History of the Trumpet

Series Summary

From Louie to Dizzy to Chet to Miles, and now Wynton and Roy Hargrove, the trumpet has always been one the most popular lead instruments in jazz. Though it does show up in rock, funk and reggae horn sections, and even has a few classical pieces written for it as the lead instrument, our most vivid image of the trumpet is that of a darkened club with wisps of smoke floating around a well-dressed horn player.

One of the key elements of jazz is improvisation, which when practiced at the skill level of professional players requires a thorough knowledge of the basics. So start here with these free videos, and once you know how to take care of your trumpet, clean the valves and play basic scales, then you can dream of playing dark clubs and soaring solos.

Video Transcript

"Hi. We're here talking about brass. What I have in my hand here is a modern style trumpet with three valves. Trumpets originally when they were used, were made for signaling warfare and also in spiritual ceremonies. The original trumpets that have been discovered were made of wood, bamboo, cane, basically anything with a tube. All brass instruments and wind instruments are made of are known as "airophones" and that just basically means that air travels through this end through the mouthpiece, around the tubing that is bent and out the bell of the instrument and recreates sound by pushing air from our mouth and body into the instrument. "