The modern trumpet is a type of Western brass instrument commonly used in jazz and classical music. Trumpets have a mouthpiece, tubing, valves, and a flared end. They range in pitch from the bass trumpet to the piccolo trumpet and the B♭ trumpet is most common. A frequent solo instrument, the trumpet can have a brilliant timbre often associated with triumph or regality, but is capable of a wide variety of sounds.
The modern trumpet has roots in antiquity. While brass valves are a recent invention, valveless metal trumpets have existed for at least 3,500 years. Under the broadest definition, primitive "trumpets" have existed since Paleolithic times. Early trumpets primarily served a military or ceremonial purpose; design improvements in the 16th century made them suitable for music, although they remained valveless. 19th-century makers experimented with pitch-altering devices like keys, holes, slides, and valves, allowing true chromatic playing throughout the instrument's range. The valve system persisted, and the modern B♭ trumpet became standard during the early to mid 20th century.
Trumpets are played by blowing air through nearly closed lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece, causing the lips to vibrate. This technique is often known as "buzzing". Adjusting the setting of the lips (known as the embouchure) and pressing different combinations of the valves allows playing different notes. Most trumpets have three valves which lower the instrument's pitch by two, one, and three semitones, respectively. Trumpeters—especially jazz players—sometimes use extended techniques like mutes, half-valving, and falls. (Note: can we call muting an extended technique?)
Modern trumpets come in many varieties. There are two main types of valve systems: piston valves, used in most of the world, and rotary valves, endemic to Germany and Austria. The lowest note playable without depressing any valves is the pitch of the instrument. The B♭ trumpet is most common and is favored by jazz musicians; the C trumpet is also common in classical playing. D, E♭, F, G, and A trumpets are sometimes used. The bass trumpet, pitched an octave below the B♭ or C trumpet, is usually played by a trombone player owing to its large mouthpiece. The piccolo trumpet is pitched in high B♭ or A, about an octave above the standard B♭ trumpet, and typically has four valves.
Background edit
The English word trumpet comes from the French trompette, a diminutive of trompe meaning 'musical wind instrument', from Old High German trumpa and trumba, which are probably imitations of the instrument's sound.[1][2]
Types edit
- B flat. Definitely most common, esp. in jazz. Try to figure out the rough proportions of usage in various places around the world.
- Length is 53 inches
- Usually 3 valves
- C, common in orchestral. More common in American orchestras than, say, British, I think? Not sure
- D, E flat, etc. Will definitely need to research those
- Piccolo, B flat / A. Used these days in Baroque stuff. Used in Penny Lane, which is famous to most laypersons, though idk if that's undue.
- Bass trumpet.
- Oddities like the alto trumpet, contrabass trumpet, quinoa bowls, whatever.
- Mention that cornets and flugelhorns can be considered trumpets, and are often played by trumpet players, but are distinguished by their comparative conical-ness.
Characteristics edit
Timbre edit
- Some have bright, brilliant sound, while a darker sound is achievable. Discuss particulars of the piccolo and bass trumpet. Compare latter to valve trombone.
- Historical associations to regality, triumph, etc.
Range edit
- Various registers of playing, with different colors
- Typical range is low F# to D above the staff in B flat and C trumpets. Sources will probably vary a little. Will need to find sources for other ranges.
- Very skilled players can play higher, which is often demanded in commercial and jazz (esp big band) work. Avoid fancruft, but (maybe) name some very prominent lead trumpeters: Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Arturo Sandoval?
- Pedal tones are kind of a thing, though not as much as on the (bass/tenor) trombone.
Acoustics edit
"Brass acoustics" article?
- Trumpet principles are just like any other brass instrument, really
- Pitch is determined by length, though it's not as simple as you might expect
- Pressing valves changes the length and thus the pitch
- Standing wave concept
- An open tube has odd harmonics, unlike the trumpet
- Constriction of the mouthpiece, and shape of the bell, turn those odd harmonics into a different series, with multiples of 2, 3, 4 times a base frequency. Has a false fundamental about an octave and a fourth below, like 0.8x the frequency or something. Always wondered what that was.
- Explain conical vs cylindrical
- Thick tubing leads to a darker sound
- Show sound spectrum of B-flat trumpet. Hopefully the recent book I got on brass acoustics will be helpful there. May be able to get an executive summary from Rossing & Wheeler
- Mathematics of why some valve combinations are out of tune.
- Bore irregularities and effects on tone quality
Honestly, a subarticle here is probably best.
Construction edit
A lot to cover here... need to be concise. The playing part is a lot more interesting.
- Overview with diagram and terminology. Mouthpiece (detachable). Leadpipe. Tuning slides. Valves (piston or rotary). 1st and 3rd slide finger rings. Spit valves (time to research the age old question... is it spit or condensation?) Note the cylindrical tubing until the terminal bell portion.
- IN GENERAL: BE CLEAR WHAT APPLIES TO EACH TYPE OF TRUMPET. B flat and C should be given most weight, followed by piccolo, but don't ignore the rest. When there is significant variation, describe the principles, rather than the specifics
- There are a whole lot of trumpets out there. Some are weird as hell. I'll focus on the ones you see relatively often, but note that designs vary significantly. Piston B flat and C trumpets have that classic rounded rectangle look, and C trumpets typically are like B flats with a shorter leadpipe. D/Eb trumpets are cute and stubbier. Will need to do a lot of research on other trumpets, since I've never seen those.
Mouthpiece edit
- Create diagram, describe. Hemispherical cup shape. Detachable (let's ignore those unusual Monette trumpets)
- Rim, various measurements
- Size of bass, piccolo, B flat, etc. mouthpieces
- Note the constriction and subsequent widening of the mouthpiece
- Tone color changes. Jazz/lead players often prefer a shallower cup.
- In general, try to avoid fancruft, no preference for a particular brand.
Leadpipe and tubing edit
- Accepts the mouthpiece
- Piccolo trumpets often have an exchangeable or extendable leadpipe.
- Tubing diameter. B flat is 0.45–0.465 inches, with leadpipe slightly tapered (Bate 44)
Valves edit
- Three valves on most trumpets. Four valves on most piccolo and plenty of bass trumpets. In the piccolo's case, four valves to allow a larger lower range. Why on the bass trumpet? No clue—will have to research
- Three-valved case, from left to right: two, one, three semitones down.
- Four-valved case adds an extra valve lowering the pitch by a perfect fourth (five semitones)
- Will have to be careful here in verifying the information in this section for both rotary and piston trumpets
- Valve oil
Piston edit
- Diagram of the piston. How does it work exactly?
- Benefits and drawbacks of a piston system. Tends to be more forgiving in terms of player inaccuracies.
Rotary edit
- Diagram, benefits and drawbacks.
- Talk about the keys, engaged with the pinky
Bell edit
- Shape of the bell (conical vs cylindrical) determines tone color. Note that only the last third or whatever of the trumpet widens at all, distinguishing it.
- Bell reinforced with a thick ring at the end
- Averages 5.5 inches across (Bate 45)
Tuning slides edit
- On normal trumpets:
- Main tuning slide. Typically pulled a centimeter or so out (will have to find a source for that)
- First valve tuning slide. Sometimes, but not always controllable with the thumb
- Third valve tuning slide. More often controllable.
- On piccolo:
- Leadpipe is often the tuning method
- On bass: no idea.
Spit valves edit
- On normal trumpets: on tuning slide and sometimes third valve slide
- on piccolo: no clue
- On bass: no clue
Playing edit
- Overview: Players buzz into the mouthpiece which produces a standing wave. More air = louder, effectively, though find scholarly articles on the topic beyond Campos. Embouchure changes and fingerings allow for different notes. Notes are separated by tonguing which interrupts the airflow, but can be slurred.
- Focus on techniques. Try to record/find appropriate samples, but some things I'm just not good enough at.
- NOTE: WHERE TO EXPLAIN HARMONIC SERIES BESIDES IN ACOUSTICS? This is critical information that someone who just wants to understand what trumpet players are doing, without the physics details, should have.
Buzzing and embouchure edit
- Focus on normal and piccolo here probably
- How does embouchure work? Reference Campos for specifics. What allows a higher frequency of buzzing?
- Mouthpiece placement? (Briefly note the debate over whether off-center placement is okay.)
Tonguing edit
- How does it work? Tongue interrupts air flow
- Double and triple tonguing
- Light tonguing common in jazz
Fingerings edit
- Discuss the various combinations
- Reference the earlier light mathematics about tuning issues and explain what the player actually does.
- "Lipping up or down": Correcting for discrepancies between 12TET
- Alternate fingerings
Mute edit
- Copy from what I already wrote, with some adjustments. Probably don't need the "breathe on the cork" in there.
Extended techniques edit
Maybe make a fork?
- Glissandi, falls, doits, etc. etc. Note that it's mostly a jazz thing.
History edit
This section should not be too long and details should be relegated to the sub article. May need to omit some of these things, depending on the length of the overall article.
- Earliest trumpets include the conch, didgeridoo, etc. Not reallyy related to the modern instrument. They appear in various cultures, probably independently discovered
- Early metal trumpets are Egyptian and famously include the Tutankhamun tomb trumpets
- Mostly military and ceremonial use. Perhaps mention the Jewish shofar, Assyrian instruments
- Romans developed four types of trumpet, though it's not clear where they got that brilliant idea. They still sounded like shit, but Romans did distinguish between conical and cylindrical (er, Bate calls them cylindro-conical) bores.
- Advent of the buisine, a longer instrument. In general, longer instruments allowed higher harmonics to be used and thus more melodic playing
- Baroque "golden age" (Koehler). Mutes introduced in early 16th century.
- Advent of keyed trumpet, whose popularity didn't last long.... Bolstered by Industrial Revolution and easier manufacturing. Allowed chromaticism, but people didn't like it.
- August Gustave Besson invented the "perinet valve" in 1838. (See Berndt, 11–13)
- Parisian Adolph Sax worked on piston valves in the same year, led to popularization of saxhorn
- Rotary valve: credited to Vaclav Frantisek Cerveny in 1846. Patented "transposition rotary valve"
- Cornet-ish shape transitioned to trumpet-ish shape (longer leadpipe, more cylindrical, etc.) from like 1900 to 1950.
- Modern use. Used in jazz since Dixieland. Used in orchestras everywhere and in commercial scoring. Extended techniques invented.
Modern usage and repertoire edit
Classical edit
- Trumpet ensembles, orchestras, etc.
- Bach music has had some resurgence with the advent of the piccolo trumpet, able to play the high parts
- Rotary trumpets more common in some places
- Famous trumpet moments throughout history? Or is that not my job
- Piccolo trumpet in modern performances of Baroque music? Bass trumpet in Wagner?
- Famous classical trumpeters: Marsalis (also jazz), Maurice André, Edward Tarr (also a scholar. Ambivalent on this one)
Jazz edit
- Trumpet solos
- Famous jazz trumpeters: Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie
- Role in big bands
- Explain stylistic differences compared to classical
Other music edit
- Will have to do more research here.
- Commercial
- Show band
- Salsa music
- Popular music
- ...
- ^ Hatzfeld, Adolphe; Darmesteter, Arsene; Antoine, Thomas (1895). Dictionnaire general de la langue francaise du commencement du XVII siecle jusqu'a nos jours [General dictionary of the French language from the beginning of the 17th century to the present day] (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: C. Delagrave. p. 2198.
- ^ The concise Oxford dictionary of English etymology. T. F. Hoad, Oxford University Press. Oxford: Oxford/Clarendon Press. 1986. trumpet, trump. ISBN 978-0-19-172715-3. OCLC 51115268.
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