Where Trumpets Come From...
A look into the origins of the trumpet can be traced to ancient Egypt,
Greece and Africa. However, these trumpets were quite different from the trumpets
that most of us are familiar with. Back then, the trumpets had no valves and are
called "natural" trumpets nowadays. These "natural" valveless trumpets were made of
wood, bronze or silver. Trumpets are often referred to in the Bible and the Torah.
Originally, these instruments were really, really, really long in length and played
only low notes and sounded similar to a trombone (or a bass trumpet). That was during
the Middle Ages (500-1430). During the Renaissance era (1430-1600), they performed
at ceremonial functions. However as time went on, trumpet players gradually began
to play higher notes, which is most noticeable in the Baroque era (1600-1750).
In 1814, Heinrich Stölzel introduced a valve trumpet in Berlin. A smaller, shorter
version of the trumpet, called the cornet was introduced in Europe in 1830.
Valves made it possible to play all the notes of a chromatic scale on both instruments.
(Before this, trumpets were only able to produce a few notes. To compensate, crooks
(additional tubing or "slides") were added to the trumpet to allow it to play
in different keys. And before crooks, a natural trumpet player had to switch
trumpets every time a musical piece changed keys!)
Cornets and trumpets are the
highest pitched members of the brass family and are the one of the main instruments
in concert, jazz, and marching bands. Trumpets are also common in orchestras,
Latin dance bands as well as reggae ensembles. Additionally, some gospel,
many club (house/trip hip), rock and rap groups may use trumpets in the background.
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