TRUMPET

Being the highest sounding (soprano) among the brass instruments, the trumpet stands out with its bright, powerful and majestic tone. The modern trumpet has 3 valves. It is cylindrical in shape with a narrow tubing and has a cup-shaped mouthpiece. It was popular during the medieval ages when it was commonly used in military and ceremonial occasions.

SOUND PRODUCTION
Trumpet players sometimes use the mute to achieve certain effects. The mute, which comes in various shapes and sizes, is placed in the bell of the instrument.

CLARINO PLAYING
This was developed in the 18th century as a valveless trumpet used in medieval times that could only play the notes of one harmonics series at a time. As it was very difficult to play very high harmonics on the trumpet, Clarino players required a lot of skills in lip control and breath pressure. Currently, all clarino parts are played using the piccolo trumpet.

RANGE
The trumpet is played in treble clef. Being a transposing instrument, the most commonly used trumpet today is the B flat trumpet which can mechanically switch to A. The B flat trumpet produces notes sounding a major 2nd lower than the written ones.