See Also: cornet(1)(dictionary)
cornet(2)(dictionary)
cornet(encyclopedia)
cornet(dictionary)
CORNET(law)
Gaudi (i Cornet), Antoni(encyclopedia)

cornet (sh)




Valved brass instrument.

It evolved in the 1820s from the posthorn. Like the trumpet, it has three valves, but its bore is somewhat more conical. It is a transposing instrument (its music written a tone above the actual sound), usually built in the key of B-flat, though a higher-pitched E-flat instrument is used as well. Its range parallels that of the trumpet. Its agility made it a very popular solo instrument; it often displaced the trumpet in 19th-century orchestras, and it preceded the trumpet in modern dance and jazz bands. Recent developments have made the two instruments very similar, and the cornet's popularity has waned considerably as a result.