by Mark Rough

Created on: December 20, 2007

Over the past century, there have been many well-known trumpet players who have inspired many young musicians into picking up the horn themselves. Trumpeters such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Doc Severinsen have been well known to both musicians and non-musicians alike. If you have an aspiring young musician in your family or just know someone who wants pick up that horn and start playing, there are several things you need to consider before spending that money on a trumpet.

The typical new trumpet player starts out with the Bb (B-Flat) trumpet. The Bb is the most common trumpet used in music education programs and with a few exceptions, by most professional musicians. Other horns such as the piccolo, the Eb trumpet, or the flugelhorn are more commonly used by advanced or professional trumpet players and quite often are the secondary horn they perform with. Sticking with the Bb horn as starters would probably be your safest bet.

Trumpets can range in price from just a couple of hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars. The low priced trumpets are usually manufactured in mass production line types of environments where quality of sound and details in design may not be consistent from horn to horn. Slides will be more likely to stick, valves may be sluggish and the sound quality will not be good. While functionally they are adequate, they will limit the ability of the trumpet player as they improve. Expect to pay in the range of $200 to $500 for a low end model.

Mid-priced trumpets are also produced in mass production but usually have more quality features such as solid slide rings, more durable spring loaded spit valves, and studier cases. Slides will work well, valves will be smooth, and the intonation will be more consistent. You can expect to pay in the $500 to $1200 range. Holton, King, or Yamaha are good brands in this range and make for excellent student horns.

On the high end, these trumpets are manufactured with more strict engineering standards and with tighter tolerances in the design. In some cases, they are often hand crafted and built to undisclosed tolerances that the manufacture protects. Quality and craftsmanship are high yielding excellent intonation and quality of sound. The valves will be extremely smooth and will not impede the musician using them. These are the horns most commonly used by advanced or professional musicians. Prices can start at $1200 and go as high as $2500 or more. Stradivarius, Schilke, and Besson are common

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