately 1 x 105 meters, every trumpet that is manufactured is tested by professional musicians who check the tone and pitch of the instrument while listening to see if it is in tune within its desired dynamic range. The musicians test-play in different acoustical set-ups, ranging from small studios to large concert halls, depending on the eventual use of the trumpet. Large trumpet manufacturers hire professional musicians as full-time testers, while small manufacturers rely on themselves or the customer to test their product.

At least half the work involved in creating and maintaining a clear-sounding trumpet is done by the customer. The delicate instruments require special handling, and, because of their inherent asymmetry, they are prone to imbalance. Therefore, great care must be taken so as not to carelessly damage the instrument. To prevent dents, trumpets are kept in cases, where they are held in place by trumpet-shaped cavities that are lined with velvet. The trumpet needs to be lubricated once a day or whenever it is played. The lubricant is usually a petroleum derivative similar to kerosene for inside the valves, mineral oil for the key mechanism, and axle grease for the slides. The grime in the mouthpiece and main pipe should be cleaned every month, and every three months the entire trumpet should soak in soapy water for 15 minutes. It should then be scrubbed throughout with special small brushes, rinsed, and dried.

To maintain the life of the trumpet, it must occasionally undergo repairs. Large dents can be removed by locally annealing and hammering, small dents can be hammered out and balls passed through to test the final size, fissures can be patched, and worn pistons can be replated and ground back to their former size.

Where To Learn More

Books

Barclay, Robert. The Art of the Trumpet-Maker. Oxford University Press, Inc., 1992.

Bate, Philip. The Trumpet and Trombone. Ernest Benn, 1978.

Dundas, Richard J. Twentieth Century Brass Musical Instruments in the United States. Richard J. Dundas Publications, 1989.

Mueller, Kenneth A. Complete Guide to the Maintenance and Repair of Band Instruments. Parker Publishing, 1982.

Tarr, Edward. The Trumpet. Amadeus Press, 1988.

Tetzlaff, Daniel B. Shining Brass. Lerner Publications, 1963.

Tuckwell, Barry. Horn. Schirmer Books, 1983.

Whitener, Scott. A Complete Guide to Brass. Schirmer Books, 1990.

Periodicals

Benade, Arthur H. "How to Test a Good Trumpet." The Instrumentalist. April, 1977, pp. 57-58.

"Yamaha Allows Players to Design Custom Trumpets," Down Beat. December, 1991, p. 12.

Fasman, Mark J. "Brass Bibliography: Sources on the History, Literature, Pedagogy, Performance, and Acoustics of Brass Instruments," rev. by Doug Rippey in RQ, Summer, 1991, p. 555.

Smithers, Don, Klaus Wogram, and John Bowsher. "Playing the Baroque Trumpet." Scientific American. April, 1986, pp. 108-115.

Weaver, James C. "The Trumpet Museum." Antiques and Collecting Hobbies. January, 1990, p. 30.

[Article by: Rose Secrest]

A brass, lip-vibrated wind instrument. In its modern form it has a tube of 130 cm (for the B♭ instrument) with a narrow cylindrical bore widening to a conical flared bell, a cup-shaped mouthpiece and three valves (for illustration, See Brass instruments). Its range nominally extends from e to d‴; jazz trumpeters may play to b♭‴′ or higher. Notes of the harmonic series are obtained by overblowing and intermediate ones by use of the valves; any note not naturally in tune can be adjusted by lip technique. The most common forms in orchestras today are in C (non-transposing) and B♭ (transposing). Others include the bass trumpet, which goes down to F#, and smaller trumpets in D or E♭ and high A or B♭.

In its earliest form (ancient Egyptian, Assyrian and Hebrew), the trumpet was short, straight and made in one piece, of wood, bronze or silver. The Greeks and Romans also had trumpet-like instruments. During the Middle Ages the instrument was played by vagrants, but trumpeters later found posts as town musicians; by the Renaissance they had considerable importance in court functions. The tessitura rose; only up to the 4th partial was used c1300, but up to the 13th by the 16th century. In the 15th century the tube was lengthened and looped back in a more compact arrangement than the older straight form. In the 17th century the trumpet came to be used in ‘art music’; its large repertory includes sonatas and concertos by Bolognese composers, sonatas by Biber from the Kroměříž court, demanding high parts in Viennese court operas, obbligatos by Purcell and Handel in London, and ringing high parts in sacred works for the court of Louis XIV. Bach used the trumpet for high parts in his festive church music and wrote for trumpet along with recorder, oboe and violin in Brandenburg Concerto no.2. The high ‘clarino’ register was less used in the Classical period, however, when the trumpet's main role was the reinforcing of orchestral tuttis.

The natural trumpet was prevalent until the development of valves, though slide trumpets had existed since the 15th century (and continued into the 19th), and in the 18th century other attempts to gain the complete chromatic scale included keyed trumpets (for which Haydn and Hummel wrote their concertos) and trumpets in which chromatic notes were available by hand stopping. In the 1820s the valve trumpet was introduced, with the advantages of greater chromatic facility and homogeneity of tone. Berlioz and Rossini were among the first to call for this instrument. Most early valve trumpets were made in F or G; later the smaller B♭ and C models prevailed for their superior flexibility. A high D trumpet (called ‘Bach trumpet’) was made for use in Baroque works (half the length of the trumpet in D of Bach's time). In the 19th century there were many improvements in manufacture, to make intonation more exact and to refine technical detail. During the 20th there has been a move towards larger bores. Some of the developments in trumpet technique have come from jazz, including the upwards extension of range, glissandos, flutter-tonguing, ‘smears’, ‘rips’ and the use of new mutes (e.g. ‘cup’, ‘wa-wa’, and ‘plunger’) in addition to the traditional straight variety. Such techniques have been absorbed into contemporary orchestral playing.

For more information on trumpet, visit Britannica.com.

A funnel-shaped device of cardboard, aluminum, or other lightweight material used at Spiritualist séances for the manifestation of direct voice communication from spirits. Jonathan Koons, the nineteenth-century American farmer medium, appears to have been the first to use a trumpet.

Spiritualists have suggested the trumpet serves as a condenser of psychic energy and increases the volume of the spirit voice. Reportedly, weak or inexperienced spirits often have to use the trumpet. It is seldom necessary for a spirit guide. Some mediums also wet the trumpet with water, in the belief this facilitates the phenomena.

The trumpet is usually coated with a marking of luminous paint. Supposedly at séances in dark rooms the trumpet is seen levitating when there is sufficient psychic force and moving around the circle, conveying personal messages to individual sitters.

Reportedly as a safeguard against fraud, psychical researchers have devised techniques and apparatus to attempt to exclude the possibility of a medium employing ventriloquism in producing voices ostensibly from the trumpet. One method is to fill the medium's mouth with water. During the investigation of the medium Mina Crandon (better known as "Margery"), Mark Richardson of Boston invented a "Voice Control Machine."

The American direct voice medium Elizabeth Blake used a double trumpet with a saucer-shaped extension at the small end to be placed on the ear of the sitter and on her own. Another trumpet, the "Shastaphone," was developed through a psychic communication in Australia, but does not appear to have been widely used.

A brass instrument with a brilliant tone, much used in classical music, as well as in military music and jazz.

"Trumpeter" redirects here. For other uses, see Trumpeter (disambiguation).

Trumpet

B♭ trumpet
Brass instrument
Classification	Brass Wind Brass Aerophone
Hornbostel-Sachs classification	423.233 (Valved aerophone sounded by lip movement)
Playing range
Written range:
Related instruments
Flugelhorn, Cornet, Bugle, Natural trumpet, Keyed Trumpet, Bass trumpet, Post horn, Roman tuba, Bucina, Shofar, Conch, Lur, Didgeridoo, Piccolo trumpet, Baritone horn, Pocket trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments,^[1] dating back to at least 2000 BC. They are constructed of brass tubing bent twice into an oblong shape, and are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the trumpet.

There are several types of trumpet; the most common is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭. The predecessors to trumpets did not have valves, but modern trumpets have either three piston valves or three rotary valves. Each valve increases the length of tubing when engaged, thereby lowering the pitch.

The trumpet is used in many forms of music, including classical music and jazz.

A musician who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player,trumpeter or trumpeteer.

Contents 1 History 2 Construction 3 Types of trumpets 4 Playing 4.1 Fingering 4.2 Extended technique 4.3 Instruction and method books 5 Players 6 Musical pieces 6.1 Solos 7 See also 8 References 8.1 Notes 8.2 Bibliography 9 External links

History

Trumpet. 300 AD Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.

Main article: History of primitive and non-Western trumpets

The earliest trumpets date back to 2000 BC and earlier. The bronze and silver trumpets from Tutankhamun's grave in Egypt, bronze lurs from Scandinavia, and metal trumpets from China date back to this period.^[2] Trumpets from the Oxus civilization (3rd millennium BC) of Central Asia have decorated swellings in the middle, yet are made out of one sheet of metal, which is considered a technical wonder.^[3] The Moche people of ancient Peru depicted trumpets in their art going back to 300 AD. ^[4] The earliest trumpets were signaling instruments used for military or religious purposes, rather than music in the modern sense;^[5] and the modern bugle continues this signaling tradition.

Reproduction Baroque trumpet by Michael Laird

In medieval times, trumpet playing was a guarded craft, its instruction occurring only within highly selective guilds. The trumpet players were often among the most heavily guarded members of a troop, as they were relied upon to relay instructions to other sections of the army.

Improvements to instrument design and metal making in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance led to an increased usefulness of the trumpet as a musical instrument. The natural trumpets of this era consisted of a single coiled tube, without valves. This only allowed for one overtone series at a time to be played. Changing keys required the player to swap out the crooks of the instrument. The development of the upper, "clarino" register by specialist trumpeters—notably Cesare Bendinelli—would lend itself well to the Baroque era, also known as the "Golden Age of the natural trumpet." During this period, a vast body of music was written for virtuoso trumpeters. The art was revived in the mid-20th century and natural trumpet playing is again a thriving art around the world. Most successful players nowadays use a version of the natural trumpet dubbed the baroque trumpet which is fitted with one or more vent holes to aid in correcting out-of-tune notes in the harmonic series.

The melody-dominated homophony of the classical and romantic periods relegated the trumpet to a secondary role by most major composers owing to the limitations of the natural trumpet. Berlioz wrote in 1844:
"Notwithstanding the real loftiness and distinguished nature of its quality of tone, there are few instruments that have been more degraded (than the trumpet). Down to Beethoven and Weber, every composer - not excepting Mozart - persisted in confining it to the unworthy function of filling up, or in causing it to sound two or three commonplace rhythmical formulae."^[6]
The attempt to give the trumpet more chromatic freedom in its range saw the development of the keyed trumpet, but this was a largely unsuccessful venture due to the poor quality of its sound.

The trumpet was slow to adopt the modern valves (invented around the mid 1830s), and its cousin the cornet would take the spotlight as solo instrument for the next hundred years. The symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven, even Brahms, were still played on natural trumpets. Crooks and shanks (removable tubing of various lengths) as opposed to keys or valves were standard, notably in France, into the first part of the 20th century. As a consequence of this late development of the instrument's chromatic ability, the repertoire for the instrument is relatively small compared to other instruments. The 20th century saw an explosion in the amount and variety of music written for the trumpet.

Construction

Trumpet valve bypass (depressed)

The trumpet is constructed of brass tubing bent twice into an oblong shape.^[7] The trumpet and trombone share a roughly cylindrical bore which results in a bright, loud sound. The bore is actually a complex series of tapers, smaller at the mouthpiece receiver and larger just before the flare of the bell begins; careful design of these tapers is critical to the intonation of the instrument. By comparison, the cornet and flugelhorn have conical bores and produce a more mellow tone.

As with all brass instruments, sound is produced by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound into the mouthpiece and starting a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the trumpet. The player can select the pitch from a range of overtones or harmonics by changing the lip aperture and tension (known as the embouchure). Modern trumpets also have three piston valves, each of which increases the length of tubing when engaged, thereby lowering the pitch. The first valve lowers the instrument's pitch by a whole step (2 semitones), the second valve by a half step (1 semitone), and the third valve by one-and-a-half steps (3 semitones). When a fourth valve is present, as with some piccolo trumpets, it lowers the pitch a perfect fourth (5 semitones). Used singly and in combination these valves make the instrument fully chromatic, i.e., able to play all twelve pitches of Western music. The sound is projected outward via the bell.

A trumpet becomes a closed tube when the player presses it to the lips; therefore, the instrument only naturally produces every other overtone of the harmonic series. The shape of the bell is what allows the missing overtones to be heard.^[8] Most notes in the series are slightly off key, and modern trumpets have slide mechanisms built in to compensate.

The mouthpiece has a circular rim which provides a comfortable environment for the lips' vibration. Directly behind the rim is the cup, which channels the air into a much smaller opening (the back bore or shank) which tapers out slightly to match the diameter of the trumpet's lead pipe. The dimensions of these parts of the mouthpiece affect the timbre or quality of sound, the ease of playability, and player comfort. Generally, the wider and deeper the cup, the darker the sound and timbre.

Types of trumpets

The most common type is the B♭ trumpet, but low F, C, D, E♭, E, F, G and A trumpets are also available. The C trumpet is most common in American orchestral playing, where it is used alongside the B♭ trumpet. Its slightly smaller size gives it a brighter, more lively sound. Because music written for early trumpets required the use of a different trumpet for each key — they did not have valves and therefore were not chromatic — and also because a player may choose to play a particular passage on a different trumpet from the one indicated on the written music, orchestra trumpet players are generally adept at transposing music at sight, sometimes playing music written for the B♭ trumpet on the C trumpet, and vice versa.

Piccolo trumpet in B♭, with swappable leadpipes to tune the instrument to B♭ (shorter) or A (longer)

The standard trumpet range extends from the written F♯ immediately below Middle C up to about three octaves higher. Traditional trumpet repertoire rarely calls for notes beyond this range, and the fingering tables of most method books peak at the C (high C) two octaves above middle C. Several trumpeters have achieved fame for their proficiency in the extreme high register, among them Lew Soloff, Andrea Tofanelli, Bill Chase, Maynard Ferguson, Roger Ingram, Wayne Bergeron, Anthony Gorruso, Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Faddis, Cat Anderson, James Morrison, Doc Severinsen and Arturo Sandoval. It is also possible to produce pedal tones below the low F♯, which is a device commonly employed in contemporary repertoire for the instrument.

The smallest trumpets are referred to as piccolo trumpets. The most common of these are built to play in both B♭ and A, with separate leadpipes for each key. The tubing in the B♭ piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B♭ trumpet. Piccolo trumpets in G, F and even C are also manufactured, but are rarer. Many players use a smaller mouthpiece on the piccolo trumpet, which requires a different sound production technique from the B♭ trumpet and can limit endurance. Almost all piccolo trumpets have four valves instead of the usual three — the fourth valve lowers the pitch, usually by a fourth, to facilitate the playing of lower notes. Maurice André, Håkan Hardenberger, and Wynton Marsalis are some well-known piccolo trumpet players.

trumpet in C with rotary valves

Trumpets pitched in the key of low G are also called sopranos, or soprano bugles, after their adaptation from military bugles. Traditionally used in drum and bugle corps, sopranos have featured both rotary valves and piston valves.

The bass trumpet is usually played by a trombone player, being at the same pitch. Bass trumpet is played with a shallower trombone mouthpiece, and music for it is written in treble clef.

The modern slide trumpet is a B♭ trumpet that has a slide instead of valves. It is similar to a soprano trombone. The first slide trumpets emerged during the Renaissance, predating the modern trombone, and are the first attempts to increase chromaticism on the instrument. Slide trumpets were the first trumpets allowed in the Christian church.^[9]

The historical slide trumpet was probably first developed in the late fourteenth century for use in alta capella wind bands. Deriving from early straight trumpets, the Renaissance slide trumpet was essentially a natural trumpet with a sliding leadpipe. This single slide was rather awkward, as the entire corpus of the instrument moved, and the range of the slide was probably no more than a major third. Originals were probably pitched in D, to fit with shawms in D and G, probably at a typical pitch standard near A=466Hz. As no instruments from this period are known to survive, the details - and even the existence - of a Renaissance slide trumpet is a matter of some conjecture, and there continues to be some debate among scholars.^[10]

Some slide trumpet designs saw use in England in the eighteenth century.^[11]

The pocket trumpet is a compact B♭ trumpet. The bell is usually smaller than a standard trumpet and the tubing is more tightly wound to reduce the instrument size without reducing the total tube length. Its design is not standardized, and the quality of various models varies greatly. It can have a tone quality and projection unique in the trumpet world: a warm sound and a voice-like articulation. Unfortunately, since many pocket trumpet models suffer from poor design as well as cheap and sloppy manufacturing, the intonation, tone color and dynamic range of such instruments are severely hindered. Professional-standard instruments are, however, available. While they are not a substitute for the full-sized instrument, they can be useful in certain contexts.

There are also rotary-valve, or German, trumpets, as well as alto and Baroque trumpets.

The trumpet is often confused with its close relative, the cornet, which has a more conical tubing shape compared to the trumpet's more cylindrical tube. This, along with additional bends in the cornet's tubing, gives the cornet a slightly mellower tone, but the instruments are otherwise nearly identical. They have the same length of tubing and, therefore, the same pitch, so music written for cornet and trumpet is interchangeable. Another relative, the flugelhorn, has tubing that is even more conical than that of the cornet, and an even richer tone. It is sometimes augmented with a fourth valve to improve the intonation of some lower notes.

Playing

See also: Embouchure

Fingering

On any trumpet, cornet, or flugelhorn, pressing the valves indicated by the numbers below will produce the written notes shown - "OPEN" means all valves up, "1" means first valve, "1-2" means first and second valve simultaneously and so on. The concert pitch which sounds depends on the transposition of the instrument. Engaging the fourth valve, if present, drops any of these pitches by a perfect fourth as well. Within each overtone series, the different pitches are attained by changing the embouchure, or lip position and "firmness". Standard fingerings above high C are the same as for the notes an octave below (C♯ is 1-2, D is 1, etc.)

A step = a tone; a half step = a semitone

Each overtone series on the trumpet begins with the first overtone - the fundamental of each overtone series can not be produced except as a pedal tone. Notes in parentheses are the sixth overtone, representing a pitch with a frequency of seven times that of the fundamental; while this pitch is close to the note shown, it slightly flat relative to equal temperament, and use of those fingerings is generally avoided.

The fingering schema arises from the length of each valve's tubing (a longer tube produces a lower pitch). Valve "1" increases the tubing length enough to lower the pitch by one whole step, valve "2" by one half step, and valve "3" by one and a half steps. This scheme and the nature of the overtone series create the possibility of alternate fingerings for certain notes. For example, third-space "C" can be produced with no valves engaged (standard fingering) or with valves 2-3. Also, any note produced with 1-2 as its standard fingering can also be produced with valve 3 - each drops the pitch by 1-1/2 steps. Alternate fingerings may be used to improve facility in certain passages. Extending the third valve slide when using the fingerings 1-3 or 1-2-3 further lowers the pitch slightly to improve intonation.

Extended technique

Yale trombone professor John Swallow noted that brass techniques expanded rapidly in the 20th century due to the innovations of jazz players. Contemporary music for the trumpet makes wide uses of extended trumpet techniques.

Flutter tonguing: The trumpeter rolls the tip of the tongue to produce a 'growling like' tone. It is achieved as if one were rolling an R in the Spanish language. This technique is widely employed by composers like Berio and Stockhausen.

Growling: While playing a note, clinching the back of the throat to partially obstruct the air, preventing it from flowing evenly. This creates a gargling sound, thus making a 'growling' sound from the bell. Utilized by many jazz players, not to be confused with flutter tonguing, where the tongue is 100% responsible for creating the sound desired.

Double tonguing: The player articulates using the syllables ta-ka ta-ka ta-ka

Triple tonguing: The same as double tonguing, but with the syllables ta-ta-ka ta-ta-ka ta-ta-ka.

Doodle tongue: The trumpeter tongues so lightly that the articulation is almost indistinguishable.

Glissando: Trumpeters can slide between notes by depressing the valve halfway or changing the lip tension. Modern repertoire makes extensive use of this technique.

Vibrato: Vibrato is often regulated in contemporary repertoire through specific notation. Composers can call for everything from fast, slow or no vibrato to actual rhythmic patterns played with vibrato.

Pedal tone: Composers have written for two and a half octaves below the low F#, which is at the bottom of the standard range. Extreme low pedals are produced by slipping the lower lip out of the mouthpiece. The technique was pioneered famously by Bohumir Kryl.

Microtones: Composers such as Scelsi and Stockhausen have made wide use of the trumpet's ability to play microtonally. Some instruments are even adapted with a 4th valve which allows for a quarter-tone step between each note.

Mute belt: Karlheinz Stockhausen pioneered the use of a mute belt, worn around the player's waist, to enable rapid mute changes during pieces. The belt allows the performer to make faster and quieter mute changes, as well as enabling the performer to move around the stage.

Valve tremolo: Many notes on the trumpet can be played in several different valve combinations. By alternating between valve combinations on the same note, a tremolo effect can be created. Berio makes extended use of this technique in his Sequenza X.

Noises: By hissing, clicking, or breathing through the instrument, the trumpet can be made to resonate in ways that do not sound at all like a trumpet. Noises sound a 1/2 step higher than they are notated, and often require amplification to be heard.

Preparation: Composers have called for the trumpet to be played under water, or with certain slides removed. It is increasingly common for all sorts of preparations to be requested of a trumpeter. Extreme preparations involve alternate constructions, such as double bells and extra valves.

Singing: Composers such as Robert Erickson and Mark-Anthony Turnage have called for trumpeters to sing during the course of a piece, often while playing. It is possible to create a multiphonic effect by singing and playing different notes simultaneously.

Split tones: Trumpeters can produce more than one tone simultaneously by vibrating the two lips at different speeds. The interval produced is usually an octave or a fifth.

Lip Trill or Shake: By rapidly varying lip tension, but not changing the depressed valves, the pitch varies quickly between adjacent harmonics. These are usually done, and more straight-forward to execute, in the upper register.

Instruction and method books

One trumpet method publication of long-standing popularity is Jean-Baptiste Arban's Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet (Cornet).^[12] Other well-known method books include Technical Studie by Herbert L. Clarke,^[13]Grand Method by Louis Saint-Jacome,Daily Drills and Technical Studie by Max Schlossberg, and methods by Claude Gordon and Charles Colin.^[14] Vassily Brandt's Orchestral Etudes and Last Etudes^[15] is used in many college and conservatory trumpet studios, containing drills on permutations of standard orchestral trumpet repertoire, transpositions, and other advanced material. A common method book for beginners is the Walter Beeler's Method for the Cornet, and there have been several instruction books written by virtuoso Allen Vizzutti. The Breeze Eazy method is sometimes used to teach younger students, as it includes general musical information.

Players

Main article: List of trumpeters

Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong in 1953

The trumpet is used in many forms of music, though the most recognised players have been in the jazz field. Louis Armstrong, for example, was well known for his virtuosity with the trumpet. Armstrong's improvisations on his Hot Five and Hot Seven records were daring and sophisticated while also often subtle and melodic. Miles Davis is widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. His trumpet playing was distinctive, with a vocal, clear tone that has been imitated by many. The phrasing and sense of space in his solos have been models for generations of jazz musicians.^[16] Dizzy Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser, building on the style of Roy Eldridge but adding new layers of harmonic complexity. Gillespie had an enormous impact on virtually every subsequent trumpeter, both by the example of his playing and as a mentor to younger musicians. Maynard Ferguson came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957. He was noted for being able to play accurately in a remarkably high register.^[17]

Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in 1988

Among the other great modern jazz trumpet players are Clifford Brown, Jon Faddis, Harry James, Wynton Marsalis, Allen Vizzutti, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Fats Navarro, Woody Shaw, Tom Harrell, Nat Adderley, Nicholas Payton, Wallace Roney, Claudio Roditi, Doc Cheatham, and Don Cherry.

Notable classical trumpeters include Maurice André, Roger Voisin, Allen Vizzutti, Armando Ghitalla, William Vacchiano, Adolph "Bud" Herseth, Charles Schlueter, Malcolm McNab, Sergei Nakariakov, Maurice Murphy, Hakan Hardenberger, Philip Smith, Rafael Méndez, and Wynton Marsalis.

Notable natural trumpet players include Valentine Snow for whom Handel wrote several pieces and Gottfried Reiche who was Bach's chief trumpeter.

The American orchestral trumpet sound is largely attributable to Adolph "Bud" Herseth's 53-year tenure with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Though he was not as prolific a teacher as some of his peers, his widely recorded sound became the standard for American orchestras.

Musical pieces

The trumpet is used in a wide range of musical styles including ska, ska punk, classical, jazz, Rock, Blues, pop, rap, cuban music, mariachi and funk.

Solos

The chromatic trumpet was first made in the late 1700s. The repertoire for the natural trumpet and cornetto is extensive. This music is commonly played on modern piccolo trumpets, although there are many highly proficient performers of the original instruments. This vast body of repertoire includes the music of Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Bach, Vivaldi and countless other composers. Because the overtone series doesn't allow stepwise movement until the upper register, the tessitura for this repertoire is very high.

Joseph Haydn's Trumpet Concerto was one of the first for a chromatic trumpet,^[18] a fact shown off by some stepwise melodies played low in the instrument's range. Johann Hummel wrote the other great Trumpet Concerto of the Classical period, and these two pieces are the cornerstone of the instrument's repertoire. Written as they were in the infancy of the chromatic trumpet, they reflect only a minor advancement of the trumpet's musical language, with the Hummel concerto being the more adventurous piece by far. In the 20th century, trumpet repertoire expanded rapidly as composers embraced the almost completely untapped potential of the modern trumpet.

See also

• List of trumpeters
• Muted trumpet
• Piccolo trumpet
• Keyed trumpet
• Guča trumpet festival - The world's largest trumpet festival
• Category:Compositions for trumpet
• Trumpet repertoire

References

Notes

1. ^ "History of the Trumpet". www.petrouska.com. http://www.petrouska.com/historyofthetrumpet.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
2. ^ Edward Tarr, The Trumpet (Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1988), 20-30.
3. ^ "Trumpet with a swelling decorated with a human head," Musée du Louvre, [1]
4. ^ Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
5. ^ "Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Glossary - Brass instruments". www.cso.org. http://www.cso.org/main.taf?p=1,1,4,3. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
6. ^ Berlioz, Hector (1844). Treatise on modern Instrumentation and Orchestration. Edwin F. Kalmus, NY, 1948.
7. ^ "Trumpet, Brass Instrument". www.dsokids.com. http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=162. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
8. ^ D. J. Blaikley, "How a Trumpet Is Made. I. The Natural Trumpet and Horn", The Musical Times, January 1, 1910, p. 15.
9. ^ Tarr
10. ^ "IngentaConnect More about Renaissance slide trumpets: fact or fiction?". www.ingentaconnect.com. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oup/earlyj/2004/00000032/00000002/art00252. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
11. ^ "JSTOR: Notes, Second Series, Vol. 54, No. 2, (1997 ), pp. 484-485". www.jstor.org. http://www.jstor.org/pss/899543. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
12. ^ Arban, Jean-Baptiste (1894, 1936, 1982). Arban's Complete Conservatory Method for TRUMPET. Carl Fischer, Inc. ISBN 0-8258-0385-3.
13. ^ Herbert L. Clarke (1984). Technical Studies for the Cornet,C. Carl Fischer, Inc. ISBN 0-8258-0158-3.
14. ^ Colin, Charles. Advanced Lip Flexibilities.
15. ^ Vassily Brandt Orchestral Etudes and Last Etudes. ISBN 0-7692-9779-X
16. ^ "Miles Davis, Trumpeter, Dies; Jazz Genius, 65, Defined Cool". www.nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0525.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
17. ^ "Ferguson, Maynard". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001188. Retrieved 2008-01-02. 
18. ^ Keith Anderson, liner notes for Naxos CD 8.550243, Famous Trumpet Concertos, "Haydn's concerto, written for Weidinger in 1796, must have startled contemporary audiences by its novelty. At the first performance of the new concerto in Vienna in 1800 a trumpet melody was heard in a lower register than had hitherto been practicable."

Bibliography

• Don L. Smithers, The Music and History of the Baroque Trumpet Before 1721, Syracuse University Press, 1973, ISBN 0815621574
• Philip Bate, The Trumpet and Trombone: An Outline of Their History, Development, and Construction, Ernest Benn, 1978, ISBN 0393021297
• Roger Sherman, Trumpeter's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Teaching the Trumpet, Accura Music, 1979, ISBN 0918194024
• Stan Skardinski, You Can't Be Timid With a Trumpet: Notes from the Orchestra, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1980, ISBN 0688419631
• Robert Barclay, The Art of the Trumpet-Maker: The Materials, Tools and Techniques of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Nuremberg , Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0198162235
• James Arthur Brownlow, The Last Trumpet: A History of the English Slide Trumpet, Pendragon Press, 1996, ISBN 0945193815
• Frank Gabriel Campos, Trumpet Technique, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0195166922
• Gabriele Cassone, The Trumpet Book, pages 352+CD, illustrated, Zecchini Editore, 2009, ISBN 8887203806

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trumpet

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Trumpet.

• International Trumpet Guild international trumpet players' association with online library of scholarly journal back issues, news, jobs and other trumpet resources.
• Trumpet Playing Articles by Jeff Purtle, protege of Claude Gordon
• Jay Lichtmann's trumpet studies Scales and technical trumpet studies.
• Dallas Music — a non-profit musical instrument resource site
• A trumpet fingering chartPDF (43.2 KiB)
• Trumpet History articles essays on trumpet history and construction.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - trompet, tragt, hørerør, trompetstød
v. intr. - spille på trompet
v. tr. - forkynde, udbasunere, trompetere

Nederlands (Dutch)
trompet, trompetgeschal, trompetteren, aan de grote klok hangen zijn eigen lof verkondigen

Français (French)
n. - (Mus) trompette, barrissement, trompette (d'une marguerite) (littér)
v. intr. - barrir (éléphant)
v. tr. - vanter les mérites de, (Journ) claironner

Deutsch (German)
n. - Trompete, Trompeter, Trompetenregister, Schalltrichter, Fangmutter, Trompetenblatt
v. - ausposaunen, trompeten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μουσ.) σάλπιγγα, τρομπέτα, κορνέτα
v. - διασαλπίζω, διαλαλώ, (για ελέφαντα) φωνάζω

Italiano (Italian)
strombazzare, barrire, tromba

idioms:

• blow your own trumpet    suonate le vostre trombe

Português (Portuguese)
n. - trombeta (f), clarim (m)
v. - celebrar, comemorar com alarido

idioms:

• blow your own trumpet    elogiar-se a si mesmo

Русский (Russian)
возвещать, трубить, рев слона

idioms:

• blow your own trumpet    хвалиться

Español (Spanish)
n. - trompeta, trompetilla
v. intr. - trompetear, berrear (el elefante)
v. tr. - anunciar a son de trompeta, tocar la trompeta, gritar, decir gritando, abocardar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - trumpet, signalhorn, hörlur (för lomhörd), (tal)tratt, megafon, trumpetare (i orkester), trumpetande
v. - trumpeta, spela trumpet, basunera ut, förkunna

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
喇叭, 喇叭声, 吹喇叭, 吼叫, 大声疾呼, 以喇叭吹出, 吹嘘

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 喇叭, 喇叭聲
v. intr. - 吹喇叭, 吼叫, 大聲疾呼
v. tr. - 以喇叭吹出, 吹噓

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 트럼펫, 나팔 모양의 물건, 나팔관
v. intr. - 나팔을 불다, 나팔 같은 울음 소리를 내다
v. tr. - 나팔로 알리다, 떠벌리다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - トランペット, らっぱ状の物, らっぱ形スピーカー, 大きな鳴き声
v. - トランペットを吹く, 吹聴する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ألبوق, ألبواق (فعل) ينفخ في ألبوق, يبوق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חצוצרה, תקיעת חצוצרה, דבר דמוי חצוצרה, שאגת הפיל‬
v. intr. - ‮פרסם, הכריז‬
v. tr. - ‮חיצצר, הריע‬

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