Editing Cornet

{{Short description|Brass instrument}}
{{About|the modern brass instrument|the organ stop|Cornet (organ stop)|the early wind instrument|Cornett|other uses|Cornet (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|comet|cornette|coronet|kornet}}
{{Original research|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox Instrument
| name             = Cornet
| image            = Yamaha Cornet YCR-6330II crop.png
| image_capt       = Cornet in B{{music|flat}}
| background       = brass
| classification   = {{hlist
| [[Wind instrument|Wind]]
| [[Brass instrument|brass]]
| [[aerophone]]
}}
| hornbostel_sachs = 423.232
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Valved [[aerophone]] sounded by lip vibration
| developed=Early 19th century from the [[post horn]]
| range=Written range:[[File:Range trumpet 3.svg|180px|center]]
(lower and higher notes are possible)
| related          = {{hlist
| [[Trumpet]]
| [[post horn]]
| [[bugle]]
| [[flugelhorn]]
| [[flumpet]]
}}
| articles         =
}}
{{Brass}}

The '''cornet''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɔːr|n|ᵻ|t}},<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/pronunciation/english/cornet| title = pronunciation of ''cornet'' in the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|us|k|ɔːr|ˈ|n|ɛ|t}}) is a [[brass instrument]] similar to the [[trumpet]] but distinguished from it by its conical [[Bore (wind instruments)|bore]], more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a [[transposing instrument]] in B{{music|flat}}. There is also a [[soprano cornet]] in E{{music|flat}} and cornets in A and C. All are unrelated to the [[Renaissance]] and early [[Baroque]] [[cornett]].

==History==
The cornet was derived from the [[posthorn]] by applying [[Brass instrument valve|valves]] to it in the 1820s.<ref name="NPDM">{{cite book | title=The New Penguin Dictionary of Music | page=195 | author=Griffiths, Paul | location=London | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2006 | isbn=0-141-00925-X }}</ref> Initially using Stölzel valves, by the 1830s, Parisian makers were using the improved Périnet [[piston valve]]s.<ref>Anthony C. Baines and Arnold Myers, "Cornet (i)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]] (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).</ref> Cornets first appeared as separate instrumental parts in 19th-century French compositions.<ref name="EB2">''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', Micropedia, Volume III, William Benton, Chicago Illinois, 1974, p. 156</ref>

The instrument could not have been developed without the improvement of piston valves by [[Silesia]]n horn players [[Friedrich Blühmel]] (or Blümel) and [[Heinrich Stölzel]], in the early 19th century. These two instrument makers almost simultaneously invented valves, though it is likely that Blühmel was the inventor, while Stölzel developed a practical instrument.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156437733 |title=Band Series No. 7 |newspaper=[[Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 November 1952 |access-date=25 May 2016 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia }}</ref> They were jointly granted a patent for a period of ten years. [[François Périnet]] received a patent in 1838 for an improved valve, which became the model for modern brass instrument piston valves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.public.asu.edu/~jqerics/earlval.htm |title=Early Valve Designs |website=www.public.asu.edu |access-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502152054/http://www.public.asu.edu/~jqerics/earlval.htm |archive-date=2 May 2018 }}</ref> The first notable virtuoso player was [[Jean-Baptiste Arban]], who studied the cornet extensively and published {{Lang|fr|La grande méthode complète de cornet à piston et de saxhorn}}, commonly referred to as the ''[[Arban method]]'', in 1864.<ref>''Method for Trumpet'', Jean-Baptiste Arban, Carl Fisher & Co, NY, NY 1982</ref> Up until the early 20th century, the trumpet and cornet co-existed in musical ensembles; symphonic repertoire often involves separate parts for trumpet and cornet. As several instrument builders made improvements to both instruments, they started to look and sound more alike. The modern-day cornet is used in [[Brass band (British style)|brass band]]s, [[concert band]]s, and in specific [[orchestra]]l repertoire that requires a more mellow sound.<ref name="American">''The American History and Encyclopedia of Music'', W.C. Hubbard (ed.), "Musical Instruments", George W. Andrews, Irving Square, NY, NY, 1924</ref>

The name "cornet" derives from the French ''corne'', meaning "horn", itself from Latin {{Lang|la|cornu}}. While not musically related, instruments of the [[cornett|Zink]] family (which includes [[Serpent (musical instrument)|serpents]]) are named "cornetto" or "cornett" in modern English, to distinguish them from the valved cornet described here. The 11th edition of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' referred to serpents as "old wooden cornets".<ref name="EB1">{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Serpent |volume=24 |last=Schlesinger |first=Kathleen |author-link=Kathleen Schlesinger |page=675 |short=1}}</ref> The Roman/Etruscan [[Cornu (horn)|cornu]] (or simply "horn") is the lingual ancestor of these. It is a predecessor of the [[post horn]], from which the cornet evolved, and was used like a [[bugle]] to signal orders on the battlefield.<ref name="American"/>

==Relationship to trumpet==
{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2022}}

The cornet's valves allowed for melodic playing throughout the instrument's register. Trumpets were slower to adopt the new valve technology, so for 100 years or more, composers often wrote separate parts for trumpet and cornet. The trumpet would play [[fanfare]]-like passages, while the cornet played more melodic ones. The modern trumpet has valves that allow it to play the same notes and fingerings as the cornet.

Cornets and trumpets made in a given [[Key (music)|key]] (usually the key of B{{music|flat}}) play at the same pitch, and the technique for playing the instruments is nearly identical. However, cornets and trumpets are not entirely interchangeable, as they differ in [[timbre]]. Also available, but usually seen only in the brass band, is an E{{music|flat}} soprano model, pitched a fourth above the standard B{{music|flat}}.

Unlike the trumpet, which has a cylindrical bore up to the bell section, the tubing of the cornet has a mostly conical bore, starting very narrow at the [[Mouthpiece (brass)|mouthpiece]] and gradually widening towards the bell. Cornets following the 1913 patent of [[E. A. Couturier]] can have a continuously conical bore. This shape is primarily responsible for the instrument's characteristic warm, mellow tone, which can be distinguished from the more penetrating sound of the trumpet. The conical bore of the cornet also makes it more agile than the trumpet when playing fast passages, but correct pitching is often less assured.<ref name="American"/> The cornet is often preferred for young beginners as it is easier to hold, with its centre of gravity much closer to the player.

The cornet mouthpiece has a shorter and narrower shank than that of a trumpet, so it can fit the cornet's smaller mouthpiece receiver. The cup size is  often deeper than that of a trumpet mouthpiece.<ref name="EB1"/>

[[File:Cornet2.png|thumb|Short-model traditional cornet, also known as a shepherd's crook—shaped model (Webster's Dictionary 1911)]]

One variety is the short-model traditional cornet, also known as a "Shepherd's Crook" shaped model. These are most often large-bore instruments with a rich mellow sound. There is also a long-model, or "American-wrap" cornet, often with a smaller bore and a brighter sound, which is produced in a variety of different tubing wraps and is closer to a trumpet in appearance. The Shepherd's Crook model is preferred by cornet traditionalists. The long-model cornet is generally used in concert bands in the United States and has found little following in British-style brass and concert bands.

A third, and relatively rare variety—distinct from the "American-wrap" cornet—is the "long cornet", which was produced in the mid-20th century by [[C. G. Conn]] and [[F. E. Olds]] and is visually nearly indistinguishable from a trumpet, except that it has a receiver fashioned to accept cornet mouthpieces.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Derksen |first1=Christine |title=The Long Model Cornet: Fish Nor Fowl? |url=https://cderksen.home.xs4all.nl/ConnArticle9.html |website=The Conn Loyalist |access-date=17 August 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=F.E. Olds Product Catalog |date=1962 |publisher=F.E. Olds & Sons |location=Los Angeles, CA |url=http://rouses.net/trumpet/olds62/mendzcor.htm |access-date=17 August 2018}}</ref>

===Echo cornet===
The echo cornet has been called an obsolete variant. It has a mute chamber (or echo chamber) mounted to the side, acting as a second bell when the fourth valve is pressed. The second bell has a sound similar to that of a [[Harmon mute]] and is typically used to play echo phrases, whereupon the player imitates the sound from the primary bell using the echo chamber.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vintagecornets.com/html/echo_cornets.htm |title=Echo Cornets|website=www.vintagecornets.com|access-date=2 May 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110153603/http://www.vintagecornets.com/html/echo_cornets.htm |archive-date=10 November 2016}}</ref>

==Playing technique==
{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2022}}
[[File:Connie Jones Silver Cornet.jpg|thumb|right|[[Connie Jones]] playing a long-model cornet]]

Like the trumpet and all other modern brass wind instruments, the cornet makes a sound when the player vibrates ("buzzes") the lips in the mouthpiece, creating a vibrating column of air in the tubing. The [[frequency]] of the air column's vibration can be modified by changing the lip tension and aperture, or [[embouchure]], and by altering the tongue position to change the shape of the oral cavity, thereby increasing or decreasing the speed of the airstream. In addition, the column of air can be lengthened by engaging one or more valves, thus lowering the pitch. [[Double tonguing|Double and triple tonguing]] are also possible.

Without valves, the player could produce only a [[Harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]] of notes, like those played by the [[Bugle (instrument)|bugle]] and other "natural" brass instruments. These notes are far apart for most of the instrument's range, making [[diatonic and chromatic]] playing impossible, except in the extreme high register. The valves change the length of the vibrating column and provide the cornet with the ability to play chromatically.<ref name="EB1"/>

==Ensembles with cornets==
{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2022}}
===Brass band===
[[British brass band]]s consist only of brass instruments and a [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] section. The cornet is the leading melodic instrument in this ensemble; trumpets are never used. The ensemble consists of about thirty musicians, including nine B{{music|flat}} cornets and one E{{music|flat}} cornet ([[soprano cornet]]). In the UK, companies such as [[Besson (music company)|Besson]] and [[Boosey & Hawkes]] specialized in instruments for brass bands. In America, 19th-century manufacturers such as Graves and Company, Hall and Quinby, E. G. Wright, and the [[Boston Musical Instrument Company|Boston Musical Instrument Manufactury]] made instruments for this ensemble.

===Concert band===
The cornet features in the British-style [[concert band]], and early American [[concert band]] pieces, particularly those written or transcribed before 1960, often feature distinct, separate parts for trumpets and cornets. Cornet parts are rarely included in later American pieces, however, and they are replaced in modern American bands by the trumpet. This slight difference in instrumentation derives from the British concert band's heritage in [[military band]]s, where the highest brass instrument is always the cornet. There are usually four to six B{{music|flat}} cornets present in a British concert band, but no E{{music|flat}} instrument, as this role is taken by the [[E-flat clarinet|E{{music|flat}} clarinet]].

===Fanfareorkest===
Fanfareorkesten ("[[fanfare orchestra]]s"), found in only the Netherlands, Belgium, northern France, and Lithuania, use the complete [[saxhorn]] family of instruments. The standard instrumentation includes both the cornet and the trumpet; however, in recent decades, the cornet has largely been replaced by the trumpet.

===Jazz ensemble===
In old-style [[jazz band]]s, the cornet was preferred to the trumpet, but from the swing era onwards, it has been largely replaced by the louder, more piercing trumpet. Likewise, the cornet has been largely phased out of [[big band]]s by a growing taste for louder and more aggressive instruments, especially since the advent of [[bebop]] in the post-[[World War II]] era.

Jazz pioneer [[Buddy Bolden]] played the cornet, and [[Louis Armstrong]] started off on the instrument, but his switch to the trumpet is often credited with the beginning of the trumpet's dominance in jazz.<ref>{{cite web |last1=West |first1=Michael J. |title=The Cornet: Secrets of the Little Big Horn |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/cornet-horn-trumpet/ |website=JazzTimes.com |access-date=17 August 2018 |date=3 November 2017}}</ref> Cornetists such as [[Bubber Miley]] and [[Rex Stewart]] contributed substantially to the [[Duke Ellington Orchestra]]'s early sound. Other influential jazz cornetists include [[Freddie Keppard]], [[King Oliver]], [[Bix Beiderbecke]], [[Ruby Braff]], [[Bobby Hackett]], and [[Nat Adderley]]. Notable performances on cornet by players generally associated with the trumpet include [[Freddie Hubbard]]'s on ''[[Empyrean Isles]]'', by [[Herbie Hancock]], and [[Don Cherry (trumpeter)|Don Cherry]]'s on ''[[The Shape of Jazz to Come]]'', by [[Ornette Coleman]]. The band [[Tuba Skinny]] is led by cornetist Shaye Cohn.

===Symphony orchestra===
Soon after its invention, the cornet was introduced into the [[orchestra|symphony orchestra]], supplementing the trumpets. The use of valves meant they could play a full [[chromatic scale]] in contrast with trumpets, which were still restricted to the [[harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]]. In addition, their tone was found to unify the horn and trumpet sections. [[Hector Berlioz]] was the first significant composer to use them in these ways, and his orchestral works often use pairs of both trumpets and cornets, the latter playing more of the melodic lines. In his ''[[Symphonie fantastique]]'' (1830), he added a [[counter-melody]] for a solo cornet in the second movement ({{Lang|fr|Un Bal}}).

Cornets continued to be used, particularly in French compositions, well after the valve trumpet was common. They blended well with other instruments and were held to be better suited to certain types of melody. [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]] used them effectively this way in his ''[[Capriccio Italien]]'' (1880).<ref name="Piston">{{cite book | last=Piston | first=Walter | title=Orchestration | url=https://archive.org/details/orchestration0000pist | url-access=registration | publisher=Norton | publication-place=New York | year=1955 | isbn=0-393-09740-4 | oclc=300471 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/orchestration0000pist/page/264 264–266]}}</ref>

From the early 20th century, the cornet and trumpet combination was still favored by some composers, including [[Edward Elgar]] and [[Igor Stravinsky]], but tended to be used for occasions when the composer wanted the specific mellower and more agile sound. The sounds of the cornet and trumpet have grown closer together over time, and the former is now rarely used as an ensemble instrument:<ref name="Piston"/> in the first version of his ballet ''[[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]'' (1911), Stravinsky gives a celebrated solo to the cornet; in the 1946 revision, he removed cornets from the orchestration and instead assigned the solo to the trumpet.

==See also==
* [[Flugelhorn]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.angelfire.com/music2/thecornetcompendium/ The Cornet Compendium]
{{Brass instruments}}{{Trumpets}}
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[[Category:Brass instruments]]
[[Category:B-flat instruments]]
[[Category:Orchestral instruments]]
[[Category:Concert band instruments]]