Originally Posted 09/15 /2005A Brief Dissertation on
Trumpet History
by Mark Ellis
History is sometimes a very difficult subject cover because events, ideas, inventions and civilizations are not always compartmentalized into one geographical area or one particular time frame. For example, the history of something like, let’s say umbrellas, may have been a scattering of different ideas, in many different cultures, in several time frames throughout the world. You could have had a development of umbrellas in ancient China around 1000 B.C., while there may have been a similar development in Africa at a much earlier time. This device could have possibly developed in many different places at many other eras.
The other problem with tracing an invention like the trumpet, is that once certain civilizations began to become aware of each other, they began to adopt these inventions and modify them.
I heard a joke on America’s funniest Home Videos the other night wherein the host of the show said in a humorous tone, that Thomas Crapper (Yes that was really his name and yes, that is where we get the wonderful term “crap” from) around 1860’s in England, was the inventor of the toilet. In reality, Thomas Crapper simply took an idea that had been around for a long time and modified it.
The Tale of the Trumpet
Historians do know that before1900 BC, (a time known as the Bronze Age) that ancient civilizations began to use something similar to the trumpet in one form or another. Some of the earliest trumpets in history were used for magical and religious reasons. Sometimes they were sung into (it was always a better sound if you had a good voice) or shouted into. I think there may even have been a man that tried to blow his nose through one, but don’t quote me on that!
The earliest of trumpets were made of wood and some were even made of conch shells with holes carved into them. These kinds were found in Africa, South America and the wooden ones were found in places like Switzerland, France and even Brazil.
The Shofar
The ancient Hebrews called their horns keren and they were usually made of the horn of a ram or an ox and could emit a few different pitches. The Hebrews eventually used these as ritual signal horns called shofar.
Note!
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It is a strange fact that these instruments are still made and in use today in the same form that it was in way back in ancient times.
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The shofar produces only two tones and they are really not that clear. In parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls there is a reference of using the shofar as a war cry and they were litterally called “the trumpets of killing”
Sometime around 70 AD the use of all instruments by the Hebrews were banned except for the shofar. There were all sorts of restrictions on this instrument as well. there could be no improvement (modification) on it and decorating or painting it was restricted. Also you couldn’t use the horn’s of a cow (maybe the Hebrews were lactose intolerant) and you could not fix or repair a cracked or broken one.
Later metal trumpets of the ancient Hebrews were fashioned and called hatzoroth. They were made of silver, short straight and ended in a slight bell shape.
Greek and Roman Trumpets
The Greeks and the Romans both had their own versions of the trumpet. The Greeks had a thing called the salphinx and the Romans had something similar to that later on which was called a called a tuba. (Which, of course, is not to be confused with the modern day tuba.) These horns were made of silver and other metals similar to brass and were long funnel like instruments that had a straight bore. Similar instruments like these were found in the tomb of Tutenkhaman’s tomb.
Another trumpet that the Romans used was called a buccina and it was a bent instrument usually used by the Roman army.
Note!
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Have you ever watched movies about the Roman Empire like Cleopatra or even Gladiator? Pay attention to the incredible trumpet fanfares that you will hear in these movies. They may make the move sound incredible and a lot more dramatic, but they are very far from reality. In order to play fanfares on trumpet like that you would have to have trumpets with valves, which did not come along until somewhere around 1840 AD.
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Mouth pieces on the earlier Greek horns were removable while the adopted Roman version were not for some reason. The Eutruscans had an instrument which was a forerunner to another Roman trumpet called the litui and kind if resembled a slightly hooked “J”.
The Roman litui served as a calvary signal instrument and they are also mentioned quite a bit in Roman literature. However, they are rarely depicted in pictures or talked about in roman military campaigns.
The Roman tuba which I mentioned earlier, looked a lot like a modern bugle that had two bends to it which made it a lot easier for a cavalry man to carry it on horseback during battle. This modification made it about one third its former size.
The Celtic Trumpet
Celtic peoples who invaded the fertile northern part of the Roman territory called the Po Valley around the 6th century AD, carried a martial trumpet around with them called a carnyx. This was a long, form with a straight tube and the bell end of it resembled the open mouth of an animal. Scholars believe that the Celts had adopted this desig and horn from Italy. The bell of the instrument is usually held well above the players head as was depicted on a silver cauldron found in northern Germany.
Note!
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The bell or mouth of the carnyx had a movable tounge that made it sound even worse than it already did. But this was used to really scare the Celts enemy in a time of battle. Think of that the next time someone tells you have lousy tone!
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any of the things that we still use in the world today are a result of the advancements made during the Roman Empire.
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