Trompete

As Printed on a Score

Trompete (plural Trompeten) labels the trumpet staff in German scores, abbreviated Trp., Trpt. or Tromp., with its key: Trompete in B (B-flat), in F, in C, in Es; Mahler prints B-Tromp. and F-Tromp. and heads the staff Vier Trompeten in B. In B the notes sound a whole step lower, in F a fourth higher. Tr. may also mean a trill.

Abbreviations: Tr., Trp., Trpt., Tromp.

Also spelled: Trompeten, B-Tromp., B-Trompete, Barock Trompete

How Composers Use It

Nineteenth-century German orchestras favored the long F trumpet, sounding a fourth above written, for its broad tone; Bruckner and Mahler still write for it, though players now read those parts on B-flat or C trumpets. Mahler mixes keys within one score and uses trumpets for military calls, fanfares and grotesque edge. Unless you want a historical color, write for B-flat or C trumpet, and print mutes (Dämpfer) explicitly.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, first movement, trumpet staff (“Vier Trompeten in B.”), m. 51: “B-Tromp.”, the part’s shorthand for the B-flat trumpets.

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