Why are trumpets seen as "better" than cornets or

[ButchA]

Trumpets are not necessarily "better" than cornets. Cornets are not necessarily "better" than trumpets.

My own opinion, having both instruments....

Trumpet
My '67 Holton Collegiate can play brightly and more pronounced than a cornet. It can blast up towards the Heavens, it can march, it can do jazz, it can do swing, and it can even rock out (well, you know what I mean...). It is sort of a universal "jack of all trades" type of sound, but yet very focused and direct, like a lead instrument. In a nutshell: The trumpet is like the "Fender Stratocaster" of trumpets. It's everywhere, in all genres.

Cornet
My '75 Olds Ambassador (bought off ebay), is very smooth and not as bright as a trumpet. It can "sing" better than a trumpet, if that makes any sense. The cornet is more subtle and more mellow and more laid back than a trumpet. The cornet will do ballads and smokey barroom, slow jazz, type of music with ease.

Added humor... Trumpet screams out the lead vocals just like Janis did:
"{Take it}
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby!
{Oh, break it!}
Break another little bit of my heart, now darling, yeah, c'mon now
{Oh, have a}
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby
You know you got it - wahhhhh!! (scream)"

Added humor #2... Cornet plays a very sweet ballad, singing just like Nat King Cole did:
"Maybe I should have saved those left over dreams
Funny, but here's that rainy day
Here's that rainy day they told me about
And I laughed at the thought that it might turn out this way
Where is that worn out wish that I threw aside
After it brought my lover near
It's funny how love becomes a cold rainy day
Funny, that rainy day is here"

Perhaps this shows the true difference, or perhaps I am not quite right in the head! LOL...
_________________
1967 Holton Collegiate Trumpet --> my grade school band trumpet. I just can't part with it!
1975 Olds Ambassador Cornet --> my new/used eBay special. Sounds great!
2018 Regiment WI-800 Bugle --> my inexpensive Chinese made bugle from Amazon.

[iiipopes]

World War II. Period.

My Uncle played before WWII. He played a King Silvertone cornet. He played very well indeed, from 4th grade on.

My Dad played after WWII. He played a King Super 20. His favorite was Harry James. Swing, big bands, etc., overshadowed the concert band and trumpets became the primary instrument, to this day.

Yes, how do I know why trumpet took over from cornet? I lived it.
_________________
King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet

[kehaulani]

[iiipopes]

[RandyTX]

It's interesting that a lot of well known jazz and big band era 'trumpet players' actually played on cornets, some of them all through their careers. Nobody said they didn't have the right sound, or couldn't cut through a big band. The audiences for the most part had no idea.
_________________
"Music is like candy, you throw the (w)rappers away."

[blbaumgarn]

I have played both, though I started on a conn trumpet in 1960, I truthfully didn't know or care much about the difference until college when I was given a Getzen cornet to play in symphonic band. I personally believe that some technique is easier to learn on a cornet than trumpet. Double and triple tonguing for instance seemed easier on the cornet. If you want to read a ringing "non endorsement" for the trumpet go to the Benge trumpet sites and find in there a letter from Herbert Clarke to Eldon Benge. Clarke thought the trumpet was a passing fad and that they were only appropriate in big bands. Someone commenting earlier talked about the trumpet and marching bands, its projection. Both are still valuable and used today. I listen to alot of British Band music, although being an American, I love our style of "balls to the walls" sound and throxos, or guts. I prefer a trumpet sound, but also appreciate a cornet having a definite character of its own.

[Dale Proctor]

At the time I began playing (early 1960s), the cornet had already been relegated to the status of a beginner's instrument. I started out on a brand new King Cleveland cornet in 6th grade, and played it into 10th grade. At that point, my younger brother started band, so the cornet became his and I "graduated" to a used Conn 6B trumpet. In high school, very few of us were still playing cornets, since everyone knew that they were for kids who were learning to play. Trumpets were what the real men played...ha ha.

It was a long time before I realized that cornets are the instrument of choice to achieve a certain style and sound, not a stepping stone to playing trumpet. Today, I have both, and the decision on which instrument to play is determined by the music I'm playing. That said, I suppose the common reasons cited for the demise of the cornet in the U.S. are correct - jazz in noisy clubs, dance bands, projection, etc.
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[iiipopes]

[Brad361]

[Didymus]

[Dale Proctor]

The infamous Clarke letter was dated Jan. 13, 1921.
_________________
"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[Harry Hilgers]

[BardoXV]

[BardoXV]