Key pertaining to trumpet

[jimmy rocket]

Originally Posted by BassChuck

Trumpet players pick the key of the trumpet (Bb, C, D, Eb, or piccolo) for the sound and for the style of music. C trumpets are wonderful instruments, they cut through a musical texture very well and for the reason are suited for orchestral playing (most trumpet players in professional symphony orchestras will use a C trumpet over Bb unless there is a specific reason). Bb trumpets have a warmer, darker sound and are a bit easier to play if the goal is melodic playing and fitting into a musical texture.

Agreed. They do what they do well.

[dlloyd]

Originally Posted by BassChuck

(most trumpet players in professional symphony orchestras will use a C trumpet over Bb unless there is a specific reason)

I think I'm right in thinking that this is the case in American orchestras, but the Bb is favoured in European orchestras.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by dlloyd

I think I'm right in thinking that this is the case in American orchestras, but the Bb is favoured in European orchestras.

Maybe i cannot comment on that. But when i said trumpets come in different keys i would not expect a player to buy all trumpets. Trumpet players ( and i was one) when i was studing in the 70s had two, Bb and Eb as there standard instruments, and transposed in there heads whatever they read as positions. The result, as has been stated in earlier reply is a different sound and feel, timbre if you will. The idea that you play the fourth postion on the Bb, it is the same as 1st position on and Eb but they will feel different even though they play the same notes. Its like the same thing harmonica players do. Its been a long time so could someone confirm or deny this please.

[dlloyd]

I play clarinet as well as bass (and a few other instruments). When I was playing in orchestras, I played on a Bb as well as an A clarinet. The A clarinet was noticably more difficult to play and had a darker tone than the Bb.

The Bb is generally used in flat keys and the A in sharp keys.

Historically, you also got C clarinets. It used to be that you couldn't travel too far from the instruments home key before they got impossible to play. Now construction of the instruments has improved such that you can play fairly comfortably in a range of keys, making the horribly shrill sounding C clarinet pretty much obsolete.

[Bruce Lindfield]

As to what is used in professional orchestras - I am pretty sure this depends on the repertoire being played.

So I go to see the top London orchestras quite frequently and have seen international orchestras at the Proms - last time I saw Berlin and Chicago for example.

It's clear that in late romantic and 20th C, composers ask for specific instruments and groups of instruments.

So Mahler's Symphonies have a distinct sound, based on the instrumentation - like the 3rd has a prominent Tenor Horn part and the 7th has guitar and mandolin etc.

Mahler's 2nd symphony specifies the brass as follows :

10 Horns in F, four (7-10) used offstage
8-10 Trumpets in F and C, four to six used offstage
4 Trombones
Tuba

There are also many symphonic trumpet solos for very high-pitched parts and particular mutes etc. etc.

The top professional Orchestras I see, are clearly using a wide-range of trumpets and other brass instruments and that's without mentioning "period performances" !!

[jimmy rocket]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

As to what is used in professional orchestras - I am pretty sure this depends on the repertoire being played.

So I go to see the top London orchestras quite frequently and have seen international orchestras at the Proms - last time I saw Berlin and Chicago for example.

It's clear that in late romantic and 20th C, composers ask for specific instruments and groups of instruments.

So Mahler's Symphonies have a distinct sound, based on the instrumentation - like the 3rd has a prominent Tenor Horn part and the 7th has guitar and mandolin etc.

Mahler's 2nd symphony specifies the brass as follows :

10 Horns in F, four (7-10) used offstage
8-10 Trumpets in F and C, four to six used offstage
4 Trombones
Tuba

There are also many symphonic trumpet solos for very high-pitched parts and particular mutes etc. etc.

The top professional Orchestras I see, are clearly using a wide-range of trumpets and other brass instruments and that's without mentioning "period performances" !!

Well said. Perhaps beyond the range of instrumentation to be expected by our OP, but helpful indeed.

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by dlloyd

I play clarinet as well as bass (and a few other instruments). When I was playing in orchestras, I played on a Bb as well as an A clarinet. The A clarinet was noticably more difficult to play and had a darker tone than the Bb.

The Bb is generally used in flat keys and the A in sharp keys.

Historically, you also got C clarinets. It used to be that you couldn't travel too far from the instruments home key before they got impossible to play. Now construction of the instruments has improved such that you can play fairly comfortably in a range of keys, making the horribly shrill sounding C clarinet pretty much obsolete.

I think (and this is going back 13 or 14 years in my head to a music history class) that transposing instruments were developed to prevent cross-fingerings. ie, all schaums or rackets had the same fingering regardless of tessitura. You could learn a different fingering system for each instrument within the family or you could just transpose the. The transposing option was chosen because unless you're going to write it down, it doesn't matter.

That being said, even though it may be convenient to grab your Bb trumpet, C trumpet or D trumpet depending on what key the ensemble is playing in, those instruments all have different timbres.