The pocket trumpet is a compact size B trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

, with the same playing range as the regular trumpet. The tubing is wound more tightly than that of a standard trumpet in order to reduce its size while retaining the instrument's range. It is not a standardized instrument to be found in orchestral brass sections and is generally regarded as a novelty. It is used mostly by trumpet players as a practice instrument that can be packed in a suitcase and taken to places where carrying standard trumpets would be an issue. Although not having a reputation as a serious orchestral instrument, it has occasionally been used by soloists in jazz or other ensembles to add flair and variety.

History, design and properties

The concept of reducing the brass instrument size without reducing the resonating tube length can be seen in several 19th century models of cornet

Cornet

The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...

.
Pocket cornets have been constructed since the 1870s, used in marching bands.

The variation in design among pocket trumpets makes tonal characteristics and playability extremely variable from model to model. Yet there are two basic design approaches to pocket trumpets:

• reduced bell and bore
  Bore (wind instruments)
  The bore of a wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instruments' timbre.-Bore shapes:...
  
   size design
• standard bell and bore size design.

The models with reduced bell and bore size design originate in 19th century pocket cornet design and regularly suffer from poor intonation and severely hindered dynamic and timbral range. As the bell is not the standard size, no standard mute can be applied. The models with standard bell and bore size design originally appeared in the USA in as late as 1968, mostly following the ingenious design (one-piece hand-hammered "5X" bell, cornet-wound leadpipe, straight-back first valve slide with thumb-throw, fold-back third slide) of master trumpet builder Louis Duda and manufactured by Benge Trumpet

Elden Benge

Elden Eugene Benge, born July 12, 1904 in Winterset, Iowa, was the principal trumpet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1928–1933; he held the same position in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1933-1939. After moving to Chicago he began to experiment with designing his own trumpet, taking...

 company. The intonation is radically improved and the dynamic range is that of a standard trumpet, although the tonal quality, projection, and articulation are different. It has set the standard by which other pocket trumpets are judged.

Though most often used for practicing purposes, pocket trumpets are sometimes played as auxiliary instruments by soloists in jazz and dixieland bands, as well as for some specific studio recording demands. Don Cherry

Don Cherry (jazz)

Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...

's work with the Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....

 quartet is probably the best known example of pocket trumpet playing.

Prices range from about US$120 to US$5000; a professional grade instrument would bear a similar price tag to a standard instrument in the same category.

Standard features

• Bell Diameter: 4.5 - 5 inches
• Bore: Medium-Large .460" or Large .468"
• Height: 6.5 - 7  inches
• Length: 9.5 inches

Common manufacturers and models

• TRISTAR
  Tristar
  The term Tristar may refer to:* Tri-star * Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, a widebodied airliner** Lockheed TriStar , L-1011-based tankers used by the Royal Air Force* TriStar Pictures, a film production company...
  
   TR-07 B (India)
• Cecilio 77-MT B (China)
• Carol Brass CPT-300LR B (Taiwan)
• Amati
  Amati-Denak
  Amati-Denak is a manufacturer of wind and percussion instruments, parts, and accessories. Located in the Czech Republic, their products include clarinets, flutes, bassoons, saxophones, trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, alto horns, mellophones, baritone horns, euphoniums, trombones, tubas, horns, and...
  
   ATR 314 B (Czechia)
• Stagg
  Stagg Music
  Stagg music is a Belgian musical instrument manufacturer. They produce a wide range of musical instruments, including guitars, bass guitars, drums, percussion, cymbals and brass instruments as well as pro audio equipment.Cymbal Range...
  
   77-MT B (Flemish manufacture sold to the world)
• Jupiter
  Jupiter Band Instruments
  Jupiter Band Instruments, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. Jupiter was established by its Taiwanese parent company KHS in 1980.-History:...
  
   416 B (Taiwan)
• Holton
  Holton (Leblanc)
  Holton is a musical instrument manufacturer owned by Leblanc, a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments' Conn-Selmer division. Founded by trombone player Frank Holton in 1898 in Chicago, the firm built wind instruments in Elkhorn, Wisconsin from 1918 until 2011.-Frank Holton:Frank E. Holton was...
  
   T650 B (United States) - Discontinued
• Benge
  Conn-Selmer
  Conn-Selmer, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of concert band, marching band, and orchestral instruments. It is a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments and was formed after Steinway bought musical instrument manufacturers The Selmer Company and C.G. Conn.-Founding:In the late 1800s,...
  
   Colibri B (United States)
• Kanstul CCT-905 B (United States)
• Marcinkiewicz Vermeer B (United States)

External links

• http://www.pocketcornets.com — a virtual museum of vintage pocket cornets and trumpets
• ITG The International Trumpet Guild is an association dedicated to increasing communications between trumpet players worldwide.
• Trumpet Master Trumpet Players Resource
• Trumpet Player Online The internet trumpet resource
• Trumpet Geeks International A resource for trumpet players
• Dallas Music — a non-profit musical instrument resource site