From fanfare to film music, the trumpet has one of the most recognizable sounds of all instruments today. But it has had a long history and gone through a lot of changes in the thousands of years it’s been in use.
The trumpet’s journey from ancient civilizations to modern times is a fascinating story. Along the way, it has evolved from a simple metal horn to the complex instrument we know today.
However, in this post, we’re going to take a look at some interesting facts about the trumpet you might not know.
1. The Oldest Playable Trumpets Are Over 3,000 Years Old!
A pair of trumpets were found in the tomb of Egyptian Pharoah Tutankhamun when his burial chamber was uncovered in 1922. One of them is made of sterling silver and the other of bronze.
They were actually played in a concert that was broadcast live on the BBC World Service in April 1939 to 150 million listeners worldwide.
2. Trumpets Get Pretty Loud
It probably won’t be news to you that the trumpet can produce a lot of sound! In fact, at its loudest, the trumpet reaches a volume of about 110 decibels — that’s louder than a jet plane taking off 300 meters away!
It’s no surprise, therefore, that one of the oldest uses of the trumpet was for communicating across long distances.
3. The Trumpet Has A Long Military Connection
From the Roman Empire to the US Army, the trumpet has a long connection with the military as a device for sending signals in the heat of battle and in the army camp.
The bugle, a type of small trumpet without valves, has become the standard instrument for such uses.
There are bugle calls for all sorts of purposes, from marking sunrise and sunset, fire alarms, time for church, and swimming time, to the famous “Last Post,” which is used at military commemorations of the dead.
4. Trumpets Are Longer Than You Think
Although it is the highest of the brass instruments in the symphony orchestra, the length of tubing in the trumpet is longer than you think looking at it.
That’s because it’s curved around in a series of loops to make it easier to play. In fact, the total length of tubing in a standard B-flat trumpet is over six feet — not too shabby for the smallest instrument in the brass family!
5. There Are Not Many Notes To Play With
The first trumpets were very limited in the number of notes they could play because they didn’t have valves or keys to change the length of the tubing. This meant trumpet players had to rely on their breath and embouchure to hit different notes.
To work around this, musicians in Europe used longer tubes and focused on the higher notes, which are closer together. The clarion trumpet, popular in the 17th century, was used in works by composers like Torelli, Telemann, Vivaldi, and J. S. Bach.
6. Trumpets Come In Many Different Shapes And Sizes
Trumpets come in different types, named after the pitch of their fundamental note. In the USA and Great Britain, the most common trumpet is the B-flat trumpet.
Professional trumpet players often use a variety of trumpets, including those in C, D/E-flat, and the piccolo trumpet in B-flat/A, which sounds an octave higher than the B-flat trumpet.
Cornets and flugelhorns are also related instruments that trumpeters play. They have tubes that gradually widen along their length.
Each of these instruments has its own unique sound and feel, so switching between them can be a bit tricky!
7. The Valved Trumpet Is A Relative Newcomer
The first trumpets that could play all 12 notes like a piano were invented at the end of the 18th century. Anton Weidinger, a famous trumpet player from Vienna, made a chromatic trumpet with keys that raised the pitch by opening holes in the tubing.
Joseph Haydn and Johann Nepomuk Hummel wrote important concertos for this new type of trumpet.
The valves we use today, which help change the pitch, were introduced in the 1820s by German makers Heinrich Stoltzel and Friedrich Bluhmel.
Check out our post on the history of the trumpet to learn more.
8. Trumpets Can Be Made Of Different Materials
Most modern trumpets are made of brass, a blend of copper and zinc soft enough to be shaped in the distinctive bends and curves of the trumpet.
As brass is liable to corrode in direct contact with air, most trumpets are covered with a protective layer of lacquer or silver plating.
However, instrument manufacturers have recently begun experimenting with making trumpets out of plastic, which sounds similar if not indistinguishable from brass instruments.
Both lacquer and plastic can be made in any color, so you can find some trumpets come in an interesting range of hues!
9. Trumpets Come From Cultures All Around The World
Although you might be imagining the trumpet as the valved brass instrument in symphony orchestras and jazz bands, the trumpet family actually has relatives all across the world.
Conch shells in Oceania and animal horns in Africa have been used to make trumpet-like instruments for thousands of years. Other instruments were made by hollowing out tree branches, such as the didgeridoo.
In the Middle East, the shofar, made from a ram’s horn, is a traditional instrument often used in Jewish ceremonies.
10. Trumpets Can Be Expensive
One of the most expensive trumpets in the world belonged to famous jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and was sold at Christie’s auction in 1995 for $55,000.
The famous upturned bell Dizzy played with started as a fortuitous accident. Somebody tripped over his instrument on its stand at a gig — he carried on playing it, loved the way it looked and sounded, and history was made!
However, even this pales in comparison to the solid platinum trumpet manufactured by Yahama that went on sale for $125,000! You’ll have some difficulty buying one, however, as they were discontinued after a short production run due to a lack of demand.
Summing Up Our List Of Facts About The Trumpet
That’s it for our post on interesting facts about the trumpet. We hope you learned something from this.
We haven’t even scratched the surface with all the trivia about this great instrument, so let us know if you have any other facts we should add to this list!
