The Standard 19th Century F Contra-Alto Trumpet.

Karel Goll (b. 1876 - ?) F contra-alto trumpet: the standard F trumpet used on orchestras from the 1830's until 1910.
Hear F contra-alto trumpets in action:
• F trumpet demo
• Two nineteenth-century...
www.robbstewar...
Frank Hosemann's eBay site: www.ebay.ca/st...

[@jomarluke]

I've got a lignatone low Eb trumpet. I've had a few before, but I recently got this one as a gift. I used to play them with an alto horn mouthpiece, but then I found out they were also played with a trumpet mp. Holy moley, what a difference. I've been trying to play it like it was intended, but goodness it's difficult to hit the notes cleanly. Btw: Schrott in German means garbage (more or less). Thanks for the video! I'm looking for more information about this horn, and Robb Stewart has a lot!

[@gregmonks]

There are Eb trumpets and there are Eb trumpets. Some are contra-altos, some are contraltos/altos. You can generally tell by the bore and the bell-size. A large-bore horn with a big bell will usually be a contralto, whereas a small-bore horn with a small bell will be a contra-alto. Yes, Robb has lots of good info on his site! Especially on the low F/Eb trumpet of the 19th century. The contra-alto is not an easy horn to play. They're a bit like playing a "French" horn in that their playing range is higher than written. The Horn is played an octave higher than written while the contra-alto is played roughly a fifth higher than written. This is because the Horn is a double-length instrument, whereas the contra-alto is a 1 1/2-length instrument.

[@lsanchez1822]

Can french horn music be used for this trumpet?

[@gregmonks]

French horn is played an octave higher than written, contra-alto trumpet in F shares the same playing-range as the C trumpet. French horn is a double-length brasswind, whereas F trumpet is a 1 1/2-length instrument. You can pull it off if you have iron chops.

[@lsanchez1822]

I found one of these trumpets in f on Facebook. It was made by Anton Dehmal ~1930s Austria. Should I buy it?

[@gregmonks]

No way of telling without trying it. I've taken chances on unfamiliar horns. Sometimes the chance was worth it, others not so much.

[@lsanchez1822]

@@gregmonks thank you