The trumpet has proven itself to be one of the most ancient of all musical instruments that is still being played today. Many clear depictions of the trumpet instrument have survived in paintings from Egypt, and there are two trumpets that were found in Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt that date back to at least 1350 BC if not earlier. One of these trumpets is made from silver and the other is a combination between gold and brass. There are many different examples of roman trumpets as well as Greek trumpets, which like the instruments found in Egypt were made using a single straight conical tube that flared to a bell at the end.

Trumpet Pitch

At the fifteenth century's beginning, instrument makers were just beginning to experiment with the idea of bending the trumpet instrument. By creating an S shape out of the instrument, they found that the instrument suddenly became significantly more manageable without compromising the quality of the sound in any way. Surprisingly, the first ever slide trumpet was actually invented somewhere around the 1400s. This offered an elongated mouth piece section that slid along the inside of the main length of tubing, allowing the player to alter the length of the tubing, and as a result, alter the pitch sound as well.

All instruments have been reliant on the harmonic series in order to allow for them to play in tune. The brass family of instruments happens to rely on the harmonic series more seriously than most other instruments. During this period, the trumpet was a continuous tube that did not possess any finger holes or any keys. The only pitches that were available to the trumpet at the time were those that the harmonic series offered. The distance between the pitches is much larger at the lower end of the harmonic series. It is only when you reach the eighth partial that the movement is capable of being achieved by step.

By the middle of the 16th century, the trumpet was capable of playing up to the 13th partial rather than the 8th. This means that a half scale was available, and this high register took the clarion name after the small and high trumpet that had the same name at the time.

Design and Development

During the 16th century, the trumpet instrument found itself being revered among all other instruments and many royal courts at the time were employing as many as 20 trumpeters at a time. The aesthetics of the trumpet received a considerable amount of attention during this time, though this is not a surprise considering the royal status that the instrument received during this period of time. The S shaped trumpet's mouth piece section underwent a design change so that the mouthpiece section was brought to be alongside the bell section. This created the familiar elongated spiral. The parallel lengths of the tube were then bound together in order to create strength, and ornaments like colored tassels were often added as well.

Photo Credits: Steve Wampler

Originally posted 2009-08-28 03:16:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Acoustic Musical Instruments, Instrument History, trumpet

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1400s, 16th century, brass family, conical tube, continuous tube, egypt, fifteenth century, finger holes, gold, harmonic series, instrument makers, mouth piece, musical instruments, paintings, pitch sound, pitches, shape, slide trumpet