Trumpet Instruments---The Trumpet Blog.---

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I have been looking for information on the history of the pocket trumpet, (when and where it actually originated) and I was surprised to find very little. It appears that the earliest models available were actually pocket cornets. (cornets are essentially small trumpets with a conical, rather that a cylindrical bore).

The earliest example of a pocket cornet I can find is a miniature cornet made by Henry Distin, who manufactured instruments in London beginning around 1858.

This model dates to around 1886.

There is a great deal of information about this and several other pocket trumpets and pocket cornets on Nick DeCarlis’ wonderful website, pocketcornets.com. Check out his incredible collection on the left hand side of the page.

If you have any information on who made the first pocket trumpet or pocket cornet, please comment below!

Technorati Tags: cornet, Henry Distin, history, pocket cornet, Pocket Trumpet, pocket trumpet history

Heading out of town on vacation and can’t lug around your normal Bb trumpet? Or just want to add a little flair to your performance? A pocket trumpet can be a great complement to your instrument collection.

A pocket trumpet is a normal Bb trumpet, folded down into a more portable size. If you were to stretch out a normal trumpet and a pocket trumpet, they would be about the same length. To achieve this, the tubing is more tightly wound. This gives the instrument greater portability, novelty, and they also usually cost less than a normal trumpet. The downside to the tightly wound tubing, however, is difficulty with tuning and an overall decrease in sound quality. (on all but the most pricey models)

With that in mind, a pocket trumpet is a fun instrument to have for practice, and nice to throw in a backpack on vacation, but shouldn’t really be seen as an alternative to a normal trumpet for professional use.

If you are looking for a pocket trumpet to add to your collection, there’s a couple things worth noting. First, if you check around on eBay, you will likely see a good number of extremely cheap pocket trumpets in the $100 dollar range with brand names like Anaxa and Raison, that say “European designed!” or “good quality brass and materials and well finished!” Forget these, they are crap. Mass produced in Indian sweatshops, most are made from pot metal and have junky valves. A couple other names to watch out for: Cecilio, Monique, Crystalcello, Laurel… Pure garbage. Believe me, unless you have never played - or even heard - a trumpet you will be sorely disappointed.

OK SOOOOO….. You want to get your hands on one of these babies but you don’t want a stupid toy. At the high end, we have the Benge Colibri, with a one piece hand-hammered bell. This American made pocket trumpet is the real deal. If you want a pocket trumpet that plays and sounds almost indistinguishable from a pro horn, it’s going to set you back $1500. Needless to say, probably out of the price range of the average player.

The best, reasonably priced instruments, I believe, are made by Amati and Jupiter.

Jupiter 416BL Pocket Trumpet

The Jupiter 416B is not a “Pro” horn, like the Benge, but is manufactured very nicely overall. The horn has a couple quirky notes that have minor intonation problems, but you’ve probably played “Pro” horns that do too. It has a very nice finish and many others agree this is the best model in its price range (~$600). Manufactured in Taiwan, but if you aren’t familiar with Jupiter instruments, don’t let this fool you. They have an excellent reputation for making great horns.

Amati ATR 314 Bb Pocket Trumpet Black

Amati offers The ATR 314I, which is made in the Czech Republic. Comparable quality to the Jupiter, the Amati has a bit mellower sound, and offers the option of a colored finish.

Please send me comments if you have other models you think are worth noting! I would also be interested if you have videos or sound clips to share.

Happy tooting.

Technorati Tags: amati pocket trumpet, benge pocket trumpet, cheap pocket trumpets, jupiter pocket trumpet, Pocket Trumpet

Here are some great instructional videos available that will help the beginning player. Mucony.com has some great videos available also, but it is a subscription service. Have some videos to share? Please comment below!

Warmup:

Air and Embouchure - nice video from the US Army Field Band:

One on one teaching session with Mark Gould:

Technorati Tags: breathing excercises, embouchure, Trumpet Lessons, trumpet videos, warmup

Did you know that the trumpet is one of the oldest instruments in the world? It’s origin can be traced all the way back to 2000 BC in ancient China and 1500 BC in ancient Eygpt. It looked a bit different from the type of trumpet that we recognize today however - It was one long piece of tubing similar to a fanfare horn, and had no valves like a bugle.

The folded shape didn’t develop until the 1500’s in Germany, and in fact didn’t have the three valves until around 1814. Now that the trumpet could play the full chromatic scale, it had gone from being a signaling device for military purposes to an orchestral instrument.

Trumpet Types

Piccolo trumpets: Basically a modern trumpet with a bore half the length. Most have four valves and are used to play difficult, high trumpet parts.

Pocket trumpet: Something of a novelty, the pocket trumpet has the same playing range as the regular trumpet. The tubing is wound much more tightly, so it has a much more compact size. Dates to the 1860’s.

Cornets: A cornet is an instrument that looks very much like a trumpet, but the tube gradually increases in diameter from the mouthpiece to the bell. The sound it produces is more mellow than a traditional trumpet, and is quite a bit smaller also.
Bugles: Small brass horn with no valves. The name ‘bugle’ means ‘young bull’ in French, and early versions were made from bull horns. Because it has no valves, it has a limited playing range, and is used mostly for military calls.

Flügelhorns: Similar in size and shape to the trumpet, but has a larger bell and a conical tube (bore) like the cornet. The flügelhorn originated in 18th century Germany as a hunting horn, and the person who played it was reponsible for directing different hunting phases. Later was used in military applications.

Note: Within each of these categories there are dozens of variations, i.e. different materials, tuned to different keys, etc. Many of them are just historical footnotes, but some still survive today.

Technorati Tags: bugle, cornet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, Pocket Trumpet, Types of Trumpets

With all the dfferent makes and models of trumpets available, it can be very frustrating trying to decide which kind to buy for an aspiring musician. One important thing to know is that a ‘trumpet’ is a name given to a whole family of trumpet instruments.

Trumpet or Cornet?

Cornets are very similar to the modern trumpet, and actually play in the same key - a great article detailing the differences between the two can be found here.
The main difference is a cornet is much smaller and may be a good choice for a younger musician. If you are the parent of a child starting band or orchestra, make sure to ask the director if a cornet is an acceptable substitute for a traditional trumpet.

Used?

Many people may be tempted to choose from used trumpet instruments for sale on Craigslist or the pawn shop, and while this might be a great way to get a starter instrument for the beginner, make sure you know how to recognize a faulty instrument. Check the horn over very carefully - if it has faulty valves, it will need to be repaired by a professional. This may end up costing more than a new starter model.

So many options

As soon as you do some shopping around you will see that there are many different options available - such as specialty valves, luxury finishes and custom mouthpieces. For the beginning trumpeter, the value of most of these options will only become apparent as the student becomes more skillful. You may want to consider a trumpet with a silver finish as they are a bit flashier and are a point of pride amongst trumpeters (a great way to get your child to ’stick with it’ without nagging them) and can be had for not much more than a regular yellow brass instrument.

The Importance of Quality Worksmanship

If your child is going to be playing the trumpet, do them a favor. You may be tempted to buy a trumpet costing $200 or even less. Don’t! These cheap instruments are usually made in china and are made of shoddy materials that produce a really lousy sound, and usually have very poor quality valves that stick. This is a huge discouragement to the starting player that is wondering why they aren’t getting any better!

The Blessing trumpet company makes the B127S, a very nice student trumpet that actually works well, sounds great and even has a nice silver finish. It’s in the standard key of Bb and is actually still made in the United States.

I personally like this one but shop around. Websites like Musician’s Friend and Music123.com
have 45 day trial periods so you can see what works for you. Another great resource is TrumpetMaster, which has some great forums if you have questions for experts. And remember, you do get what you pay for. Your student will appreciate the difference now and in the future.

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