A bass trumpet is a brass instrument that is similar to but larger than a regular trumpet. As a result, it sounds lower, with true bass trumpets sounding more like trombones in pitch. The instrument is also known in German as the basstrompete, in Italian as the tromba bassa, and in French as the trompette basse.
In the 1820s, Heinrich Stölzel invented the first bass trumpet in Germany. His first instrument was pitched in the tenor range. Stölzel went on to create bass trumpets that were true bass instruments. Modern bass trumpets have four valves, whereas original bass trumpets only had three.
The bass trumpet resembles a regular trumpet but has significantly more tubing. In fact, the tubing length in a bass trumpet is nearly identical to the tubing length in a trombone. The bass trumpet’s mouthpiece is also similar in size to that of the trombone. As a result, trombone players frequently perform on the bass trumpet, though some trumpeters also do so.
Experienced trumpet players can produce pedal tones ranging from E1 to Bb1. Between E2 and Bb3 is the lower register. Bb3 to F4 is the middle range, and F4 to C5 is the upper range. The bass trumpet’s entire range is E1 to C5, or one octave lower than that of the regular trumpet.
Bass trumpets of today are transposing instruments. They’re frequently written in Bb, with music written a ninth above the actual pitch in the treble clef. Some, on the other hand, are pitched in C and sound an octave below the written pitch. Only a few are pitched in Eb, sounding a sixth lower than written.
The bass trumpet does not have the same rich and full sound as a trombone. However, it is preferred because the tone is much darker than that of a regular trumpet. This timbre has been linked by composers to magic, power, and ominous characters or events. The bass trumpet is also extremely powerful, with a fortissimo sounding like several regular trumpets or french horns.
Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen is probably the most well-known work that features this instrument prominently. This work calls for a trumpet that is twice the size of a regular trumpet, as well as frequent solo playing. Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, and Arnold Schoenberg are among the other notable composers who have used the instrument. Although it is best known for its role in classical music, it has also been used in modern jazz and pop music.