One of the clearest (and most succinct) explanations of the differences I've ever seen -- thanks. I would really like to see you do a similar one contrasting baritone horns and euphoniums. Here in the US, school bands call euphoniums "baritones" and don't use actual baritones at all!
It's a fairly simple difference. Euphonium has conical piping, while baritone has cylindrical. Sound-wise, baritone is closer to trombone, while euphonium can be thought of as a mini tuba.
I'm back at this video once again. Even though I play both trumpet and cornet, the cornet has a special place in my heart and it annoys me when people call it a trumpet. And I am seriously tired of explaining the difference, so much so that when people ask me what instrument I play, I usually just say that I play the trumpet. I have now made it my mission to make the cornet a known instrument to the common folk. I have started by creating a local band only consisting of cornets. And I urge you, my fellow cornet players to do the same. Let us never have to explain the difference between a cornet and a trumpet ever again!
Ha ... Once I told a choir colleague that I play trombone (Zugposaune - I'm Austrian), she forgot during the following conversation and called it a "slide trumpet" (Zugtrompete)🤷
When I was in elementary school band in the 1950s U.S.A., all the parts were for Bb cornet. The band teacher explained to us that the cornet used to be the standard band instrument, but we could play it on trumpet as well. I recently made a friend who is a middle school band teacher. When I looked at his band books, they are still marked for cornet. I have a 1955 Conn Victor trumpet, that passed through my younger brother and back to me. I took up the instrument again at age 72. After practicing on the Conn Victor for the first few months, I decided I might like the mellower sound of a cornet. I bought a cheap one online (CR400) from Thomann Music in Germany. Glad I did. I like the sound better, and it's easier to hold up, except for the hand grip, which I find a little tight.
The cornet characteristically had and has a softer tone. The first great cornets Courtois, French Bessons 1865 - 1900 had a softer tone that was compatible with vocal arias of operettas or operas. With the rise of the trumpet, after 1900-1930, cornet sounds were made to resemble that of the trumpet and in appearance too in some cases as with the Conn Constellation cornets.
Nikola Tesla cornets were considered solo instruments much more than trumpets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. the virtuosic solo peices like Napoli and carnival of Venice were all written for cornet. it was probably jazz players who made trumpets into more soloistic instruments, although many early jazz players did play cornets. even Louis Armstrong early on his career.
Thank you so much - that was MOST informative! I found the cornet more mellow - a great-niece is learning the cornet, I shall now be less ignorant about it! She is actually playing rather well; aged 11, she makes a very pleasing sound; I hope she will continue with it
The cornet, which has a conical bore (tubing gradually gets larger in diameter), while the trumpet has a cylindrical shape (same diameter until it reaches the bell portion). This changes the overtone series, which is more mellow in the cornet. It also makes the cornet a little easier to play with a little less resistance and easier to slur and play legato. The famous concert bands of the Sousa era used mainly cornets, as did the soloists such as the great Herbert L. Clark.
This back-to-back demo is the most illustrative, so far, I've seen. Including the flugelhorn (and the much-to-maligned, undeservedly so, piccolo trumpet) would be an even more comprehensive exposition.
I have been watching this channel for about two weeks now and I have to say I enjoy it very much. I am only 16 years old but I play about 5 instruments and I plan to either teach music, or make playing my career. With my main instrument being a tenor sax, my knowledge of instruments only lies with the realm of saxophones and some clarinet things, as I play bass clarinet and Bb. But this channel has really helped me to discover the amazing side of brass and how everything works from a Tuba or a Bass Trombone to a piccolo trumpet. So for that, thanks, Mr. Hamilton.
I hear cornet played in some older jazz recordings. This is a good comparison. Thanks. My only suggestion would be to put the playing of the more mellow instrument before the brighter one, i.e., cornet before trumpet,. to make them easier to compare.
I have had a trumpet with a first valve trigger instead of a saddle hook and I preferred it. I also currently own a cornet that does not have the shepherd's crook and has a third valve ring instead of a trigger. With the aesthetics of the trumpet and cornet there are no absolutes.
Technically, the cornet and trumpet are almost identical. Both are partially conical and cylindrical. There is a common misconception that the trumpet is cylindrical and the cornet is conical, but this is not true on modern 20th and 21st century instruments. The comparison of the bell flares is also inaccurate as the cornet bell is shorter, which explains why it appears to start tapering quickly at the base of the bell. The tapers on most cornets begin smaller than trumpet and end smaller than the trumpet, but flare faster. This fact combined with a deeper mouthpiece cup and wider backbore give the cornet a softer attack and tone than the trumpet. Nice video and discussion :)
@@ironmandave3000 They are not compatible. The mouthpiece for the cornet is shorter and narrower than the trumpet mouthpiece. The difference in size is comparable to the difference in size going from trumpet to trombone
@@ianlee9647 thank you I'm aware of that. I have played both. I was looking for someone else to help illustrate my point that trumpets and cornets are not the same. Doc Severinsen tells a great story how about trying to play cornet in a lead trumpet position. It doesn't work!
I think the biggest contributor to the difference in sound (among other things) is the mouthpiece. I play a cornet. I can't say for certain what the "average" trumpet vs. cornet mouthpiece cup is for either instrument. But I know the typical "stock" cornet mouthpiece that comes with the cornet is deeper than the stock mouthpiece you get with your trumpet. I find cornet mouthpieces can range from very deep/funnel (almost french horn-like) to basically a trumpet-type cup on a cornet shank (Bach). Not so sure if the same in reverse is the case for trumpet mouthpieces. I alternate between a Denis Wick 4B and a Bach 3D, depending on the music. When I use the Bach 3D, I'm basically indistinguishable from the trumpets in my section.
The different tone is magnified when you get a section of them playing together, as in a British style brass band or a proper concert band. (Most American school concert bands nowadays have trumpets where the cornets should be, since most students and amateurs don't usually own a cornet)
i think a lot of the us not using cornets, especially for school bands, has to do with budgets and ease of access. getting a proper even student cornet is probably out of the budget for most schools. i know my hs band, combined with the orchestra and choir, had the budget of a shoe string and a ham sandwhich. our only loaner trumpet looked like it could hold the worlds next pandemic within it. most kids coming into band were also started in trumpet anyway, at least when i was ins chool in the early 2000s. sad though, i really like the cornet's sound and would have switched tbh
Cornets do not only use triggers. I sell instruments and that is actually the first cornet i've seen with triggers. Also, trumpets can come with triggers
Very good comparisons, however something should be noted: the cornet demonstrated (an excellent one btw) is a shepherds crook type. There is a natural mellowness in its sound compared to a cornet without the crook. Shepherd crooks are very popular with the Brits, while straight cornets are more popular in America I believe. The shepherds crook stands between the trumpet and the flugelhorn for that mellow sound, but the flugelhorn is larger, and bulkier say to use in the marching band. Those who want to play trumpet and flugelhorn, but cannot afford both will settle on the shepherd crook to satisfy both sounds more economically. A really fair comparison should be made with a straight cornet vs trumpet and the difference would be heard. The straight cornet is very handy because of its shorter size in marching, yet maintains that brilliant sound. The Salvation Army bands of Britain use them effectively, for example.
I would have to play the cornet. My hands are small. This is a great comparison. The trumpet has a stronger sound. But, the cornet sounds good too. You are a very talented musician. Thanks for the video. You've helped me make an informed decision.
Are you a cornet player? I ran into some of your posts from a couple of older random videos about cornets. Strange indeed or maybe it really is a small world.
Very good video, especially the playing comparisons. This is a great primer for the basic differences, and is by and large accurate. However, there have been so many variations on the common designs, that the lines do blur. For example, perhaps the most glaring variation is the American standard trumpet, the Bach Strad. It is in fact, a long cornet with a trumpet mouthpiece receiver, as the tubing graduates throughout the instrument. Many people, myself included, have verified this with the use of calipers. Also to be noted is the Besson 10-10 trumpet, which has triggers on both the 1st and 3rd slides, perhaps as an effort to duplicate the playing mechanics of the Besson Sov, truly a hallmark cornet. At the other end of the spectrum are the American cornets, void of any shepherd crook, but still very much cornets. While perhaps a bit brighter than their British cousins, they still are conical instruments with a very specific cornet tonal quality. Once again, this video should be the point from which all others take off as far as variations between trumpet and cornet.
The manual/trigger tuning slide is NOT a key difference between the two. There are cornets with manual tuning slides and Trumpets with triggered tuning slides. I apologize if i come off as an ass, but I couldn't let this go. Very informational outside of that though.
i'm guessing because it was how the trumpet was originally made and they didn't really bother to change it much, however some people/companies decided to take matters into their own hands.
I’ve seen many trumpets with triggers for the tuning slides!!! I used to completely refuse to play anything other than a corner but I’m now completely in love with my trumpet. Both have such beautiful sounds.
Great video. I suspect the sound difference is more pronounced than the video indicates. The sampling rate on RUclips video is a limiting factor. Thanks for posting!
Thank you, so enlightening! Despite the close similarity, I can really hear the hint of the old-timey jazz tone in the cornet. I think it's really a shame that the cornet gets so overlooked by jazz players and rock/pop horn section guys now.
I have been a cornet player for 6 years and I'm literally sick to death of people saying "you're a trumpet player aren't you"? The cornet is used in brass bands whereas the trumpet is used in orchestras. I have the same model of cornet as you have here and it is absaloutely flawless, beautiful sound.
Great stuff Trent. My son (plays trumpet) has been asked to join a Police Band, playing cornet. I found this very helpful. Kiwi's are the Southern Hemisphere musical race!
from this very well presented video I can tell that the cornet is warmer, the trumpet more harsh,brighter. It also seems that cornet is harder to play.
Loved the demo! Thanks--after watching, then, it seems to me that the cornet is mellower 'creamier' and the trumpet brassier, more brilliant. Am I right here? I like Berlioz and that French composer consistently employees 2 trumpets and 2 cornets in many of his compositions--is this to get the qualities mentioned above combined??
high brass player here, you are spot on! a conical tubing generally makes an instrument more mellow in sound. flugels have the most conical tubing out of cornets (1/3), trumpets (0/0, and flugels (2/3)
The trumpets lead pipe is also conical. And my freind plays a trumpet with triggers. I think alot of the difference is less to do with the ammount of conical tubing, and more so the rate of expansion. Nowadays, modern trumpets aren't actually very different from cornets except for mouthpiece type and shape.
After listening to you the cornet doesn't sound as clean as the trumpet, but for some reason I like the cornet better. Thanks I am going to get a cornet.
I have a Bach Strad made in the early 70's that has a first valve trigger. All my my friends Strads back them had saddles, but mine has a trigger. Another friend of mine from the 70's had a king silver flair with a first valve trigger also. FYI. Good video!
The cornet have a rounder sound while the trumpet have a sharper sound . The trumpet also needs more air and the mouthpiece is slightly bigger while the cornet do not need as much air and has a smaller mouthpiec
when you play the fast passage on trumpet your eyes are steady but when you do it on the coronet it looks like youre doing some serious math in your head.
@@TrentHamilton I'm curious to know if this ever got a follow up? There are some rare early instruments that have so called "Catholic fingering", i.e. first and second valve reversed, but all three reversed is unheard of. Either way, the mentioned instrument, if true, is a rarity and deserves to be shared with the public.
BookWorm9229 theyre almost exactly the same. The cornet has a darker sound but not all cornets have a "shepards crook" and not all cornets use triggers. Also, some trumpets use triggers as well. A trumpet is used more in jazz and commercial use. However, a cornet is used often in orchestral pieces. You dont have to learn to play one or the other. If you can play one, you can easily play the other.
Basically the same difference as a Euphonium and a Baritone (also known as a tenor horn). Euphonium has a more conical bore and a baritone is more cylindrical.
The cornet does have a darker sound. The conical lead pipe provides a darker tone that that of the cylindrical. (Same difference between baritone and euphonium)
when I was in a band I played trumpet and I think my friend was the only guy with a cornet, he had this t-shirt about how cornets were better than trumpets. Definitely a softer sound, in a proper brass band are they treated as interchangeable or are they used case by case?
No. Sometimes a piece will call for cornets and trumpets have their own parts. Currently, my band is playing/rehearsing a Leonard Bernstein piece that has three cornet parts and two trumpet parts. But for those of us that dont have cornets, we just use our trumpets
Interesting to note the comments re the comparisons. I usually add a Cornet to a composition for brass and percussion, particularly when I include Trumpets in C (as opposed to B-flat) in the orchestration. J Steven Lasher.
In high school I played a Conn Connstellation which had a trigger on the first valve tuning slide, and the common ring, which was adjustable, on the third valve tuning slide.
I was thinking about getting a cheap cornet thinking it might be a reasonable compromise between the trumpet and the flugel. But after hearing your side by side demo I now think not. I didn't particularly like the cornet. Thanks for showing this.
I have been playing the cornet, and mine has manual slides, not triggers. It still has the crook, but the cornet, as I've heard from many experts on the topic, is better for beginners to use for a few years. It takes more air, so it makes it easier to play the trumpet when the time comes to switch.
Thank you for an extremely informative video. I never realised the tonal differences in the cornet before and can understand why it's favoured for certain music pieces over the trumpet and vice versa. I'd be tempted to get myself a cornet just so I can be an all rounder as I also play trombone although the trumpet is my instrument of choice.
+The West Will Rise Again! you are correct about that, but at my school, there are still many of them and none of us know the differences between them. There are still quite a few out there since the mello is a newer instrument. I for one would like to see him do a video on the differences between the two.
My trumpet teacher (great guy) has his trumpet with added triggers like the cornet where you pull in instead of push out because his fingers were hurting...
Use them both , when i'm playing Cool and the Gang I need staccato in high sharp sound but when it comes to RealBook jazz I prefer the Cornet ...I can play more with the tones
Dave Hickman did a blind (behind a curtain) study between the Trumpet and Cornet. The determination was made that the difference in sound (bright or dark) between the two instruments had more to do with the mouthpiece configuration than the instruments themselves. A cornet with a shallow mouthpiece, sounded characteristically like a trumpet and a trumpet with a deep v cup sounded characteristically Iike a cornet.
Beyond the sound quality of the trumpet being brighter and the cornet being darker, my experience years ago was that the cornet was more personal... I got more feedback from the cornet whereas the trumpet projected more effectively, but because of that the sound felt more distant. So the cornet more introverted and the trumpet extraverted if I can use that analogy. No doubt I've made shocking sweeping statements and the particular instruments contributed to the sound and experience. I had an old Boosey and Hawkes cornet from a million years ago and a Yamaha student trumpet. I loved both
SO is the Coronet harder to play than Trumpet? Would the same lessons jive for both instruments?? I am trying to start out new and self teach. find more on Trumpet but really like the mellow Jazz sound of the Coronet.
The essential difference between the trumpet and the cornet: trumpet-2/3 straight tubing and 1/3 conical. Cornet-1/3 straight tubing and 2/3 conical. Since 1850s very few cornets have had triggers (particularly 1st slide) and very few trumpets have had triggers, but they have often been available options, as with the Olds Mendez, Conn Constellations, Vincent Bach, etc. They were often present, without special order on French Selmer Grand Prix, K-Modified and Selmer Radial models. The first valve trigger allows easier adjustment in pitch as needed as does the less common 3rd valve trigger. For companies such as Vincent Bach, the 1st valve trigger has been available for an extra charge as is silver plating as compared with lacquer. Brasswind bands in England favor the cornet; in the US, trumpets and flugelhorns are seen, seldom cornets. Sousa used cornets, not trumpets, (Gilbert and )Sullivan used 2 cornets, no trumpets. The golden age of the cornet was 1865-1925.
Well, there are at least Bach trumpets with triggers. You still can order that from them and I've seen several with trigger on the first valve. I've never seen one with a third valve trigger rather than ring, but it is a build to order option still so it probably exists.
I Just want to say awesome, very nice. I have recently started playing again (cornet) and I have a long way to go to get back in playing shape and style!
My trumpet's first valve tuning slide has a mechanical trigger and I have an old 1920s bronze Conn cornet that doesn't have either a finger ring or a mechanical trigger on its first and third tuning slides
It’s like the sound difference between a tenor trombone and a euphonium. Since the trombones pipe diameter stays the same for half of the length, then gets bigger at the bell section, and euphoniums gradually get bigger from the mouthpiece.
some trumpets have triggers eg Conn Connstellation and many cornets don't, also some cornets eg Conn Victor are not conical all the way thru; and long cornets don,t have a shepherds crook.
Your main distinction is incorrect. On both the trumpet and cornet there are the same two tapered sections: the bell and the mouthpipe. The difference is the cornets mouthpipe is much longer than a trumpets, and the rest of the wrap is shorter to allow this. No cornets are not conical and trumpets cylindrical; both are both.
Which is easier to control and hold a note on? My littlest daughter is asking me to learn to play, but she's very tiny about 35 pounds and I am not sure if she can produce enough air to make a go of it.
I used to own a trumpet that had a trigger for the first valve, never seen one for the third valve. Personally, I much prefer the manual slides, the triggers sure make it much easier to operate but there is a delay since it's mechanical, they do not react instantly; so let's say you use the trigger for playing a C but right after that you have to play a E, the trigger will still be retracting while you already were playing the E.
I had a friend who owned an old Reynolds trumpet that had a very useless first slide trigger, it moved pretty freely but the spring was shot and they couldn't find one to replace it anywhere
They both have their place. A trumpet is great for marching bands and places where you need a big brass sound, while a cornet is good for brass bands or mellow jazz. Sometimes a brass band will have separate cornet and trumpet sections, which creates a really cool sound.
One of the clearest (and most succinct) explanations of the differences I've ever seen -- thanks. I would really like to see you do a similar one contrasting baritone horns and euphoniums. Here in the US, school bands call euphoniums "baritones" and don't use actual baritones at all!
It's a fairly simple difference. Euphonium has conical piping, while baritone has cylindrical. Sound-wise, baritone is closer to trombone, while euphonium can be thought of as a mini tuba.
My school calls it the euphonium
euphoniums also will usually have 4 valves while baritones mostly have 3 but there are 3 valve euphs and 4 valve baris
@@sceu25 It really just depends the model…
@@bobcat24 Yea but my point still stands.
I'm back at this video once again. Even though I play both trumpet and cornet, the cornet has a special place in my heart and it annoys me when people call it a trumpet. And I am seriously tired of explaining the difference, so much so that when people ask me what instrument I play, I usually just say that I play the trumpet. I have now made it my mission to make the cornet a known instrument to the common folk. I have started by creating a local band only consisting of cornets. And I urge you, my fellow cornet players to do the same.
Let us never have to explain the difference between a cornet and a trumpet ever again!
Ha ... Once I told a choir colleague that I play trombone (Zugposaune - I'm Austrian), she forgot during the following conversation and called it a "slide trumpet" (Zugtrompete)🤷
Same Bro
I completely agree with you. Although I play a trumpet, I think post-horns like coronets indeed deserve there own classification.
Nice playing. It seems both cornet and trumpet require similar amount of eye-brow agility. ;-)
When I was in elementary school band in the 1950s U.S.A., all the parts were for Bb cornet. The band teacher explained to us that the cornet used to be the standard band instrument, but we could play it on trumpet as well. I recently made a friend who is a middle school band teacher. When I looked at his band books, they are still marked for cornet.
I have a 1955 Conn Victor trumpet, that passed through my younger brother and back to me. I took up the instrument again at age 72. After practicing on the Conn Victor for the first few months, I decided I might like the mellower sound of a cornet. I bought a cheap one online (CR400) from Thomann Music in Germany. Glad I did. I like the sound better, and it's easier to hold up, except for the hand grip, which I find a little tight.
Pretty much all of my sheet music in high school in the early 2000's was for Bb cornet too.
If u play In a brittish brassband it’s all Bb cornets and one Eb cornet
i graduated hs in 2013 and for quite a few songs during my middle and highschool years the trumpet section was given cornet marked sheet music
Dues the cornet sound a bit softer? Or is that just my impression?
Mariangiongiangela's Tech Tips It has a darker tone
That's how I learned the difference between cornet and trumpet when I was first starting out. Corner is less of a slap in a face, more gentle.
The cornet characteristically had and has a softer tone. The first great cornets Courtois, French Bessons 1865 - 1900 had a softer tone that was compatible with vocal arias of operettas or operas. With the rise of the trumpet, after 1900-1930, cornet sounds were made to resemble that of the trumpet and in appearance too in some cases as with the Conn Constellation cornets.
Trumpets tend to sound "brighter" while cornets sound "darker".
Nikola Tesla cornets were considered solo instruments much more than trumpets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. the virtuosic solo peices like Napoli and carnival of Venice were all written for cornet. it was probably jazz players who made trumpets into more soloistic instruments, although many early jazz players did play cornets. even Louis Armstrong early on his career.
Thank you so much - that was MOST informative! I found the cornet more mellow - a great-niece is learning the cornet, I shall now be less ignorant about it! She is actually playing rather well; aged 11, she makes a very pleasing sound; I hope she will continue with it
The cornet, which has a conical bore (tubing gradually gets larger in diameter), while the trumpet has a cylindrical shape (same diameter until it reaches the bell portion). This changes the overtone series, which is more mellow in the cornet. It also makes the cornet a little easier to play with a little less resistance and easier to slur and play legato. The famous concert bands of the Sousa era used mainly cornets, as did the soloists such as the great Herbert L. Clark.
This back-to-back demo is the most illustrative, so far, I've seen. Including the flugelhorn (and the much-to-maligned, undeservedly so, piccolo trumpet) would be an even more comprehensive exposition.
Anyone else rember the tune from "Spider-Man 2" video game, when you delivered pizza?
Alfred Olsson yup lmao
Alfred Olsson was looking this comment
PIZZA TIME
PIZZA TIME!
Funiculi funicali
I have been watching this channel for about two weeks now and I have to say I enjoy it very much. I am only 16 years old but I play about 5 instruments and I plan to either teach music, or make playing my career. With my main instrument being a tenor sax, my knowledge of instruments only lies with the realm of saxophones and some clarinet things, as I play bass clarinet and Bb. But this channel has really helped me to discover the amazing side of brass and how everything works from a Tuba or a Bass Trombone to a piccolo trumpet. So for that, thanks, Mr. Hamilton.
I hear cornet played in some older jazz recordings. This is a good comparison. Thanks. My only suggestion would be to put the playing of the more mellow instrument before the brighter one, i.e., cornet before trumpet,. to make them easier to compare.
I've seen a lot of Trent's videos. This by far is the best showing of his "Trumpet" skills.
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I have had a trumpet with a first valve trigger instead of a saddle hook and I preferred it. I also currently own a cornet that does not have the shepherd's crook and has a third valve ring instead of a trigger. With the aesthetics of the trumpet and cornet there are no absolutes.
Technically, the cornet and trumpet are almost identical. Both are partially conical and cylindrical. There is a common misconception that the trumpet is cylindrical and the cornet is conical, but this is not true on modern 20th and 21st century instruments. The comparison of the bell flares is also inaccurate as the cornet bell is shorter, which explains why it appears to start tapering quickly at the base of the bell. The tapers on most cornets begin smaller than trumpet and end smaller than the trumpet, but flare faster. This fact combined with a deeper mouthpiece cup and wider backbore give the cornet a softer attack and tone than the trumpet.
Nice video and discussion :)
Are trumpet mouthpiece and a cornet mouthpiece interchangeable?
@@ironmandave3000 They are not compatible. The mouthpiece for the cornet is shorter and narrower than the trumpet mouthpiece. The difference in size is comparable to the difference in size going from trumpet to trombone
@@ianlee9647 thank you I'm aware of that. I have played both. I was looking for someone else to help illustrate my point that trumpets and cornets are not the same. Doc Severinsen tells a great story how about trying to play cornet in a lead trumpet position. It doesn't work!
I think the biggest contributor to the difference in sound (among other things) is the mouthpiece. I play a cornet. I can't say for certain what the "average" trumpet vs. cornet mouthpiece cup is for either instrument. But I know the typical "stock" cornet mouthpiece that comes with the cornet is deeper than the stock mouthpiece you get with your trumpet. I find cornet mouthpieces can range from very deep/funnel (almost french horn-like) to basically a trumpet-type cup on a cornet shank (Bach). Not so sure if the same in reverse is the case for trumpet mouthpieces. I alternate between a Denis Wick 4B and a Bach 3D, depending on the music. When I use the Bach 3D, I'm basically indistinguishable from the trumpets in my section.
The different tone is magnified when you get a section of them playing together, as in a British style brass band or a proper concert band. (Most American school concert bands nowadays have trumpets where the cornets should be, since most students and amateurs don't usually own a cornet)
Dont forget having a proper British cornet mouthpiece !
That's odd - when I was in school, they started everyone on cornet, and trumpets were pretty uncommon.
i think a lot of the us not using cornets, especially for school bands, has to do with budgets and ease of access. getting a proper even student cornet is probably out of the budget for most schools. i know my hs band, combined with the orchestra and choir, had the budget of a shoe string and a ham sandwhich. our only loaner trumpet looked like it could hold the worlds next pandemic within it. most kids coming into band were also started in trumpet anyway, at least when i was ins chool in the early 2000s. sad though, i really like the cornet's sound and would have switched tbh
they sound totally different. The Cornet is just so much more sultry.
Its also a $3,000 cornet vs a $280 trumpet
Trumpet is more classy and assertive. Cornet is small and shy
@Agnostic Monk Then you should stick to playing the drums
@Werewolf O. London, Esq. Same. The difference is more or less negligible.
Like a horn
Cornets do not only use triggers. I sell instruments and that is actually the first cornet i've seen with triggers. Also, trumpets can come with triggers
Very good comparisons, however something should be noted: the cornet demonstrated (an excellent one btw) is a shepherds crook type. There is a natural mellowness in its sound compared to a cornet without the crook. Shepherd crooks are very popular with the Brits, while straight cornets are more popular in America I believe. The shepherds crook stands between the trumpet and the flugelhorn for that mellow sound, but the flugelhorn is larger, and bulkier say to use in the marching band.
Those who want to play trumpet and flugelhorn, but cannot afford both will settle on the shepherd crook to satisfy both sounds more economically.
A really fair comparison should be made with a straight cornet vs trumpet and the difference would be heard. The straight cornet is very handy because of its shorter size in marching, yet maintains that brilliant sound. The Salvation Army bands of Britain use them effectively, for example.
I would have to play the cornet. My hands are small. This is a great comparison. The trumpet has a stronger sound. But, the cornet sounds good too. You are a very talented musician. Thanks for the video. You've helped me make an informed decision.
+Denise Borum the cornet is very lovely!
Cornet is also easier for kids to hold properly, as it's shorter overall and the valves are closer to the player.
Are you a cornet player? I ran into some of your posts from a couple of older random videos about cornets. Strange indeed or maybe it really is a small world.
Great video! Played cornet in H.S., wish I still had it, didn't fully realize then what a beautiful sound it had...
Do each of these instruments sound with a Kiwi eccent?
Very nice demonstration of tonal differences and mechanical differences. Thanks so much.
Very good video, especially the playing comparisons. This is a great primer for the basic differences, and is by and large accurate.
However, there have been so many variations on the common designs, that the lines do blur. For example, perhaps the most glaring variation is the American standard trumpet, the Bach Strad. It is in fact, a long cornet with a trumpet mouthpiece receiver, as the tubing graduates throughout the instrument. Many people, myself included, have verified this with the use of calipers.
Also to be noted is the Besson 10-10 trumpet, which has triggers on both the 1st and 3rd slides, perhaps as an effort to duplicate the playing mechanics of the Besson Sov, truly a hallmark cornet.
At the other end of the spectrum are the American cornets, void of any shepherd crook, but still very much cornets. While perhaps a bit brighter than their British cousins, they still are conical instruments with a very specific cornet tonal quality.
Once again, this video should be the point from which all others take off as far as variations between trumpet and cornet.
The manual/trigger tuning slide is NOT a key difference between the two. There are cornets with manual tuning slides and Trumpets with triggered tuning slides. I apologize if i come off as an ass, but I couldn't let this go. Very informational outside of that though.
He didn't say trumpets don't have trigger slides, he said he never saw one with a trigger slide.
I've posted an image of three, so now he has.
why don't trunpets typically have triggers? It seems a much more convenient means to an end in my opinion than manual slides
i'm guessing because it was how the trumpet was originally made and they didn't really bother to change it much, however some people/companies decided to take matters into their own hands.
The trumpet i just ordered has a trigger on the first valve slide, but a ring on the 3rd.
Well demonstrated Trent,very informative.
I’ve seen many trumpets with triggers for the tuning slides!!! I used to completely refuse to play anything other than a corner but I’m now completely in love with my trumpet. Both have such beautiful sounds.
Great video. I suspect the sound difference is more pronounced than the video indicates. The sampling rate on RUclips video is a limiting factor.
Thanks for posting!
Thanks :) The sound quality is limited also by the microphone inside my phone...
Thank you, so enlightening! Despite the close similarity, I can really hear the hint of the old-timey jazz tone in the cornet. I think it's really a shame that the cornet gets so overlooked by jazz players and rock/pop horn section guys now.
its definitely a softer, mellower sound
I have been a cornet player for 6 years and I'm literally sick to death of people saying "you're a trumpet player aren't you"? The cornet is used in brass bands whereas the trumpet is used in orchestras. I have the same model of cornet as you have here and it is absaloutely flawless, beautiful sound.
Great stuff Trent. My son (plays trumpet) has been asked to join a Police Band, playing cornet. I found this very helpful. Kiwi's are the Southern Hemisphere musical race!
Thank you, that was very informative. Would you say the coronet is more elegant and subtle than a trumpet?
Bravo. Extremely informative demo. Onya Trent!
from this very well presented video I can tell that the cornet is warmer, the trumpet more harsh,brighter. It also seems that cornet is harder to play.
Thank you so much. I think of the coronet sound as mellower. Both sounds are beautiful, and I love knowing about their origins.
Thank you for posting. You are a fine musician. Nice double and triple tonguing.
Fantastic breakdown of each horn! Your videos are very interesting and informative.
Loved the demo! Thanks--after watching, then, it seems to me that the cornet is mellower 'creamier' and the trumpet brassier, more brilliant. Am I right here? I like Berlioz and that French composer consistently employees 2 trumpets and 2 cornets in many of his compositions--is this to get the qualities mentioned above combined??
high brass player here, you are spot on! a conical tubing generally makes an instrument more mellow in sound. flugels have the most conical tubing out of cornets (1/3), trumpets (0/0, and flugels (2/3)
Thank you. Love your explanations. Appreciate it. Any chance you can discuss the mouthpiece differences? Thanks
Many thanks.... I'm just sorting out my music departments brass and not being a brass player this really helped.
The trumpets lead pipe is also conical. And my freind plays a trumpet with triggers. I think alot of the difference is less to do with the ammount of conical tubing, and more so the rate of expansion. Nowadays, modern trumpets aren't actually very different from cornets except for mouthpiece type and shape.
Probably said a billion times, but many trumpets do have triggers.
Exactly. My Getzen Eterna had a third valve trigger.
Also many corners have a thumb and ring for the slides
Cornets**
After listening to you the cornet doesn't sound as clean as the trumpet, but for some reason I like the cornet better. Thanks I am going to get a cornet.
I have a Bach Strad made in the early 70's that has a first valve trigger. All my my friends Strads back them had saddles, but mine has a trigger. Another friend of mine from the 70's had a king silver flair with a first valve trigger also. FYI. Good video!
The cornet have a rounder sound while the trumpet have a sharper sound .
The trumpet also needs more air and the mouthpiece is slightly bigger while the cornet do not need as much air and has a smaller mouthpiec
when you play the fast passage on trumpet your eyes are steady but when you do it on the coronet it looks like youre doing some serious math in your head.
Thanks for taking the time to make this. BRILLIANT
Thanks so much for nice comparison vid! My cornet has the fingering reversed to that of a trumpet in a mirror image.
What? Really? Can you please send me some photos? trenthamiltonnz@gmail.com
I think you have a flugel
@@keithwhite4458 That should be the same fingering as a regular trumpet as well.
@@TrentHamilton I'm curious to know if this ever got a follow up? There are some rare early instruments that have so called "Catholic fingering", i.e. first and second valve reversed, but all three reversed is unheard of. Either way, the mentioned instrument, if true, is a rarity and deserves to be shared with the public.
@@RetiredBrass No, never had a reply that I can recall.
Man!! That was great.
I had no idea a cornet was so much more mellow than a trumpet.. Makes sense when you look at how they are made.
The trumpet definitely has a brighter sound. But the cornet sounds better for soft playing music in my opinion
BookWorm9229 theyre almost exactly the same. The cornet has a darker sound but not all cornets have a "shepards crook" and not all cornets use triggers. Also, some trumpets use triggers as well. A trumpet is used more in jazz and commercial use. However, a cornet is used often in orchestral pieces. You dont have to learn to play one or the other. If you can play one, you can easily play the other.
Basically the same difference as a Euphonium and a Baritone (also known as a tenor horn). Euphonium has a more conical bore and a baritone is more cylindrical.
the cornet seems to sound less bright
spiralacrobat I agree. The trumpet sounds much much more crisp.
thx
The cornet does have a darker sound. The conical lead pipe provides a darker tone that that of the cylindrical. (Same difference between baritone and euphonium)
when I was in a band I played trumpet and I think my friend was the only guy with a cornet, he had this t-shirt about how cornets were better than trumpets. Definitely a softer sound, in a proper brass band are they treated as interchangeable or are they used case by case?
No. Sometimes a piece will call for cornets and trumpets have their own parts. Currently, my band is playing/rehearsing a Leonard Bernstein piece that has three cornet parts and two trumpet parts. But for those of us that dont have cornets, we just use our trumpets
Many thanks, no big difference in sound. Your lips technique is so good!
Interesting to note the comments re the comparisons. I usually add a Cornet to a composition for brass and percussion, particularly when I include Trumpets in C (as opposed to B-flat) in the orchestration. J Steven Lasher.
In high school I played a Conn Connstellation which had a trigger on the first valve tuning slide, and the common ring, which was adjustable, on the third valve tuning slide.
I was thinking about getting a cheap cornet thinking it might be a reasonable compromise between the trumpet and the flugel. But after hearing your side by side demo I now think not. I didn't particularly like the cornet. Thanks for showing this.
I have been playing the cornet, and mine has manual slides, not triggers. It still has the crook, but the cornet, as I've heard from many experts on the topic, is better for beginners to use for a few years. It takes more air, so it makes it easier to play the trumpet when the time comes to switch.
Thank you for an extremely informative video. I never realised the tonal differences in the cornet before and can understand why it's favoured for certain music pieces over the trumpet and vice versa.
I'd be tempted to get myself a cornet just so I can be an all rounder as I also play trombone although the trumpet is my instrument of choice.
PLEASE DO A MARCHING FRENCH HORN VS. MELLOPHONE!!!
Marching French horn barely exists
+The West Will Rise Again! you are correct about that, but at my school, there are still many of them and none of us know the differences between them. There are still quite a few out there since the mello is a newer instrument. I for one would like to see him do a video on the differences between the two.
Nova Extreme Are you talking about a dedicated French Horn for marching? Does it have a forward or backwards facing bell?
+The West Will Rise Again! front facing
Nova Extreme They're probably functionally the same thing
I suddenly felt like I needed to deliver pizzas when the demo started
There are trumpets with mechanical Tuning slides as well!
My trumpet teacher (great guy) has his trumpet with added triggers like the cornet where you pull in instead of push out because his fingers were hurting...
Use them both , when i'm playing Cool and the Gang I need staccato in high sharp sound but when it comes to RealBook jazz I prefer the Cornet ...I can play more with the tones
What mouthpiece are you using with that cornet? My understanding is that true cornet tone is only possible with a proper V-cup mouthpiece.
Thanks, I've always wondered what the differences were. I am a real cornet fancier.
Downunda - Melbourne Australia
Dave Hickman did a blind (behind a curtain) study between the Trumpet and Cornet. The determination was made that the difference in sound (bright or dark) between the two instruments had more to do with the mouthpiece configuration than the instruments themselves. A cornet with a shallow mouthpiece, sounded characteristically like a trumpet and a trumpet with a deep v cup sounded characteristically
Iike a cornet.
Beyond the sound quality of the trumpet being brighter and the cornet being darker, my experience years ago was that the cornet was more personal... I got more feedback from the cornet whereas the trumpet projected more effectively, but because of that the sound felt more distant. So the cornet more introverted and the trumpet extraverted if I can use that analogy. No doubt I've made shocking sweeping statements and the particular instruments contributed to the sound and experience. I had an old Boosey and Hawkes cornet from a million years ago and a Yamaha student trumpet. I loved both
The trumpet in the video has a very conical lead pipe and that is desired by soloists because this makes the tone very sharp when played loudly
The tune is called “Funiculi Funicula”, A.K.A. The Spider-Man 2 Pizza theme.
SO is the Coronet harder to play than Trumpet? Would the same lessons jive for both instruments?? I am trying to start out new and self teach. find more on Trumpet but really like the mellow Jazz sound of the Coronet.
I would like to see a demonstration of the differences of a piston trumpet and a rotary trumpet. Thank you.
solid explanation and demonstration. Good work
Hi...someone can tell me where i can download the air varie 'Napoli' pdf? Thanks
Great demonstration! Thank you very much,
The essential difference between the trumpet and the cornet: trumpet-2/3 straight tubing and 1/3 conical. Cornet-1/3 straight tubing and 2/3 conical. Since 1850s very few cornets have had triggers (particularly 1st slide) and very few trumpets have had triggers, but they have often been available options, as with the Olds Mendez, Conn Constellations, Vincent Bach, etc. They were often present, without special order on French Selmer Grand Prix, K-Modified and Selmer Radial models. The first valve trigger allows easier adjustment in pitch as needed as does the less common 3rd valve trigger. For companies such as Vincent Bach, the 1st valve trigger has been available for an extra charge as is silver plating as compared with lacquer. Brasswind bands in England favor the cornet; in the US, trumpets and flugelhorns are seen, seldom cornets. Sousa used cornets, not trumpets, (Gilbert and )Sullivan used 2 cornets, no trumpets. The golden age of the cornet was 1865-1925.
Which of the two are more in demand if you're wanting to preform?
Well, there are at least Bach trumpets with triggers. You still can order that from them and I've seen several with trigger on the first valve. I've never seen one with a third valve trigger rather than ring, but it is a build to order option still so it probably exists.
What would be the best mouthpiece to make the cornet sound a bit sharper, like a trumpet?
Excellent demo, great playing!
Love the comparisson, actually I skipped to the playing differences quite fast, sorry for dropping the technicals :) Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful explanation and demonstration.Thank you.
I Just want to say awesome, very nice. I have recently started playing again (cornet) and I have a long way to go to get back in playing shape and style!
Awesome thank you.
If I'm singing songs like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, which should I have as an accompaniment?
Cornet or Trumpet?
My trumpet's first valve tuning slide has a mechanical trigger and I have an old 1920s bronze Conn cornet that doesn't have either a finger ring or a mechanical trigger on its first and third tuning slides
Very cool demo. I like the cornet.
• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
It’s like the sound difference between a tenor trombone and a euphonium. Since the trombones pipe diameter stays the same for half of the length, then gets bigger at the bell section, and euphoniums gradually get bigger from the mouthpiece.
Great video. Like the comparison at
the end. Thanks.
some trumpets have triggers eg Conn Connstellation and many cornets don't, also some cornets eg Conn Victor are not conical all the way thru; and long cornets don,t have a shepherds crook.
Your main distinction is incorrect. On both the trumpet and cornet there are the same two tapered sections: the bell and the mouthpipe. The difference is the cornets mouthpipe is much longer than a trumpets, and the rest of the wrap is shorter to allow this. No cornets are not conical and trumpets cylindrical; both are both.
Which is easier to control and hold a note on? My littlest daughter is asking me to learn to play, but she's very tiny about 35 pounds and I am not sure if she can produce enough air to make a go of it.
I have an old cornet in C/B/Bb/A--it has two tuning slides and 2 shanks.
I used to own a trumpet that had a trigger for the first valve, never seen one for the third valve.
Personally, I much prefer the manual slides, the triggers sure make it much easier to operate but there is a delay since it's mechanical, they do not react instantly; so let's say you use the trigger for playing a C but right after that you have to play a E, the trigger will still be retracting while you already were playing the E.
I had a friend who owned an old Reynolds trumpet that had a very useless first slide trigger, it moved pretty freely but the spring was shot and they couldn't find one to replace it anywhere
Cornet is more fun just playing around the house, I love the darker sound.
Awesome video! Thanks for the demonstration
Thanks, Trent!
Thk you for the comparison.The cornet is definately more mellow.
They both have their place. A trumpet is great for marching bands and places where you need a big brass sound, while a cornet is good for brass bands or mellow jazz. Sometimes a brass band will have separate cornet and trumpet sections, which creates a really cool sound.
I've never seen a brass band with separate cornet and trumpet sections. Where have you seen that??
@@TrentHamilton It might not be very common, but the community brass band that my friend plays in has separate cornet and trumpet sections.