Cornets
The cornet is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The cornet could not have been developed without the improvement of piston valves by Silesian oboe player Friedrich Blühmel and Heinrich Stölzel in the early 19th century. The first notable cornet virtuoso player was Jean-Baptiste Arban, who studied the cornet extensively and published La grande méthode complète de cornet à piston et de saxhorn, commonly referred to as the Arban method, in 1864. Up until the early 20th century, the trumpet and cornet coexisted in musical ensembles. Symphonic repertoire often involves separate parts for trumpet and cornet. The modern day cornet is used in brass bands, concert bands, and in specific orchestral repertoire that requires a more mellow sound.
