FONT X JG: Taylor Ho Bynum Speaks
How does your relationship to the trumpet inform your approach to composition?
Actually, I mainly play the cornet, the trumpet’s forgotten sibling in the brass family. It’s a subtle difference in timbre and articulation, but a real one. Nonetheless, it has the same basic technique, register, and role in the ensemble as the trumpet, and they look pretty similar (though the cornet is a little smaller and more graceful, in my biased opinion), so obviously they usually get lumped together.
Anyway, whether trumpet or cornet, the instrument is a notoriously unreliable ally, as a player you’ve got to embrace the uncertainty. All you’ve got is your air, your lips, and three valves to try and make an infinity of notes and tones and sounds.