Trumpet: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:21, 24 February 2004

Revision as of 23:23, 24 February 2004

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The piccolo trumpet is built usually in either B-Flat orand A with leadpipes for each key, with G, F and even high C piccolos possible but <I>much</I> less common: its tone is metallic and clean. Many piccolos have four valves instead of the usual three: the fourth valve takes the instrument down in pitch, usually but not always by a fourth, to allow the playing of lower notes which are otherwise unobtainable on a three-valve instrument. The [[bass trumpet]] is usually played by a [[trombone]] player, being at that pitch.

The first trumpets reputedly came from [[Egypt]], and were primarily used for military purposes, like the [[bugle]] as we still know it, with different tunes corresponding to different instructions. In [[medieval]] times, trumpet playing was a guarded craft, its instruction occurring only within highly selective [[guild|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]]. Eventually the trumpet's value for musical production was seen, particularly after the addition of valves, and its use and instruction became much more widespread.