History of primitive, ancient Western and non-Western trumpets

The chromatic trumpet of Western tradition is a fairly recent invention, but primitive trumpets of one form or another have been in existence for millennia; some of the predecessors of the modern instrument are now known to date back to the Neolithic era. The earliest of these primordial trumpets were adapted from animal horns and sea shells, and were common throughout Europe, Africa, India and, to a lesser extent, the Middle East. Primitive trumpets eventually found their way to most parts of the globe, though even today indigenous varieties are quite rare in the Americas, the Far East and South-East Asia. Some species of primitive trumpets can still be found in remote places, where they have remained largely untouched by the passage of time.
For the most part, these primitive instruments were "natural trumpets": that is to say, they had none of those devices (fingerholes, keys, slides or valves) by which the pitch of an instrument might be altered. It is in fact quite exceptional to come across a chromatic trumpet – primitive or otherwise – which is not derived from the chromatic trumpet of Western tradition; the bās of Madhya Pradesh in India, which has fingerholes bored into the side of its tube, is one such exception.
Primitive trumpets.
The simplest – and presumably the earliest – type of trumpet was made from the hollowed-out horn or shell of an animal, into the end of which a hole was bored for the mouth. This "trumpet" had neither a mouthpiece nor a bell, and was not so much a musical instrument as a megaphone into which one spoke, sang, or shouted. The intention was to distort the voice and produce a harsh, unnatural sound to ward off evil spirits or disconcert one's enemies. Only later was the trumpet used to invoke friendly gods or to encourage one's own warriors on the battlefield. Typically only one or two different pitches could be produced on such an instrument, though sometimes a small fingerhole was bored in the tip to provide the player with an extra pitch. Most of these early trumpets were end-blown, like the modern trumpet; side-blown varieties, however, were not unknown, and can still be found in Africa and other parts of the globe.
As they were played only by men, they probably acquired strong phallic overtones; among certain aboriginal tribes, for example, it was a capital offense for a woman to look at a trumpet. The tradition of playing trumpet or bugle fanfares at sunrise (Reveille), sunset (Last Post), and at funerals (Taps), probably evolved from these ancient rituals.
The use of the trumpet as an instrument of warfare and the chase is probably as old. Its strident sound and animal origins must have suggested a wild or belligerent nature at a very early date, while the ritualistic uses to which it was put only served to strengthen its associations with death and male-oriented activities.
Animal-horn trumpets.
Animal-horn trumpets are still employed today, especially in Africa, though they are also found in Israel, Asia and Oceania. With the exception of African varieties, most are end-blown instruments from which the tip has been removed to provide a mouthhole. In the majority of cases the player's lips are applied directly to the mouthhole; sometimes, however, the instrument has a detachable mouthpiece. Cattle, sheep, goats and antelopes are among the animals whose horns are – or have been – most frequently used to make such trumpets. The following examples may be briefly noted:
Conch-shell trumpets.
Conch shells have also been used as primitive instruments since Neolithic times, and must be numbered among the antecedents of the natural trumpet. The four shells most commonly used for this purpose are the "triton" or trumpet shell, the "cassis" or helmet shell, the "fusus", and the "strombus" or true conch, though the term "conch-shell trumpet" is generally applied to all instruments of this type. The spiral interior of the shell acts as tubing, and a mouthhole is created either by breaking off the point of the shell (end-blown conch) or by boring a small hole in the body (side-blown conch). The cassis is an end-blown shell; the other three types are usually side-blown.
Conch-shell trumpets are found in almost every part of the globe, including inland areas like Tibet, Central Europe and the Andes. They are especially common throughout Oceania, where the conch-shell trumpet was once used on religious, ceremonial and military occasions. Today, however, the instrument is more often associated with mundane events like football matches; the Tongan football team is regularly encouraged by ensembles of up to nine "kele'a". In the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, local fishermen use conch-shell trumpets known as "tapáe" to call for assistance when they are drawing in their nets. In Fiji, the "davui" conch-shell trumpet is still blown to invoke the gods.
End-blown conch-shell trumpets are still used as sacred ritual instruments in Asia. The Indian "śańkh" or "śańkham" is blown by Brahmins in Hindu temples throughout India and South Asia, and is also used today as an instrument of folk music and dance; formerly it was employed as a heraldic instrument to declare war or celebrate victory. According to Hindu mythology the "śankh" will be blown by Siva at the end of the current World Age as a sort of Last Trump.
The conch shell is also used as a signal in Buddhist ceremonies in the Far East. In Tibet it is known as the "dun-dkar", or "dung-dkar"; in China it is the "faluo" or "hai lo", and in Japan the "horagai" or "hora".
Early manufactured trumpets.
The earliest artificial trumpets appeared before the end of the Neolithic, and were adapted from the natural models provided by animal-horns and conch-shells. They were – and in some parts of the world are still – made from a variety of perishable and non-perishable materials, including bark, wood, gourds, bamboo, horn, bone, ivory, clay and, of course, metal. Early metallic trumpets were either hammered from sheets of a suitable metal (e.g. silver) or cast in bronze by the lost-wax method. Among these primitive trumpets the following may be noted:
Ancient Egypt.
The natural trumpet was probably first used as a military instrument in ancient Egypt. The trumpets depicted by the artists of the Eighteenth Dynasty were short straight instruments made of wood, bronze, copper or silver. The Ancient Egyptian name for this particular instrument was "sheneb" ("šnb"). According to the Classical writers, the Egyptian trumpet sounded like the braying of an ass.
For the most part the trumpeters depicted in Egyptian art are engaged in military activities – the "sheneb" was probably used on the battlefield both to encourage (and possibly also to direct) the Pharaoh's troops and to intimidate the enemy. In some murals from the Eighteenth Dynasty, the "sheneb" appears to be accompanying dancers; if this is the case, it is possibly the earliest depiction of a trumpet in a truly "musical" setting. Egyptian trumpeters are often, though not always, shown in pairs.
The oldest surviving examples of metallic trumpets are the two instruments that were discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. One of these is long and is made of silver; it has a conical tube in diameter, and a flaring bell wide. The other instrument is long and is made of copper with gold overlay. Neither instrument has a separate mouthpiece and their respective weights have not been documented. Both are inscribed with the names of gods associated with Egyptian army divisions. A third trumpet, probably dating from the Ptolemaic era, is now preserved in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Ancient Israel.
Other trumpets are mentioned in the Bible besides the primitive "shofar": the "yowbel" was the ram's-horn trumpet whose sound made the walls of Jericho fall down (Joshua 6); the "taqowa"' was a Jewish military trumpet which is mentioned in Ezekiel 7:14. The best known Biblical trumpet after the "shofar", however, is the "hasoserah". In the Book of Numbers, Moses is instructed to make two silver "hasoserah":
2Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. 6When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. 8And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. 9And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God... (Numbers 10:2–10, King James Version.)
The "hasoserah" was played in two different ways: "taqa‘" and "teruw‘ah". The former referred to a continuous sounding of the instrument by one or two Levites during religious ceremonies; the latter referred to the sounding of an alarm or military signal, and was always carried out by two trumpeters. In the 18th century the German music theorist Johann Ernst Altenburg compared these two styles of playing to the two styles of trumpet playing prevalent in the Late Baroque: the mellow style of the "principale" and the strident style of the "clarino".
The military use of the natural trumpet is recorded in many passages of the Bible (e.g. Jeremiah 4:19, Zephaniah 1:16, Amos 2:2). Other passages recount its use as a celebratory instrument (e.g. II Kings 11:14, II Chronicles 5:12–13, Psalms 98:6).
Josephus, who credits Moses with the invention of the "hasoserah", describes the instrument thus:
“In length it was little less than a cubit []. It was composed of a narrow tube, somewhat thicker than a flute, but with so much breadth as was sufficient for admission of the breath of a man's mouth: it ended in the form of a bell, like common trumpets. Its sound was called in the Hebrew tongue "Asosra".” ("Antiquities of the Jews", 3.291)
The "hasoserah" is depicted on the Arch of Titus among the spoils taken by the Romans in the sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE (though these particular trumpets appear to be at least long).
Babylon and Assyria.
A straight trumpet similar to the Egyptian "sheneb" was also used in ancient Babylonia and Assyria, where it was called the "qarna". On a relief from the time of Sennacherib (reigned 705–681 BCE) depicting the moving of a colossal bull statue, two trumpeters are standing on the statue; one is playing while the other rests. Among the descendants of the "qarna" are the Persian "karranay" and the Safavid "karna". The latter, a straight metallic trumpet, can still be found in northern India.
Ancient Greece.
The war-trumpet used by the ancient Greeks was called the salpinx, and was probably adapted from the Egyptian "sheneb". There is a fine example on display in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts; the tube of this particular "salpinx" is long and consists of thirteen cylindrical parts made of ivory; the instrument's bell and mouthpiece are both made of bronze, as are the rings used to hold the ivory sections together; the instrument is thought to date from the second half of the 5th century BCE. The Greek playwright Aeschylus described the sound of the "salpinx" as "shattering"; the word "salpinx" is thought to mean "thunderer".
At the Olympic Games, contests of trumpet playing were introduced for the first time in 396 BCE. These contests were judged not by the participants' musical skill but by the volume of sound they generated! Among the more famous trumpeters who participated in the games was Achias, who was awarded first prize on three occasions and in whose honour a column was erected. Another famous contestant was Herodorus of Megas, a man of immense stature, whose playing was so loud that audiences were allegedly concussed by his performances. By winning the trumpet contest at Olympia, a trumpeter was authorized to perform at the hippodrome and to introduce the athletes for the remainder of the games.
On a painted ceramic knee guard dating from around 500 BCE, a salpinx call is recorded using the Greek syllables TOTH TOTOTE. This is the earliest example of trumpet notation anywhere in the world.
Etruria and Ancient Rome.
The use of the natural trumpet as a fully-fledged military signalling instrument is generally credited to the ancient Romans; a total of forty-three signals are said to have been used in the Roman army. Since the early days of the Republic, two centuriates of troops (about 160 men) were composed entirely of trumpeters; these musicians, called aenatores, employed a variety of instruments. It is now thought that the Romans adapted these instruments, and possibly also the signals sounded on them, from Etruscan models. The Etruscans were expert metallurgists and keen musicians, and musical instruments were just some of the many inventions they bequeathed to their Roman conquerors. Among the trumpet-like instruments used by the Romans, the following four may be distinguished:
The late Roman writer Vegetius briefly describes the use of trumpets in the Roman legions in his treatise "De Re Militari":
The legion also has its "tubicines", "cornicines" and "buccinatores". The "tubicen" sounds the charge and the retreat. The "cornicines" are used only to regulate the motions of the colours; the "tubicines" serve when the soldiers are ordered out to any work without the colours; but in time of action, the "tubicines" and "cornicines" sound together. The "classicum", which is a particular signal of the "buccinatores" or "cornicines", is appropriated to the commander-in-chief and is used in the presence of the general, or at the execution of a soldier, as a mark of its being done by his authority. The ordinary guards and outposts are always mounted and relieved by the sound of the "tubicen", who also directs the motions of the soldiers on working parties and on field days. The "cornicines" sound whenever the colours are to be struck or planted. These rules must be punctually observed in all exercises and reviews so that the soldiers may be ready to obey them in action without hesitation according to the general's orders either to charge or halt, to pursue the enemy or to retire. For reason will convince us that what is necessary to be performed in the heat of action should constantly be practised in the leisure of peace. (De Re Militari, Book II)
Like the Greek "salpinx" the Roman trumpets were not regarded as musical instruments. Among the tems used to describe the tone of the "tuba", for instance, were "horribilis" (“horrible”), "terribilis" (“terrible”), "raucus" (“raucous”), "rudis" (“coarse”), "strepens" (“noisy”) and "stridulus" (“shrieking”). When sounding their instruments, the "tubicines" sometimes girded their cheeks with the "capistrum" (“muzzle”) which "aulos" (“flute”) players used to prevent their cheeks from being puffed out unduly.
Middle East.
After the fall of the Western Empire in 476, the trumpet disappeared from Europe for more than half a millennium. Elsewhere the art of bending long metal tubes was lost, for the trumpets of the succeeding era lacked the characteristic G-like curve of the "cornu" and "buccina". The straight-tubed Roman "tuba", however, continued to flourish in the Middle East among the Sassanids and their Arabic successors. The Saracens, whose long metal trumpets greatly impressed the Christian armies at the time of the Crusades, were ultimately responsible for reintroducing the instrument to Europe after a lapse of six hundred years.
During the last centuries of the Roman Empire the name "buccina" was widely used throughout the Near East to denote a particular type of straight trumpet similar to, and probably derived from, the Roman tuba. From this, undoubtedly, derives the generic term "būq", which first occurs after 800; this was the name used by the Arabs to describe a variety of both trumpet-like and horn-like instruments. The "būq al-nafīr" ("buc[cina] of war") was a long straight metal trumpet used in the military bands of the Abbasid period (750–1258) and thereafter; by the 14th century it could be as much as long. From the 11th century, this term was used to denote any long straight trumpet.
Other Arabic words for trumpets of various sizes and shapes include "qarnā" and "sūr"; the latter is the name used in the Qur'an for the Last Trump that will announce Judgment Day. The "qarnā" is thought to be a descendant of the ancient Mesopotamian instrument of the same name.
The Saracens are sometimes said to be the first people to make brass trumpets from hammered sheet, though this is not at all certain.
Many of the long, straight metal trumpets that first appeared around this time were associated with the spread of Islam. In Africa, for example, end-blown metal trumpets are found only in Islamic regions such as Nigeria, Chad and central Cameroon. Known as "kakaki" (among the Hausa of Nigeria) or "gashi" (in Chad), these trumpets consist of narrow cylindrical tubes, sometimes over in length, with flared metal bells. The silver "nafiri" is one of only two trumpets found in Malaysia; its name clearly derives from the Arabic "būq al-nafīr". Slightly less than long, a single "nafiri" is present in each of the royal "nobat" ensembles maintained by the local sultans. As in Africa, these royal ensembles play on ceremonial occasions and Islamic holidays.
Asia.
The "dung" is the long monastic trumpet of Tibet; it is similar to, and probably derives from, straight trumpets depicted in 13th-century Arabic and Persian manuscripts. The "dung" is a straight, end-blown trumpet with a conical bore; it is made of copper or brass and has a separate mouthpiece. It varies in length from about (the medium-sized "rag-dun") to as much as (the telescopic "dung-chen"). In musical ensembles, two such instruments blown in alternation provide a continuous drone, which is sustained beneath the woodwind and percussion.
The "dung-chen" can also be found in the northern hills of Laddakh in India and in Bhutan, where it is known by the name "thunchen". This ceremonial instrument is used to accompany ritual dances. Nearly long, it is made of copper and decorated with silver. The "thunchen" is generally employed in pairs; the trumpeters, known as "thunchen pa", announce the commencement of ceremonies from the "gamba", or temple, and also accompany ritual dances. The length and weight of "thunchen" make it extremely unwieldy; so the flared end is rested on the ground or a special stand, or is supported on the shoulders of another monk.
Possibly related to the Tibetan "dung" is the "tirucinnam", a straight trumpet still found in Tamil Nadu in southern India. Usually a pair of these long, slender instruments are blown together; until a few decades ago it was standard practice for one musician to play both of them simultaneously, which seems to have been the case also in Nepal. A double trumpet of this type is depicted on a relief in Chandi Jawri, Indonesia, dated to 1300. The "tirucinnam" is about long and has a wide cylindrical bore; it has a narrow conical bell but no mouthpiece (to facilitate the simultaneous blowing of two instruments).
The Chinese too had a long cylindrical metal trumpet known as "haotong" (or, in Japanese, "dokaku"), which may have been related to the foregoing instruments. In place of a bell, the "haotong" had a long, broad cylinder made of wood, iron or brass, into which the rest of the instrument could be telescoped when not in use; the "haotong" was played with the bell end resting on the ground. The ordinary Chinese trumpet was the "laba" ("rappa" in Japanese). This came from Mongolia, where it was called the "rapal". It had a narrow, conical bore and consisted of two or three sections which telescoped into each other. (Chinese sources record the use of trumpets on the battlefield by the Huns, or Xiongnu, in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE.)