Cornettino

The cornettino is a member of the brass (Hornbostel–Sachs 423.212). Learn how it makes its sound and explore related instruments.

How the cornettino makes its sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the cornettino 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 cornettino (Italian, plural cornettini; German: Diskant Zink, Quart-Zink) is the small descant instrument of the cornett family of lip-reed wind instruments, a fourth or fifth higher than the larger, more common treble cornett. Cornettini were built in two sizes, usually described as in D or C, although the note sounded with all finger-holes covered is E or D, respectively, which can be lowered a further whole tone to D or C by slackening the embouchure. The name cornettino in Italian means a small cornetto, which in turn means "small horn".