Musical Performance

In 1939, a rare silver trumpet with a long, straight tube was blown for the first time in 3,000 years. It was a tense and exciting moment. The effect was shattering. The trumpet broke into several pieces! The trumpet was one of two discovered in the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun’s trumpet, like animal horns and conch shells, could only play a few notes. It was probably used for signalling or for playing fanfares on special occasions. Have you ever heard the thrilling sound of a fanfare? In Europe they are still played on straight trumpets for grand ceremonial occasions.

Folded tubes

The modern metal trumpet developed from long trumpets like Tutankhamun’s. Straight trumpets like the ones used to play fanfares have an extraordinarily long tube. You can imagine how this would get in the way, especially in a band or orchestra. To overcome this problem, modern trumpets have been folded up! You can guess how long it would be if the tubing were stretched out. If you measured it, you would find that the tubing is 1.4 metres long! Modern trumpets also have a detachable mouthpiece, which helps to carry the vibration from the player’s lips into the tubing more effectively.

Keys

Around 1800, trumpets were developed that had keys, like the ones on flutes. Many more notes could be played on these instruments. A very famous piece of music was written for a trumpet like this. The composer was Joseph Haydn, an Austrian. It is called Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. It’s still very popular with trumpet players today.

Valves

In 1815 an even better system was -invented to improve the range of sound the trumpet could make. Three valves were added to the tubing. The diagram shows you how they work. When the player presses down on a valve, an extra length of tubing is opened. This makes a longer column of air and sounds a lower note. When the valve is released, the tubing closes again. At last the trumpet was able to join in and play any tune that had been written.

The trumpet certainly makes a stirring sound! It is probably most effective when it is played with feeling by a soloist like the American musician.

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