Issue date: 09 Apr, 2010
Within the series devoted to Musical Instruments, this stamp features the trumpet, a wind instrument belonging to the family of brass-wind instruments as it is made of a metal alloy.
The trumpet has a cup shape mouthpiece with brass tubing bent twice into an oblong shape. The trumpet has a roughly cylindrical bore which results in a bright, loud sound. The bore is actually a complex series of tapers, smaller at the mouthpiece receiver and larger just before the flare of the bell begins; careful design of these tapers is critical to the intonation of the instrument. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound into the mouthpiece and starting a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the trumpet. Trumpets also have three piston valves, each of which increases the length of tubing when engaged, thereby lowering the pitch. The first valve lowers the instrument's pitch 2 semitones, the second valve 1 semitone, and the third valve 3 semitones. Used singly and in combination these valves make the instrument fully chromatic.
The origins of the trumpet, as those of the flute, go back as far as the history of Humanity. The trumpet and the bugle are believed to derive from the ox’s horn which is still in use in hunting. The first trumpets were made out of bamboo, hollow plant tubes and of sea fish shells. Later on, with the discovery of metals, they began to be made out of bronze or thin sheets of steel up to this day when they are made of an alloy of metals.
The piston trumpet was first used in 1835 by composer Helévy in his opera “The Jew”, and since then it has been used in all its variations and musical styles.
The piece depicted in the stamp is a XX Century trumpet belonging to the collection of the Museo Interactivo de la Música de Malaga (MIMMA).
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