The trumpet for kids: how it works and what to hear

The trumpet is the smallest and highest instrument in the brass family. It is a metal tube about four and a half feet long, bent into a loop, with three valves on top and a bell at the front. The player buzzes the lips into a small mouthpiece. The trumpet’s sound is bright and bold, and it can be heard over a whole orchestra.

Quick facts

• Family: brass
• Size: about 19 inches from end to end, with about four and a half feet of tube
• Made of: brass, often with a silver or gold finish
• Sound is made by: the player’s buzzing lips
• In an orchestra: two to four

How it makes sound

The player presses the lips together and blows so they buzz, the way a person makes a “raspberry” sound. The buzz goes into the cup of the mouthpiece. The tube shapes it into a clear note, and the bell sends it out.

Two things change the note.

The lips. With tighter lips and faster air, the note jumps higher. A player can sound several notes without touching a valve. A bugle, which has no valves at all, plays its calls this way.

The valves. Each valve, when pressed, sends the air through an extra loop of tube. A longer tube gives a lower note. Three valves, pressed alone or together, give seven lengths of tube. Between the lips and the valves, a trumpet can play every note in its range.

Mutes

A mute is a cone that fits into the bell. It makes the sound thinner, softer, or buzzier. Jazz players use a rubber plunger for a “wah-wah” sound.

An old instrument

Trumpets are among the oldest instruments. Two were found in the tomb of the Egyptian king Tutankhamun, who died more than 3,000 years ago. For most of history, the trumpet had no valves and was used for signals: in battle, at royal events, and from city towers. Valves were added in the early 1800s.

Its job in the orchestra

The trumpets sit behind the woodwinds. They play fanfares, lead the big, loud moments, and add shine to the top of the brass section. They also play soft, smooth tunes when a composer asks.

Pieces to hear

Trumpet Concerto, last movement, by Haydn. A cheerful tune for solo trumpet. Haydn wrote it for a new kind of trumpet with keys. See Haydn for kids.

William Tell Overture, the finale, by Rossini. A trumpet fanfare sets off the gallop. See the guide.

Fanfare for the Common Man, by Copland. Three trumpets call out over drums.

The Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition, by Mussorgsky. In Ravel’s version, a solo trumpet opens the piece. See the guide.

“Bugler’s Holiday,” by Leroy Anderson. Three trumpets race each other.

The trumpet in other music

The trumpet leads in jazz, in marching bands, in brass bands, and in the mariachi music of Mexico. A child who learns it will find a place in many kinds of groups.

Starting to play

Many children start the trumpet at about eight to ten. It is light and compact, and school bands teach it. A child needs enough breath to keep the buzz going and front teeth that have grown in.

Some teachers start small children on the cornet. It has the same tube, wound tighter, so it sits closer to the body and is easier to hold.

The first weeks are about the buzz. Notes come one or two at a time.

Things to do together

Buzz. Press your lips together and blow until they buzz. Make the buzz go higher, then lower.

Hose trumpet. Push a kitchen funnel into one end of a short piece of garden hose. Buzz into the other end.

Make a fanfare. Sing a short, bold tune to announce someone coming into the room.

Open or muted? Play a bright trumpet solo and a muted one. Ask how the sound changed.

Print and play

Tick the brass on the instrument families listening chart. For the rest of the family, read brass instruments for kids. For all four families, see instruments of the orchestra for kids.