Brass Section

The beginning history of the brass section is prehistoric. It started when men first started blowing into hollowed out wooden sticks and animal horns as a means of signaling other men. As time went by they evolved into the beautiful instruments we all recognize today as the brass section of almost any band or orchestra. You probably know that being part of the brass section does not mean they are necessarily made from brass, nor does being made from brass automatically earn inclusion to the brass section. Get that saxophone out of here please. As previously stated, originally trumpets were wood and bone and sometimes those elements are still used today for specialized instruments, but not in normal standardized musical instruments.
Just like the proper selection of tonewood enhances the sound of stringed instruments, the quality of the brass used in the construction of the trumpet has a direct correlation not only to the overall quality of the instrument but the tonal qualities as well. Most trumpets are either finished with a clear lacquer or plated in nickel. Many musicians believe that plating the instrument unifies it, forcing the instrument to vibrate as a solid unit. That seems to be the more popular of two opinions, the other theory states that an unfinished horn sounds better. That is to say brass without a lacquer applied or another metal plating has more freedom to naturally vibrate. It is also said that a redder colored brass being heavier in copper content has a mellower sound than the more yellow variety of brass. If the horn is lacquered in gold, the sound from the bell will be smoother, but if it is silver plated, the sound will be more brilliant. That being the case some high end trumpets considered rare have been made from copper, German silver and even gold. And some top of the line trumpets come with removable interchangeable tuning bells of different sizes which effectively changes the tone of the instrument.

Of general interest to collectors might be this list of trumpet manufacturers who are no longer actively making the trumpet. Some have been out of business many decades and some are still open but no longer making trumpets:

Arigra , A. Riedl Graslitz), Blackbyrd ,Bel Canto, Boosey & Co, Boosey & Hawkes, Elkhart Band Instrument Co., Hamilton,Hanson, Harry Pedler & Sons, Hawkes & Son, Huttl,Indiana, Keilwerth, Julius,Lafayette, LaFleur, Medallion, Nova, Novak Musical Instrument Company, Ohio Band Instruments company, Pioneer, Reynolds, Silvani & Smith ceased trading, Silvertone vintage, Conn stencil, Slingerlan, Super Academy, York,William Frank company of Chicago

As long as we're doing lists, who was or is your favorite trumpet player? I asked myself that question and after thinking about it for awhile I had the beginning of a list. With a little bit of effort and some talking and thinking about it the list grew and it's still growing. Whose name did I leave off the list?
Louis Armstrong, Maynard Ferguson, Alan Vizzutti, Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sanduval , Doc Serverinsen ,Miles Davis, Maurice Andre, Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Driscoll, Thomas Reiner, Harry James, Al Hirt, Bud Herseth ,Chuck Mangione , Freddie Hubbard, Rafael Mendez, Sergei Nakariakov , Bill Chase, Wayne Bergeron, Chris Botti, Rick Baptist, Clark Terry, Herb Alpert, Woody Shaw, Philip Smith, Andrea Tofanelli, James Morrison, Jim Manley, Jon Faddis, Timofei Dokshizer, Royel Dridge,Sergei Nakariakov, Bix Beiderbecke, Bunny Berigan, Cat Anderson, Chet Baker, Clifford Brown, Cootie Wiliams, Jesse Mcguire, Randy Brecker, Juancito Torres