The trumpet is a musical instrument that has been around for a very long time. Though it might not have always looked and sounded the way that it does today, the trumpet has been around for a very long time.
The trumpet is a musical instrument with an interesting past that can often be overlooked. However, when we look at the history of the trumpet, there are many interesting things to be learned about.
This information is essential in order to be able to understand the beauty of the instrument and to hear the story that it has to tell.
If you play the trumpet or you have a particular curiosity surrounding musical instruments, then you might be wondering when the trumpet was first invented, or maybe even who invented it.
In this article, we will aim to answer as many of your questions about the invention of the trumpet as we can.
When Was the Trumpet Invented?
Some of the very first known metal trumpets can actually be traced back thousands of years ago, even as far back as 1500BC.
They discovered silver and bronze trumpets at the grave of King Tut in Egypt, and there were also other different versions of the trumpet that were found in China, South America, Scandinavia, and Asia.
Most modern inventions of trumpets are adaptations of earlier forms of trumpets, and there is actually a good reason to believe that the method of blowing into objects to make sounds goes back even further than we have seen recorded.
It is known that certain civilizations would blow into animal horns or shells to make musical sounds.
Who Invented the Trumpet?
It is difficult to know who invented the trumpet because of the lack of records from that early on in history. What we do know is that many different objects were used to blow into to create sounds, and this is likely the concept that inspired the trumpet through history.
It is impossible to know who the first person was to come up with this idea, but there are traces of these musical instruments as far back as thousands of years ago. There were also traces of these instruments found all over the world.
When Was the First Valve Trumpet Created?
The first valve trumpet was actually created in 1818 by a German horn player that was called Heinrich David Stolzel. He was able to create the very first working brass instrument valve along with Friedrich Bluhmel, and this is the point in time where the modern valve trumpet was created.
Once this invention was perfected and practiced, it allowed for a beautiful range of sounds of different tones that created amazing music. Trumpets haven’t changed much in their design since this point.
However, it is also interesting to note that the natural horn still kept up its popularity throughout this time, and it continued to do so until the very end of the 1800s. It turned out that it was no match for the valve trumpet in the end.
The History of the Trumpet
Lots of the early versions of trumpets were not actually used to make music in the same way that we know about today. Usually, they would be used for either religious or military purposes, and this can be seen in a variety of historical records from the past.
During medieval times, those that played the trumpet were highly regarded among the military as they would be responsible for relaying instructions over large distances. Interestingly, the military today still uses the ‘bugle’ to pay respect to its use in the past.
The overall design of the instrument continued to improve over time due to new resources and material discoveries, especially during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Period. They created the more standard type of trumpet that was used for making music.
These trumpets would not have had valves like the ones that we see today, which meant that they could not produce a wide variety of notes and sounds. To change the key of the trumpet, you actually had to change the pipes on the horn to make it different.
Due to the lack of notes that the natural trumpet was capable of producing, this form of trumpet started to die out during the Classical and Romantic periods, and by the 1800s, the instrument was improved to the point where it had keys and valves.
This meant that a wider variety of noises of different tones could be made, and these became very popular for creating melodic tunes.
This is the period in that the trumpet evolved to be similar to the type that we see today, and it was capable of so much more than it was previously. It even went on to be one of the most popular instruments of its time.
Later on, during the twentieth century, when pop music became more and more popular, many instruments were not able to be used for this purpose as they did not translate well on tape.
Unfortunately, this led to a decline in the use of many different instruments. Thankfully, the trumpet was an exception to this, and it continued to be used due to the clear and strong sounds that it was able to produce.
The trumpet was able to carry on through so many different points of history, and it continued to evolve with the music industry. Now, it is used in many different styles of music, including rock, classical, pop, and so much more.
The trumpet has had so many uses throughout history, whether that be to signal, inform, or to entertain, and this is how we are able to enjoy the musical talent of trumpet players today.
Conclusion
The trumpet is a magical instrument that was able to withstand the test of time and keep continually changing to keep up with its surroundings.
While the concept may have started as an idea of blowing into objects to create sounds, it was able to develop into the stunning instrument that we know and love today.
