Family: Wind instruments
Photo: Yamaha Corporation, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The trumpet is a brass instrument: the sound comes from the vibration of the player’s lips in the mouthpiece. Three valves change the length of the tubing, which makes it possible to play every note of the scale. Jazz musicians most often use a trumpet in B♭.
A short history
Signal trumpets were known in antiquity, but they could play only a few notes. Valves were invented in the early 19th century, and only they turned the trumpet into a fully melodic instrument.
Fun facts
- Mutes change the trumpet’s sound beyond recognition. With a Harmon mute, Miles Davis created one of the most recognisable sounds in jazz.
- Dizzy Gillespie’s famous upturned trumpet reportedly came about by accident – the instrument was damaged, and he liked the new sound.
In rock and jazz
Jazz: Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis („Kind of Blue”), Chet Baker and, from Poland, Tomasz Stańko. Rock and pop: the horn sections of Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears, and the piccolo trumpet on The Beatles’ „Penny Lane”.
Do you play this instrument? Share your experience in the comments below – tell others what is worth knowing.