Cornet Musical Instruments
Cornet Instrument Fast Facts
The modern Cornet is really a descendant of the old post horn, this instrument originated in France in about 1825. Usually pitched in B flat, it has a bore that is partly conical and partly cylindrical. It thus share characteristics of the horn and the trumpet. It is usually shaped like a trumpet, and has a round sound, which is neither as mellow as the flugelhorn nor as bright as the trumpet. It has been used by Berlioz and Rossini.
A Brief History of the Cornet Musical Instruments
A type of hunting horn that came into existence in France during the second half of the 17th century. It consisted of a slender tube which ended in a wide bell and was coiled into a hoop and so carried on the huntsman’s shoulder. Early examples were about 7 feet (213cm) long and sounded a trumpet D, but during the 18th century tubes of twice this length became popular. It was this cor de chasse, coiled in a double hoop, that entered the orchestra during Bach and Handel’s lifetime.
As soon as this happened it became necessary to make horns of different sizes, so that the notes available in their individual harmonic series would fit the key of whatever piece of music was to be played. If the key changed radically during a piece of music (in practice it seldom did), then the composer would either stop writing for the horns at this point, or leave a sufficient number of bars rest for player to put down one instrument and pick up another. It was scarcely as satisfactory situation.
Moreover, the music these early orchestral cornets could play in the lower register was limited to isolated notes, and only approached scale-wise steps at a later stage in the harmonic series. Such smooth melodies as the horn could manage had therefore to be pitched rather high, or be content with fanfare-like shapes.
During the 18th century, however, horn players in Bohemia discovered that they could fill in the gaps in the lower parts of the harmonic series by placing the right hand inside the bell of the instrument. The obstruction changed the wave pattern and lowered the pitch. Eventually a systematic technique was worked out for producing a complete scale in the horn’s middle register. The player now placed his clenched fist inside the bell and varied its size by bending his wrist. At the same time he varied also his breath pressure and lip tension, and thus was able to select the notes he needed. The cornet, which was originally played with the bell pointing upwards, was now held sideways on to the body – as it is to this day.
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