This is a virtual trumpet that lets you make music right in your browser. Just click on the onscreen buttons using your mouse (or if you prefer, use your computer keyboard, that’s even faster and more fluid). It’s been created to be an accurate emulation of how a real one works: have fun while learning about air pressure and valve interaction.
The heart of this instrument is the harmonic series. When you play a trumpet, it naturaly emits a series of pitches that are related to the force of air you use to create the sound. In this context, they is called harmonic slots. The Slot button represents your choice of which slot to play. Clicking the slot buttons (or pressing the corresponding keys 1-6 on your computer keyboard) determines your base pitch. There are six buttons on the display, one for each slot. They cover range from low C to high C. To choose a slot is to choose where your starting note will be.
How to Use the Virtual Trumpet
Then you alter the pitch with the valves. Using the keyboard’s J, K, and L keys, you depress same numbered valves (the trumpet has three). Number 1 lowers the pitch one step. Number 2 lowers it half a step. And number 3 lowers it one-and-a-half steps. By combining the valves, you can hit every note on the chromatic scale. So if you need that note a full two steps lower, for instance, you’d click valve 1 and valve 2 at the same time.
When you do this, you’ll see the virtual piston move as you’re pressing the button, which provides some visual feedback. A readout will show what note you’re playing along with its frequency, allowing you to keep track of your pitch. The strip of notes at the bottom will give you the valve combinations if you don’t wish to work it all out yourself. There are a total of twenty-five notes in this grid and each time you click on one of these notes, it instantly sets the right harmonic slot and valve combination for you. This is great for hearing individual pitches without having to worry about how it works. You can also see what valves engage when you click along the strip so that you know exactly where to place your fingers for each note.
Two unique playback buttons allows you to explore the instrument. The first is the bugle sweep that moves through the open harmonics, starting at the very bottom and working its way up then back down again. You can hear all the natural overtones of the trumpet without pressing a single valve. The Play Taps button plays the well-known bugle call called Taps. There are no valves used in this sequence as it is played only on the open notes. When these buttons are clicked a second time they will both switch to stop.
The slider on the upper right corner lets you adjust the master volume; it starts at seventy percent and you can pull it down as far as you need to if the music is too loud for your speakers. There’s a fullscreen button on the widget, too. Clicking that stretches out the interface across your screen (which can be useful when you’re working with a small window, or just want to get rid of distractions). To get out of fullscreen, press the escape key or click the fullscreen button again.
There are also plenty of keyboard shortcuts that makes it easy to play along. Pressing the space bar will repeat last note you played. It is handy for practicing rhythms or sustaining sounds. The question mark key toggles the help panel which contains a quick reference of all the mappings and controls. When you begin playing again, the help panel will hide itself.
To make it really sing I would of recommend trying both keyboard and manual together. The number keys switch the harmonic slot and the J,K,L keys holds down the valves. It is just like what you would expect as a trumpet player changing notes quickly. Play through a simple scale using one harmonic slot but change the valves as you go along. You will notice that pressing a valve drop the pitch. Next time keep all the valves closed and change the slot instead and listen for the jump in pitch.
This is a written pitch. What you see are the notes that you would expect to find written out in normal notation on paper; it’s written pitch. In reality, a B flat trumpet would be written a whole step higher (a semitone), but the sound comes out of this virtual instrument as written for ease. There is no need for mental transposition.
Be creative and try various harmonic slots and valve combination. No right or wrong way here. Listen to what sounds good on the note strip, then attempt to recreate it yourself using the slots and valves. This is a great method for exploring the physics behind brass instruments. Start by selecting a slot, pushing down one of the valves, and creating a basic tune. The instrument will respond and before long, you’ll have the hang of it.