Cornett

The cornett is a member of the brass (Hornbostel–Sachs 423.21). Learn how it makes its sound and explore related instruments.

How the cornett makes its sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the cornett 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.

Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.

From Wikipedia

The cornett (Italian: cornetto, German: Zink) is a lip-reed wind instrument that dates from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, popular from 1500 to 1650. Although smaller and larger sizes were made in both straight and curved forms, surviving cornetts are mostly curved, built in the treble size from 51 to 63 cm (20 to 25 in) in length, usually described as in G. The note sounded with all finger-holes covered is A3, which can be lowered a further whole tone to G by slackening the embouchure. The name cornett comes from the Italian cornetto, meaning "small horn".