Editing Cornett (section)

==Construction==

[[File:Zink-Musik.png|thumb|Cornetts in ''[[Syntagma Musicum]]'', 1619. ''Left'' to ''right'': alto straight cornet with mouthpiece (lowest note ''g''), alto mute cornett (front and back), tenor mute cornett (lowest note ''g'', key on 7th hole for ''f''), treble straight cornett with mouthpiece (lowest note ''a''), cornettino (lowest note ''e''), treble cornett (lowest note ''a''), tenor cornett (lowest note ''c'').]]

Pipes as short as the cornett are only able to play two or three notes of the [[harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]] when sounded as an end-blown lip-reed instrument. The common treble or curved cornett then, can play A{{sub|3}} and the next octave A{{sub|4}}; a trumpeter might be able to reach the next E{{sub|5}}.<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Cornet | volume= 7 |last1= Mahillon |first1= Victor-Charles |author1-link= Victor-Charles Mahillon | last2= Schlesinger |first2= Kathleen |author2-link= Kathleen Schlesinger | pages = 170&ndash;173 |short=1}}</ref> Other short trumpets had this issue, including [[King Tut's Trumpet]], capable of only playing two notes without a modern mouthpiece.<ref>{{cite journal |title= One of Tut'ankhamūn's Trumpets |author= Jeremy Montagu |journal= The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=1978 |volume= 64 |pages= 133–134 |publisher= Sage Publications, Ltd. |doi= 10.2307/3856451 |jstor= 3856451 |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/3856451 |quote="a ceremonial instrument capable of producing only one or two notes. The lowest note is poor in quality and carrying power ... the Egyptian military trumpet signal code was a rhythmic one on a single pitch" }}</ref>

The instrument has features of both the trumpet and a [[woodwind instrument]]. Like the trumpet, the cornett has a small cup-shaped mouthpiece, where the instrument is sounded with the player's lips.<ref name="Groveonlinecornett">{{cite Grove |title=Cornett |first1= Anthony |last1=Baines |first2=Bruce |last2=Dickey |author2-link=Bruce Dickey |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.06516 |url= https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000006516 |access-date=29 October 2024 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Like many woodwind instruments, it has fingered [[tone hole]]s (and rarely, [[Key (instrument)|keys]]) to determine the pitch by shortening the vibrating air column, although pitch can also be adjusted by varying the tension of the player's embochure.<ref name="Groveonlinecornett"/>

The cornett has six finger holes and, like the [[recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]], a single thumb hole on the opposite side. Together these allow the instrument to play a [[diatonic scale]]. A small number of cornetts were built with seven holes, and French instruments often lacked a thumbhole. By using "cross fingering" and by varying the embouchure tension, the instrument can play a [[chromatic scale]]. A player in 1738 who mastered the cross-fingering and lip tension was documented to have reached 27 notes and half notes.<ref name=EB1911/> In comparison, Praetorius gave cornetts credit for achieving 15 notes, before players used techniques to expand the range.{{sfn|Marcuse|1975|page=128–129|loc="Cornett"}}

The cornett has a [[conical bore]], narrow at the mouthpiece and widening towards the bell.<ref name=EB1911/> The ordinary curved treble cornett is made by splitting a length of wood, usually [[Juglans#Wood|walnut]], [[Buxus#Musical instruments|boxwood]] or other [[tonewood]]s like plum, cherry or pear. The bore is carved out and the two halves then glued back together, and the outside planed to an octagonal cross section.<ref name=EB1911/> The whole is then further bound tightly in thin black leather or parchment.{{sfn|Klaus|2013|p=76}} A small number of surviving instruments were made from one straight piece, bored on a lathe, and then bent into a curve with steam.{{sfn|Klaus|2013|p=78}} The finger holes and thumb hole are then bored in the instrument, and are slightly undercut.<ref name=BainesWWI/>

The socket for the mouthpiece at the narrow end is sometimes reinforced with a brass collar, and sometimes ornamental silver or brass [[ferrule]]s are added to reinforce each end of the instrument, especially in Austrian- or German-made cornetts.{{sfn|Klaus|2013|p=79}} The separate cup mouthpiece is usually made of horn, ivory, or bone, with a thin rim and thread-wrapped shank, which is used to tune the instrument. Because it usually lacks a (seventh) [[little finger]] hole, its lowest note is A{{sub|3}} below middle C, though G{{sub|3}} is readily obtained by adjusting the embouchure.<ref name=BainesWWI/>

Mute cornetts were usually made of boxwood. The top of the instrument is narrow; the bore is about {{convert|4|mm}} wide at the top of the instrument, with a cone-shaped mouthpiece carved into the top {{convert|13|mm}} across and {{convert|9|mm}} deep.<ref name=BainesWWI/>

{{Multiple image
  | image1 = Mouthpieces of cornetts.jpg
  | image2 = Cornett mouthpieces.jpg
  | alt1 = Mouthpieces from the side
  | alt2 = top: Mouthpieces, bottom: mute cornett
  | footer = Cornett mouthpieces (''left''); mouthpiece size compared to a 1 cent coin (''right, top''); mute cornetts have the mouthpiece carved into the body (''right, bottom'')
}}