lmf

Hi, Warren.

The cornet usually sounds different than the trumpet. The cornet is probably going to sound more mellow and not as bright, brassy and loud as trumpet. It may sound more subdued, yet melodic. That is fine. A trumpet has the capacity to "scream" when you need it to, but the cornet isn't going to sound as loud. Learn to play the cornet for its own sake and don't expect it to sound like a trumpet.

Why do people who play flugelhorns expect the sound to be different than their trumpets? It's a different sound they are looking for. Cornet needs to be understood in the same way. The trumpet has its own tonal qualities while the cornet does, too. You have to appreciate all three instruments and understand what they bring to musical expression.

If you have the expectation that trumpet and cornet must sound the same, you may be disappointed. If you allow for the differences, you will appreciate both instruments all the more.

Don't push the cornet like you do the trumpet and the tone may please you more than you realize. The cornet appears more "soft and gentle" with a melodic/lyrical quality different than the trumpet. I believe that is why the cornet part is written in some scores to give contast different to that of trumpet the composer felt was needed.

Best wishes,

Lloyd