Flugelhorn facts for kids
A standard 3-valved B♭ flugelhorn
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| Brass instrument | |
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| Classification | |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 423.232 (valved aerophone sounded by lip vibration) |
| Developed | Early 19th century |
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Written range:
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The flugelhorn is a cool brass instrument that looks a lot like a trumpet or cornet. It has a wider, more cone-shaped tube inside, which gives it a special sound. Most flugelhorns play in the key of B♭, just like trumpets. Some can play in C.
This instrument is a type of bugle with valves. It was first made in Germany in the early 1800s. It came from an older English bugle that didn't have valves. The first valved bugle was sold in Berlin in 1828 by Heinrich Stölzel. This new valved bugle later inspired Adolphe Sax, who created the saxophone. He used the idea to make his B♭ soprano saxhorns, which are similar to today's flugelhorn.
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What's in a Name?
The word Flügel comes from German. It means wing or flank. A long time ago, in the early 1700s, German hunt leaders used a special horn. This leader was called a Flügelmeister. He would blow the Flügelhorn to guide the different parts of the hunt.
This horn was a big, half-circle-shaped instrument made of brass or silver. It didn't have any valves. Later, during the Seven Years' War, the military used this instrument. It was an early version of the bugle we know today.
How the Flugelhorn is Built
Most flugelhorns are in the key of B♭. This is the same key as many trumpets and cornets. A flugelhorn usually has three piston valves. These valves work just like those on other brass instruments. This means if you can play a trumpet or cornet, you can likely play a flugelhorn.
However, the flugelhorn feels a bit different to play. Its mouthpiece is shaped more like a cone than a trumpet or cornet mouthpiece. It's not as cone-shaped as a French horn mouthpiece, though. The part of the mouthpiece that goes into the instrument is similar in size to a cornet mouthpiece.
Some modern flugelhorns have a fourth valve. This valve makes the pitch lower by a perfect fourth. This is similar to the fourth valve on instruments like the euphonium or tuba. This extra valve gives the flugelhorn a useful low range. It also helps players get a better sound because the first and third valve combination can sometimes be a little sharp.
There's also a compact, oval-shaped flugelhorn called the kuhlohorn. It's also in B♭. This instrument was made for German Protestant trombone choirs. In Catalonia, Spain, there are bass flugelhorns in C called fiscorns. These are played in cobla bands for sardana dancers.
The Flugelhorn's Sound
The flugelhorn has a sound that is often described as fuller and softer than a trumpet or cornet. People say its sound is somewhere between a trumpet and a French horn. The cornet's sound is often thought of as being between a trumpet and a flugelhorn.
The flugelhorn is easy to play quickly, like a cornet. However, it can be harder to control when playing very high notes. It's generally not as easy to hit the exact high notes as it is on a trumpet.
Where You Hear the Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a regular part of British-style brass bands. It's also used a lot in jazz music. Sometimes, you'll hear it in orchestral music and concert band pieces too.
Some famous classical pieces that use the flugelhorn include Igor Stravinsky's Threni and Ralph Vaughan Williams's Ninth Symphony. It's also in Michael Tippett's third symphony. Sometimes, it takes the place of other instruments, like the post horn in Mahler's Third Symphony. It can also be used for the soprano Roman buccine in Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome.
In HK Gruber's trumpet concerto Busking (2007), the player uses a flugelhorn in the slow middle part. The flugelhorn was also very important in many of Burt Bacharach's pop songs from the 1960s. You can hear it in a solo on Bert Kaempfert's 1962 song "That Happy Feeling." Flugelhorns have even been used in drum and bugle corps for alto or low soprano parts.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, flugelhorns are a big part of "Fanfareorkesten" or fanfare orchestras. These orchestras often have 10 to 20 flugelhorns. They form the main sound of the orchestra. Most are in B♭, with a few E♭ soloists. However, E♭ flugelhorns are often replaced by E♭ trumpets or cornets because they can be hard to play in tune.
The 1996 movie Brassed Off features a flugelhorn solo. It's a key moment in the film, playing a part from Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. Paul Hughes played this solo.
Famous Flugelhorn Players
Many talented musicians have played the flugelhorn. Joe Bishop was one of the first jazz musicians to use it in 1936 with the Woody Herman band. Later, Shorty Rogers and Kenny Baker started playing it in the early 1950s. Clark Terry used it with Duke Ellington's orchestra in the mid-1950s.
Chet Baker recorded several albums with the flugelhorn in the 1950s and 1960s. Miles Davis helped make the instrument more popular in jazz with his albums Miles Ahead and Sketches of Spain.
Other well-known jazz flugelhorn players include Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Art Farmer, Roy Hargrove, Randy Brecker, Hugh Masekela, and Kenny Wheeler. Most jazz players use the flugelhorn along with the trumpet. But in the 1970s, Chuck Mangione focused only on the flugelhorn. He had a big jazz-pop hit song called "Feels So Good".
In pop music, players like Probyn Gregory (from the Brian Wilson Band), Ronnie Wilson of the Gap Band, and Rick Braun have used the flugelhorn. Marvin Stamm played the flugelhorn solo on "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" by Paul and Linda McCartney.
For classical music, Sergei Nakariakov and Kirill Soldatov are famous flugelhorn players.
See also
In Spanish: Fliscorno para niños
