One of the oldest musical instruments is the trumpet. Although they lack valves and are not always coiled, most ancient and medieval trumpets appear structurally similar to modern trumpets. At the end of the Middle Ages, trumpets were just starting to be used for music. A few structural changes were made to them at this time in order to make them more useful in a musical setting.
The lack of valves and keys on medieval trumpets limited their ability to change notes. On this type of instrument, trumpeters would adjust their embouchure to produce different notes, tightening the lips for higher notes and loosening them for lower notes. Because embouchure alone cannot produce all notes, medieval trumpets could only play a series of harmonic overtones rather than the full chromatic scale that modern trumpets can produce.
Medieval trumpets were shaped like long tubes with a wide end called a bell and a mouth piece that could cover the player’s lips in their most basic form. These tubes were created by rolling metal sheets into a cylindrical shape. The metal’s edges would be sealed, preventing air from escaping from the mouthpiece to the bell.
The length of these simple medieval trumpets could range from one foot (30 centimeters) to more than ten feet (3 meters). When long trumpets were played, they had to be balanced on stands or carried by a large number of people. The pitch of these medieval trumpets was affected by their length, with shorter instruments producing higher sounds and longer instruments producing lower sounds. Because they were primarily used for communication during battle, most medieval trumpets were of a length that allowed them to be carried by one person.
Coils were also common on medieval trumpets. Coiling the tubing made it possible for one person to easily hold longer, and thus lower pitched, trumpets. The metal tube was usually coiled one or two times. The sound produced by the trumpet is unaffected by the change in shape.
Trumpets were used in music and on the battlefield towards the end of the medieval era. Once these instruments were adopted for musical purposes, the player needed to be able to change the key of the trumpet so that it could be used in a variety of songs. Some medieval trumpets had removable tubing, known as crooks, that could be swapped out for longer or shorter pieces. However, because these instruments could only produce overtones, their use was usually limited to keeping time.