Cornett: Encyclopedia II - Cornett - Playing the cornett

Cornett - Playing the cornett

The cornett is generally agreed to be a difficult instrument to play. It embodies a design that survives in no modern instrument; that is, the main tube has only the length of a typical woodwind, but the mouthpiece is of the brass type, relying on the player's lips to form the musical sound. Most modern brass instruments are considerably longer than the cornett, which permits the tube resonances to be used more effectively in controlling pitch.

The Baroque era was relatively tolerant of bright or extroverted tonal quality, as the surviving organs of the time attest. Thus the Baroque theorist Marin Mersenne described the sound of the cornett as "a ray of sunshine piercing the shadows". Yet there is also evidence that the cornett was often badly played. Its upper register sounded somewhat like a trumpet or modern cornet, the lower register resembling the sackbutts that often accompanied it, whereas the middle register gave an indistinct wailing sound that was not attractive when played in isolation. Cornett intonation also tended to be insecure.

As a result of its design, the cornett requires a specialized embouchure that is very tiring to play for any length of time. It was inevitable that the finest players of the instrument would ultimately turn their attention to the developing oboe.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Playing the cornett", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki