Keyed trumpet

Keyed trumpet
Keyed trumpet in G by Franz Stöhr, c. 1830
Keyed trumpet in G by Franz Stöhr, c. 1830. St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh
Brass instrument
Other names
Classification brass
Hornbostel–Sachs classification423.211
(chromatic labrosone with keys and cylindrical bore)
DevelopedLate 18th century
Related instruments
Musicians
Builders
Historical:
  • Alois Doke
  • Josef Riedl
  • Franz Stöhr
Modern replicas:
  • Blaswerkstatt Burri
  • David Edwards
  • Egger

The keyed trumpet is a cylindrical-bore brass instrument in the trumpet family that makes use of tone holes operated by keys to alter pitch and provide a full chromatic scale, rather than extending the length of tubing with a slide or valves. It was developed from the natural trumpet in the 18th century and reached its high-point in popularity c. 1800 when two important trumpet concertos were written for it by Austrian composers Joseph Haydn and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, but waned with the invention of valves in the 1820s and the subsequent emergence of the modern valved trumpet. It is rarely seen in modern performances.


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