Differences between cornet and trumpet

[Bflatman]

There is no difference

[Seymor B Fudd]

[Dale Proctor]

"There is no difference", said the man who's never shown up to a brass band rehearsal with a trumpet...ha ha
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[TKSop]

I guess a lot of it is "attitude".

By which I mean - how you approach it mentally, how you expect the sound to be mellower and (to borrow a word from earlier in the thread) more intimate... and how you expect bigger mouthpieces to work, which makes the above two more likely.


I guess a decent amount of it is confirmation bias... if you played a "long" cornet with the same model bach mouthpiece as a fairly average trumpet it might be difficult to tell the difference - but if you're comparing a Bach 37 with a 3C in the end to a Besson Sovereign with a Wick 2, it's going to sound very different.

At the same time.. there is definitely a difference in feel, and a difference in feedback.

[Bflatman]

[delano]

[RandyTX]

[epoustoufle]

[Bflatman]

Look, it really isnt an issue, I will say it again.

I have sat in a brass band rehearsal with a trumpet, and I sounded like a cornet.

Ok it was a brighter sounding cornet sound, but still cornetlike. The only reason that I didnt sound dark was because this was a lightweight peashooter that can sound shrill, It still sounded dark enough.

With a different trumpet it would have been even easier to blend.

Listen to some Red Nichols. Sounds pretty trumpetlike to me or am I missing something.

I agree if you take most cornets and try to make them sound like a trumpet you wont get far, thats usually because they are built heavier with heavier brass, it makes a difference due to resonance.

It is easier to make a trumpet sound like a cornet, but still they do have different sounds, but it is more like the difference between a crossover and a sports car, they are different vehicles, but some crossovers will beat the pants off a sports car, they are both cars they differ in small design areas.

The only real trumpets are natural trumpets, these have cylindrical tubing, modern trumpets have conical tubing thats a fact, the difference is in a cornet they usually have more conical tubing than trumpets do, but even this is not true in all cases.

Also trumpets tend to be built lighter from thinner brass, and therefore sound brighter, but this is often not true as well.

It is really unclear the difference when you look at just a few examples of each instrument.

The only real difference and I will state it now.

Trumpets have trumpet mouthpieces and look like trumpets, cornets have cornet mouthpieces and look perdy

[Dennis78]

We sit much much MUCH tighter in Brass Band! I could not imagine trying to get a trumpet squeezed in there
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a few different ones

[Don Herman rev2]

It is an issue in every brass band in which I have played and with every player I respect (I do not know you so please don't take offense, I imply nothing about whether I would respect your playing or not). And the issue has been sound, not looks, as most players and conductors go more by sound than looks, at least IME.

The difference in sound is due largely to the bell flare and additional conical tubing. The mouthpiece does make a difference but, while it can really darken a trumpet, does not turn it into a cornet, at least IME.

My short cornet looks very little like my trumpets; they both have three valves, a receiver, and a bell, but the rest of the design including wrap and bell flare are completely different. And there is a visible difference in the amount of tubing that is conical.

No doubt I am nowhere near the player you are and thus need more than just a mouthpiece switch, but I use a cornet when I want a cornet sound, a trumpet when I want a trumpet sound, and follow the direction of the composer and band when in doubt.
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[GordonH]

My test in that video showed that the sound WAS different even with the same mouthpiece. Clearly there are some cornets that sound more like a trumpet and some trumpets that sound more like a cornet, but most regular cornets have longer leadpipes and bigger bell flares than most regularly available trumpets.

There is a masters degree dissertation where someone tested whether people could tell the difference between a trumpet and cornet. Very few people could unless they were trumpet or cornet players themselves.
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Bb - Scherzer 8218W, Schilke S22, Bach 43, Selmer 19A Balanced
Pic - Weril
Flugel - Courtois 154
Cornet - Geneva Heritage, Conn 28A
Mouthpieces - Monette 1-5 rims and similar.

Licensed Radio Amateur - GM4SVM

[Seymor B Fudd]

[Dale Proctor]

[VetPsychWars]

I myself am perplexed by those who say that a player's approach to a cornet must be different than the approach to a trumpet. Maybe it's because my trumpet and cornet play nearly identically, both being Buescher 400s. Maybe it's that I haven't listened to enough brass band music, though I have watched "Brassed Off" a number of times (fun movie).

Now, the Buescher 400 cornet and Buescher 400 trumpet sound wildly different. The trumpet has more of a brilliance to it and as you push it, it lights up wonderfully. The cornet has less brilliance and more "core" and if you push it, it doesn't light up, it just gets bolder, if you know what I mean by that.

So, in summary, they were designed to sound different but to blow the same.

Perhaps it's just that the bell of your cornet is closer to your ear so you hear it differently and adjust.

So I guess my answer is... I don't know.

Tom
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1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1

[Richard III]

In my experience, you blow through a trumpet and into a cornet. Totally different to play.
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Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[RandyTX]

The myth of 'cornets all have more conical tubing' again pops up. It's obviously sometimes true, you could build one right now to make a point if pressed on it, but in common production models, it doesn't hold up.

It's been a while since this was linked, so it bears doing again.

Main article:
http://robbstewart.com/Essays/TrumpetSchmumpet.html

Data table showing real world examples:
http://robbstewart.com/Essays/Trumpet_Schmumpet_abridged.htm
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"Music is like candy, you throw the (w)rappers away."

[epoustoufle]

While it's a slightly controversial topic, I think we can all come together around the fact that trumpet is better.

[Dale Proctor]

Now you've really stirred the pot!!!!! ha ha
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[VetPsychWars]