Trumpet is a brass instrument in orchestras, bands, and jazz groups. A trumpet player blows into a mouthpiece and vibrates his or her lips. The player changes notes by fingering the instrument’s three valves and changing lip tension. The largest part of the trumpet consists of a curved tube. Most trumpets used in bands are pitched in the key of B flat. They have a tube 4 1/2 feet (1.4 meters) long. Orchestras use those kinds of trumpets. They also use trumpets with shorter tubes, pitched in other keys. The small diameter and cylindrical shape of its tube give the trumpet its powerful sound.
Trumpets date back to about 1200 B.C. The valve trumpet was developed in 1813.
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