THE MAGINIFICENT TRUMPET (Trumpets)

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Product:	Trumpets
Date:	17/03/02 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent, SHINY, JAZZ

Disadvantages: hard to play

Trumpet and Cornet

Trumpeters have an unprecedented array of instruments that enable them
to meet today's exacting performance demands (see Fig. 3.1). In fact, trumpets are now found pitched in the keys of every scale note of a full octave above the traditional Bb instrument. These fall into two basic categories: Bb and C trumpets for general use, and higher trumpets pitched in D, Eb, E, F, G, piccolo BC/A, and C for orchestral and solo literature demanding a high tessitura.

It is fair to ask why so many trumpets are necessary. The answer can best
be illustrated through an example. While a strong player might possibly be
able to sustain the high range called for in Bach's B Minor Mass on a Eb trumpet, that part of the harmonic series where the partials fall fairly close together would be used. By changing to a piccolo trumpet in A, the same notes may be played lower on the harmonic series where the partials are more widely separated. This facilitates the "picking out" of entrance notes and improves accuracy. Also, the undue effort required to maintain the high tessitura on the larger instrument would prove severely fatiguing. A smaller, lighter trumpet brings such parts more under the player's control.

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