Trumpet
in music, a metal wind instrument of bright and penetrating tone, formed of a single tube of brass or silver, curved into a convenient shape, with a mouthpiece at one end, the other having a bell. Its part is usually written in the key of c with the treble clef, though by means of crooks or lengthening pieces the sounds produced may be in various keys. The trumpet required for a piece is indicated at the commencement, as trumpet in B, C, D flat, E, F, or G. The modern orchestral or slide trumpet consists of a tube 66% inches in length and three-eighths of an inch in diameter.
It is twice turned or curved, thus forming three lengths; the first and third lying close together, and the second about two inches apart. The slide is connected with the second curve. It is a double tube, five inches in length on each side, by which the length of the whole instrument can be extended. Trumpets with pistons or valves capable of producing every chromatic sound within their compass are sometimes used, but the tone is by no means to be compared with the true trumpet tone. Also, a stop of an organ having reed pipes tuned in unison with the open diapason. The octave trumpet or clarion stop is an octave higher.