This week we celebrate my favorite instrument the trumpet by discussing its history and its transformation into the instrument we play today.
The Origins of the Trumpet
The trumpet has existed since antiquity when humans first discovered the resonant sounds produced by blowing into hollow objects such as animal horns and conch shells, and by around 1500 BC, craftsmen began creating their own trumpets from wood, metal, and ceramic. These ancient trumpets have been found all over the world in places like China, South America, Scandinavia, Asia, and Egypt.
In its earliest forms, the trumpet was not considered a musical instrument but a signaling device for civic, religious, or military purposes. Because its high, clear tones could be heard for miles, ancient trumpeters used short melodies or “calls” to communicate messages over long distances. The biblical book of Numbers describes these uses for the trumpet in detail, saying that trumpets were used to summon the people and break camp (Num. 10:2), sound the alarm during times of war (Num. 10:9), and participate in religious ceremonies (Num. 10:10). The trumpet continued to serve as a signaling device in for thousands of years, but the late Middle Ages saw a change in the trumpet’s design that transformed it into a musical instrument.
The Natural Trumpet
Before the Middle Ages, trumpets were made out of a straight or slightly curved length of pipe, and they could only play a handful of notes. To play more pitches, the instrument needed to be longer, but extending the length would have made it too difficult to carry (a modern trumpet’s tubing is 6.5 feet long!). Fortunately, with advancements in metalworking technology during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, craftsmen learned how to turn the tubing back on itself, thus creating longer instruments that were still easy to hold. This new design, known as the “natural” or “Baroque” trumpet, became regarded as a musical instrument, and it featured in the music of famous composers such as Bach, Handel, Leopold Mozart, and Vivaldi.
Like the ancient trumpet, the natural trumpet did not have valves, so it could not play every pitch, but its increased length allowed it to cover a wider range of pitches, enabling it to play melodies in its highest register. Interchangeable sections of tubing on the natural trumpet called “crooks” also made it possible for the same instrument to play in multiple keys. Despite these advancements, however, the range of the natural trumpet was still limited, and it would not become a fully chromatic instrument (capable of playing all 12 notes in the chromatic scale) until the Classical Era.
The Modern Trumpet
Shortly before 1800, Austrian trumpeter Anton Weidinger invented a new design for the trumpet that used holes and keys (much like a clarinet or flute) to change the trumpet’s pitch, thus unlocking the full chromatic range of notes. This discovery revolutionized trumpet playing so that composers began writing works that featured the trumpet as a solo instrument. An excellent example of this repertoire is Haydn’s famous Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major (1796), which would have originally been performed on the keyed trumpet.
Despite the breakthrough of the keyed trumpet, flaws in the instrument’s design caused significant tuning issues, but in 1818 the German horn players Heinrich David Stölzel and Friedrich Blühmel resolved these problems by inventing the valved horn, which replaced keys with valves that redirected air into different lengths of tubing. The duo later applied this technology to the trumpet with the help of the instrument builder C. F. Sattler and invented the first valved trumpet in 1820.
Thus, the modern trumpet was born! After 1820, the trumpet grew in prominence as its range, volume, and new chromatic capabilities made it well-suited to playing melodic parts. It gained significant roles in classical ensembles and orchestras, but the versatile instrument also crossed over into popular culture. In the 1920s, the trumpet became one of the first instruments to be recorded (as played by jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong), and since then, it has been featured regularly in multiple genres of popular music to this day.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the history of this majestic instrument! Learn more about the trumpet or any other wonderful instrument of your choice from our incredible instructors.
- Jordan Koehlinger, Music Instructor at Vibe Music Academy.
