The piccolo trumpet is the smallest member of the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

family, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate

leadpipe In a brass instrument, a leadpipe or mouthpipe is the pipe or tube into which the mouthpiece is placed. For example, on the illustration of a trombone, the leadpipe would be between #3 and #4, the mouthpiece and the slide lock ring. In ...

for each key. The tubing in the B piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B trumpet. Piccolo trumpets in G, F, and even high C are also manufactured, but are rarer. The piccolo trumpet should not be confused with the

pocket trumpet 250px, Pocket trumpet in B-flat, with a standard size bell and medium-large bore The pocket trumpet is a B♭ or C trumpet that is constructed with the tubing wound into a much smaller coil than a standard trumpet, generally with a smaller diam ...

, which plays in the same pitch as the regular B trumpet.

Types and details

The piccolo trumpet in B is a transposing instrument, which sounds a minor seventh higher than written. Not often called for specifically, it is often used at the player's discretion to cover high material as appropriate. The piccolo trumpet in D, also known as the ''Bach trumpet'', was invented and first used in the late 19th century by the Belgian instrument maker Victor Mahillon to play the high trumpet parts in music by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

and

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

. Built initially in a long linear form with three piston valves, by the early 20th century it was mostly made with the more compact wrap of modern C and B♭ trumpets. The trumpet in D was called for by several composers, including

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

(''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

'', ''

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. It was first introduced by traveling Italian performers in the first third of the 19th century during a period of W ...

''),

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

(''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music. Composition T ...

''), and

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

(''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

''). Czech instrument maker Červený first made a piccolo cornet in high B♭ in 1862, but it did not catch on. The modern four-valve piccolo trumpet was advanced by Adolf Scherbaum and

Maurice André Maurice André (21 May 1933 – 25 February 2012) was a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field. He was professor of trumpet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris where he introduced the teaching of the pic ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

. Scherbaum was first to specialize in the piccolo trumpet repertoire, discover new baroque works, and create original transcriptions, and André continued this work in collaboration with instrument builder

Selmer Paris Henri Selmer Paris is a French enterprise, manufacturer of musical instruments based at Mantes-la-Ville near Paris. Founded in 1885, it is known as a producer of professional-grade woodwind and brass instruments, especially saxophones, clarinet ...

over a long career. The instrument enables players to play the difficult high trumpet parts of Baroque music, such as Bach's second

Brandenburg Concerto The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' (BWV 1046–1051) by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 (though probably composed earlier). The origina ...

and Mass in B minor. The sound production technique is basically the same as that used on the larger B trumpet. Air pressure and tonguing are different, and players use a shallower

mouthpiece Mouthpiece may refer to: * The part of an object which comes near or in contact with one's mouth or nose during use ** Mouthpiece (smoking pipe) or cigarette holder ** Mouthpiece (telephone handset) ** Mouthpiece (woodwind), a component of a wood ...

for the piccolo trumpet. Almost all piccolo trumpets have four valves instead of three—the fourth valve usually lowers the pitch by a fourth. This extends the low range and provides alternate fingerings and improved intonation for some notes.

Use in "Penny Lane" and elsewhere

The piccolo trumpet solo in

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwr ...

", which introduced the instrument to pop music, was played by David Mason.

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

was dissatisfied with the initial attempts at the song's instrumental fill (one of which is released on ''

Anthology 2 ''Anthology 2'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for ''Help!'' until the se ...

''), and was inspired to use the instrument after seeing Mason's performance in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television broadcast of the second

and asking

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

what the "tremendously high" trumpet was. Eventually Mason recorded the solo using a piccolo trumpet in A. The piccolo trumpet was also used to quote Bach's Invention no. 8 in F major (BWV 779) during the fade-out of "

All You Need Is Love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967, with "Baby, You're a Rich Man" as its A-side and B-side, B-side. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lenn ...

". Use of the instrument is now commonplace in many musical genres.

Otto Sauter Otto Sauter (born 1961) is a German trumpet soloist, who specializes in the piccolo trumpet . Biography From 1988 until 1998 Sauter was principal trumpet in the Bremen State Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1991 he founded the annual Bremen Interna ...

Guy Touvron Guy Touvron (15 February 1950 – 9 March 2024) was a French classical trumpet player and music teacher. He was an accomplished soloist, having played with some of Europe's leading orchestras. He premiered several prominent trumpet concertos wr ...

Reinhold Friedrich Reinhold Friedrich (born 14 July 1958) is a German trumpeter and university lecturer in Karlsruhe. Career Born in Weingarten, Friedrich was from 1983 to 1999 Solo trumpeter at the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt. In 1986 he was awarded a pr ...

, Adolf Scherbaum,

Ludwig Güttler Ludwig Güttler (born 13 June 1943) is an internationally known German virtuoso on the Baroque trumpet, the piccolo trumpet and the corno da caccia. As a conductor, he founded several ensembles including the chamber orchestra Virtuosi Saxoniae. Hi ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

, Matthias Höfs and

Håkan Hardenberger Ulf Håkan Hardenberger (born 27 October 1961) is a Swedish trumpeter, conductor, and professor at the Malmö Academy of Music. Early life Hardenberg was born in Malmö and began his practice of the trumpet at the age of eight under the guida ...

are some well-known piccolo trumpet players.

References

Bibliography

External links

Maurice Andre website
See section : Piccolo tpt
Piccolo trumpet manufacturers

{{Authority control B-flat instruments A instruments Trumpets Orchestral instruments

Types and details

Use in "Penny Lane" and elsewhere

See also

References

Bibliography

External links