Trumpet
 Trumpet in B♭ | |
| Brass instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 423.233 (Valved aerophone sounded by lip vibration) |
| Playing range | |
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| Related instruments | |
| Sound sample | |
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The trumpet is a brass instrument. The most common type of trumpet is a transposing instrument in B♭, with pitches sounding a whole step lower than written. The trumpet family includes instruments ranging from the piccolo trumpet, with the highest register in the brass family, to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B♭ or C trumpet.
Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to the 2nd Millennium BC. They began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, appearing in orchestras, concert bands, chamber music groups, and jazz ensembles. They are also common in popular music and are generally included in school bands. Sound is produced by vibrating the lips in a mouthpiece, which starts a standing wave in the air column of the instrument. Since the late 15th century, trumpets have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.
The most common trumpet is pitched in B♭, with a tubing length of about 1.48 m (4 ft 10 in). There are trumpets pitched in C, D, and E♭, as well as the piccolo trumpet in B♭ (an octave higher than the standard trumpet), and the bass trumpet (in B♭ an octave lower, or in C). The cornet is similar to the trumpet but has a conical bore (the trumpet has a cylindrical bore) and its tubing is generally wound differently. Early trumpets did not provide means to change the length of tubing, whereas modern instruments generally have three (or sometimes four) valves which are used to change their pitch. Most trumpets have piston valves, although some have rotary valves. The use of rotary-valved trumpets is more common in orchestral settings (especially in German and German-style orchestras), although this practice varies by country. A musician who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player or trumpeter.