Birch trumpet

The birch trumpet is a member of the brass (Hornbostel–Sachs 423.121.11). Learn how it makes its sound and explore related instruments.

How the birch trumpet makes its sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the birch trumpet belongs to the brass (lip-vibrated aerophones): the player's buzzing lips set the air column vibrating – trumpets, horns, trombones, tubas and the didgeridoo.

More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.

Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.

From Wikipedia

The birch trumpet (Norwegian: neverlur, Swedish: näverlur, Latvian: tās̆u taure, Lithuanian: ragas, daudytė, Finnish: tuohitorvi, Estonian: karjapasun) is a type of natural trumpet made of spruce covered with birch bark, known in Norway, Sweden, Finland, England, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Estonia. Even cruder and less durable versions were made of plain birch bark. They are associated with the early European Chalet culture, where it was presumably used to intimidate predators, frighten supernatural enemies, and convene council meetings.

Usually, the birch trumpet is a natural horn, having no fingerholes or valves. Normally, a player can play 10 tones from the natural scale on the instrument. In the modern era, the birch trumpet is primarily a cultural curiosity, used for the occasional fanfare.