Trumpet

The trumpet is a brass instrument used in many kinds of music, both popular and classical. It is part of a family that includes the piccolo trumpet, which can play very high notes, and the bass trumpet, which plays notes lower than the usual trumpet.

Trumpet-like instruments have been used for thousands of years, first to signal in battles or during hunts. They became musical instruments in the late 1300s or early 1400s. Today, trumpets are found in art music in orchestras, concert bands, chamber music groups, and jazz bands. They are also common in popular music and in school bands.

The trumpet makes sound when a player vibrates their lips against a mouthpiece. This creates a standing wave in the air inside the instrument. Most trumpets are made of brass and have tubing bent into a rounded shape. Modern trumpets usually have three or four valves that help the player change the pitch. Someone who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player or trumpeter.

Etymology

The word trumpet started being used in English in the late 1300s. It came from the Old French word trompette, a smaller form of trompe. The word trump, meaning trumpet, was used in English as early as 1300. This word is related to tromba in Provençal and Italian, and likely has ancient Germanic roots.

History

Main article: History of the trumpet

The earliest trumpets date back to around 2000 BC and earlier. Examples include the bronze and silver Tutankhamun's trumpets from Egypt, bronze lurs from Scandinavia, and metal trumpets from China. These early trumpets were made of a single sheet of metal, which was a big achievement at the time.

The Salpinx was a straight trumpet made of bone or bronze. It is mentioned in Homer’s Iliad, and contests with it were part of the original Olympic Games. The Shofar, made from a ram’s horn, and the chazozra, made of metal, are both mentioned in the Bible. They were used in religious ceremonies.

The earliest trumpets were used for signaling in battles or religious events, not for making music as we know it today. Later improvements in making instruments and metal allowed the trumpet to become a musical instrument. During the Baroque era, known as the “Golden Age of the natural trumpet,” many pieces of music were written for skilled trumpet players.

Construction

The trumpet is made of brass tubing bent into a rounded shape. To play, you blow air through slightly separated lips into the mouthpiece, which creates a buzzing sound and starts vibrations inside the trumpet. By changing how tight your lips are, you can choose different notes to play.

The mouthpiece has a circular edge that feels comfortable for your lips. Behind this edge is a cup that helps guide the air into a smaller opening. The size and shape of the mouthpiece can change how the trumpet sounds and how easy it is to play.

Modern trumpets usually have three valves. When you press a valve, it adds more tubing, which lowers the note. The first valve lowers the note by two small steps, the second by one small step, and the third by three small steps. These valves let the trumpet play many different notes. Some smaller trumpets, like the piccolo trumpet, may have a fourth valve that lowers the note by five small steps.

You can also change the note slightly by moving the tuning slide. Pulling the slide out makes the note lower, and pushing it in makes the note higher. Some special trumpets have a sliding bell to help make the notes sound better.

Trumpets can also be made from materials other than brass, like plastic.

Types

The most common type of trumpet is the B♭ trumpet, but there are others like A, C, D, E♭, E, low F, and G. The C trumpet is often used in American orchestras.

Smaller trumpets are called piccolo trumpets. They usually play in B♭ and A and sound an octave higher than a regular trumpet.

Trumpets in low G are also called sopranos or soprano bugles. They were used in military groups. The bass trumpet is tuned like a trombone and is usually played by trombone players. There are also special trumpets like the slide trumpet, pocket trumpet, and herald trumpet.

Orchestral trumpet players can switch between different types of trumpets. The piccolo trumpet usually has four valves instead of three.

Rotary valve trumpets are common in German and Austrian orchestras. The trumpet is sometimes mixed up with the cornet, which has a slightly different shape and a softer sound, but they can play the same music. The flugelhorn is another relative with an even softer tone.

David Monette created the flumpet in 1989, a mix of a trumpet and a flugelhorn.

David Monette designed the flumpet in 1989 for jazz musician Art Farmer. It is a mix of a trumpet and a flugelhorn.

Rotary valve trumpets are commonly used in professional German and Austrian orchestras. Other variations include alto and Baroque trumpets, and the Vienna valve trumpet (used in Viennese brass ensembles and orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and Mnozil Brass).

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. They have the same length of tubing and, therefore, the same pitch, so music written for one of them can be played on the other. Another relative, the flugelhorn, has tubing that is even more conical and an even softer tone.

Playing

See also: Embouchure

On a modern trumpet, pressing the valves changes the notes you can play. When no valves are pressed, it’s called “open.” Pressing the first valve alone, or using more valves together, changes the pitch. If your trumpet has a fourth valve, it lowers the pitch even more.

Each note series on the trumpet starts with the first overtone. Some notes can be played in different ways using different valve combinations, which helps musicians play more smoothly.

Mutes

Main article: Mute (music) § Brass

Mutes are special tools that fit into or over the end of a trumpet. They make the sound quieter and change how the trumpet sounds. Trumpets can use many kinds of mutes, such as the straight mute, cup mute, harmon mute, plunger, bucket mute, and practice mute. Jazz and popular music often uses many different mutes.

Mutes can be made from materials like fiberglass, plastic, cardboard, or metal. Different mutes create different sounds, making trumpet playing more interesting and fun to listen to.

Range

The trumpet can play very low notes, starting from the written F♯ below middle C. There is no real top limit, but most charts show notes up to the high C two octaves above middle C. Famous trumpet players, like Maynard Ferguson, Cat Anderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Doc Severinsen, John Madrid, Wayne Bergeron, Louis Dowdeswell, Thomas Gansch, James Morrison, Jon Faddis, and Arturo Sandoval, are known for playing very high notes. It is also possible to play very low sounds called pedal tones below the low F♯.

Extended technique

Modern music for the trumpet uses many special playing methods. One method is called flutter tonguing. The player rolls the tip of the tongue to make a growling sound. Another method is growling, where the player makes a special sound by using the back of the tongue.

Players can use double tonguing and triple tonguing to play notes faster. Other methods include sliding between notes with a glissando, creating a vibrating sound with vibrato, and playing very low notes called pedal tones. Some players can even make the trumpet play microtones, which are small changes in pitch. There are also ways to make the trumpet create unusual sounds by hissing or clicking.

Players

Main article: List of trumpeters

In early jazz, Louis Armstrong became famous for his skill on the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. He played the cornet before switching to the trumpet, which helped make the trumpet more popular. Dizzy Gillespie was known for his high notes and inspired many younger musicians. Miles Davis was a very important musician in the 20th century with a unique style. Cat Anderson could play very high notes and performed with Duke Ellington's Big Band. Maynard Ferguson first gained attention in Stan Kenton's orchestra and later led his own band.

Repertoire

Solos

In the 1790s, a musician named Anton Weidinger made the first successful keyed trumpet. This trumpet could play many different notes. Because this was new and exciting, Joseph Haydn wrote a special piece called the Trumpet Concerto for Weidinger in 1796. This piece surprised people because it had unusual melodies played in lower notes of the trumpet.

In art

Some famous paintings and statues show people playing trumpets. One painting is called The Last Judgment and was made around 1500–1510. Another painting, Trumpet-Player in front of a Banquet, was painted by Gerrit Dou between 1660 and 1665. There is also an old book picture from 1887 for a story called The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner from Aesop's Fables. You can see statues of famous trumpet players like Louis Armstrong in Algiers, New Orleans, and Miles Davis in Kielce, Poland.