SSS or anyone else

[Guest]

Understood. Someone else should do the bragging for you.


Preferably with illustrations.

Ooooh.

That sounds good.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Hey guys, is there a technical difference between a trumpet and a cornet?

 

[Guest]

Hey guys, is there a technical difference between a trumpet and a cornet?

Yes.

The trumpet consists primarily of a cylindrical bore length of tubing. In essence, the diameter of the tubing remains fairly consistent throughout the length of the instrument until near the bell, where it flares.

The cornet is related more to the F horn, where the bore is conical. The diameter at the mouthpiece gradually increases throughout the entire length of the instrument until the flare at the bell.

The cylindrical bore produces a brighter sound - the conical bore produces a more mellow sound.

Does that help?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Yes.

The trumpet consists primarily of a cylindrical bore length of tubing. In essence, the diameter of the tubing remains fairly consistent throughout the length of the instrument until near the bell, where it flares.

The cornet is related more to the F horn, where the bore is conical. The diameter at the mouthpiece gradually increases throughout the entire length of the instrument until the flare at the bell.

The cylindrical bore produces a brighter sound - the conical bore produces a more mellow sound.

Does that help?

Yeppers. Ler me ask if this seems realistic.

“They didn’t know they had the key to finding it. If they had, they would have refused me access to their archives. As it was, I got a boost from the state, because I was doing research on a historically significant time period. They caved when the Historical Preservation folks threatened them with a suit.”

“So what did you find there, that no one else has been able to?”

“Everyone knew Majors has the Marcy files, they bought em at auction several years ago. They went over them with a fine tooth comb, but came up empty and, as far as I can tell, they just left them to collect dust. But that stamp has the key to why no one could find it. Mr. Marcy wasn’t a musician, he was just an estate dealer. So he bought the horn as part of a lot. The sales receipt from the auction house lists it as a trumpet. So you have it coming into his possession, seemingly never to leave. But look closely at the stamp. He identified it as a Cornet.

To us, they’re different, as they were to the Major’s experts, but to Mr. Marcy, they were the same thing. So the sale of a cornet, to J.J. Errington & sons, in a lot with other instruments, wasn’t noticed. They were zoned in on finding the sale of a trumpet. On a hunch, I followed that cornet and ended up with the horn you see before you. Mr. Marcy’s stamp proves it was misidentified and I have the paper trail, all the way back to when J.J. Errington took possession.”

 

[Guest]

Yeppers. Ler me ask if this seems realistic.

“They didn’t know they had the key to finding it. If they had, they would have refused me access to their archives. As it was, I got a boost from the state, because I was doing research on a historically significant time period. They caved when the Historical Preservation folks threatened them with a suit.”

“So what did you find there, that no one else has been able to?”

“Everyone knew Majors has the Marcy files, they bought em at auction several years ago. They went over them with a fine tooth comb, but came up empty and, as far as I can tell, they just left them to collect dust. But that stamp has the key to why no one could find it. Mr. Marcy wasn’t a musician, he was just an estate dealer. So he bought the horn as part of a lot. The sales receipt from the auction house lists it as a trumpet. So you have it coming into his possession, seemingly never to leave. But look closely at the stamp. He identified it as a Cornet.

To us, they’re different, as they were to the Major’s experts, but to Mr. Marcy, they were the same thing. So the sale of a cornet, to J.J. Errington & sons, in a lot with other instruments, wasn’t noticed. They were zoned in on finding the sale of a trumpet. On a hunch, I followed that cornet and ended up with the horn you see before you. Mr. Marcy’s stamp proves it was misidentified and I have the paper trail, all the way back to when J.J. Errington took possession.”

I believe so.

There is a slight visual difference in the instruments but I don't believe that would have an effect on the story. The trumpet tends to be longer, leaner, while the cornet is more "squashed" together - seems a bit chubby in comparison. But not by much, of course. The cases are almost identical.

But many people confuse the two terms and use them interchangeably, and you really do see fewer and fewer true cornets in bands these days.

So a cornet would be historically accurate, and it could also be easily confused in the manner of your story.

I can't wait to read this - sounds very interesting!

 

[Guest]

Here's a picture. The trumpets are on the outside, the cornet is in the center.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/sweetsubsarahh/trumpet_cornet_1.jpg

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Here's a picture. The trumpets are on the outside, the cornet is in the center.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/sweetsubsarahh/trumpet_cornet_1.jpg

Coolio

they look similar enough for a lay men to mistake one ofr the other, if he or she even had an idea they weren't synonomous

 

[Guest]

Coolio

they look similar enough for a lay men to mistake one ofr the other, if he or she even had an idea they weren't synonomous

Yes.

 

[bobocity]

Cornet vs trumpet sound / history

If I can jump in here (by the way, first post on these forums), cornets were far more popular in the past as jazz/blues instruments. IIRC, Louis Armstrong began playing a cornet and switched to trumpet, and his first bandleader King Oliver was a cornet player.

Similar things happened with some saxophones (there used to be a "C melody" saxophone, but it fell out of favour and now you've got the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone as the most popular saxes).

So if you're talking about something that was really a cornet but got mistaken for a trumpet by people who didn't understnad, I think that's very realistic.