Trumbull High School Band

It has been great getting to know many of the new parents over this past week at band camp. One of the first questions band parents typically ask each other is what does your child play in the band? My answer is “my son plays the mellophone.” The next question I get is “What is a mellphone?” or “is that a pit instrument?” I of course had the same question when my son came home last year and told me he was going to be playing the Mellophone. I know we never had a Mellophone in my high school band. So up until now my best response “is a Mellophone is a brass instrument that is a little larger than a trumpet”.

It got me thinking that I need a better response and to probably know what a mellophone really is so I decided to do a little research. According to “ASK.com” the definition of a Mellophone:
The mellophone is a brass instrument that is typically used in place of the horn (sometimes called a French horn) in marching bands or drum and bugle corps. The mellophone has three valves, operated with the right hand. Mellophone fingering is identical to that of a trumpet, not the horn as is commonly assumed. Mellophones are typically pitched in the key of F. The direction of the bell, as well as the much-reduced amount of tubing (as compared to a concert horn) makes the mellophone look like a large trumpet. In fact, many mellophones use trumpet-style parabolic (“cup”) mouthpieces rather than the smaller, lighter, conical (“funnel”) mouthpieces used on concert horns. The marching mellophone is used in place of the horn for marching as it is a bell-front instrument, so that the sound goes in the direction that the player is facing. This is especially important in drum corps and marching bands, since the audience is typically standing or sitting on only one side of the band.

So next time someone asks you what a mellophone is or you happen to be on Jeopardy, you now have an answer!

B.W, mom a mellophonist