Trumpets

The trumpet is a member of the brass family of instruments. It is the highest of the brasses, and used throughout a variety of musical genres.

The Instrument

Trumpets are coiled around in a sort of spiral. The end of the trumpet goes out into a bell shape with a mouthpiece attached at the tip, allowing the player to comfortably vibrate his lips and blow into the instrument. Trumpet mouthpieces vary in size, shape, and design, depending on the type of sound the musician is trying for.

Trumpets are made of brass, as their instrument family indicates. Because of this, they have a ringing, loud, clear, metallic quality to their sound. The main trumpet in use today is the three-valve B flat trumpet. Rather than a complex set of keys (such as those on the bassoon or saxophone), this trumpet has only three keys, or valves, which change the length of the tubing in order to lower or raise the pitch.

Music