When it comes to a trumpet player’s arsenal of mutes, the cup mute stands out as one of the most warm and unique timbral adjustments to the instrument.

Ever since its invention in the early 20th century, it has been used in all sorts of fashions, from orchestral excerpts to frequent adoption in jazz playing, especially in big band compositions.

Let’s jump into how the cup mute for the trumpet came to be, as well as some significant uses of it in classical and jazz idioms.

Where did the trumpet cup mute originate from?

In the early 20th century, the cup mute was invented to be used as a “mellower” for the trumpet, in an effort to warm up the sound a bit.

This was achieved mainly by the efforts of jazz musicians during this time, although soon enough it would become highly favored among classical composers for its unique and charming tone.

While first manufactured by Stonelined mutes, more modern cup mutes eventually came along, which look like this:

One of the distinctive features of the modern cup mute is that the actual cup is adjustable - this means you can slide it up and down, and depending on the position of it, you will hear a more or less muted sound.

So the closer to the bell of the trumpet the cup is, the less sound escapes.

Check out this video where MusikFabrik’s Marco Blaauw demonstrates this:

Let’s jump into some repertoire featuring the cup mute, as well as some iconic performances of it.

Repertoire featuring the cup mute

Since the cup mute was pioneered by jazz musicians, let’s start out with a classic tune composed by Freddie Green called Corner Pocket, which was made popular by Count Basie and his big band. This chart features one of the most well-known uses of cup mute in big band repertoire:

In the context of section writing like this, the cup mute does a fantastic job at creating a much more intimate color than the senza sord. sound on the trumpet.

Dizzy Gillespie, one of the greats in the jazz trumpet idiom, made frequent use of the adjustable cup mute. Here is his iconic rendition of the standard All The Things You Are:

In a similar fashion to Corner Pocket, the use of the cup mute really centers Dizzy's color, mellowing out the sound in almost the opposite direction as opposed to say a straight mute or harmon mute.

Regarding usage of the cup mute in the symphony repertoire, the Tomasi Trumpet Concerto famously incorporates the use of the cup mute in the haunting yet serene second movement:

Something to note in this excerpt is the effect on the orchestration that comes from muting the sound of the trumpet.

Because the trumpet naturally projects very loudly, adding a cup mute allows the performer to really sing into the instrument without worrying about overplaying the orchestral accompaniment, which in turn also allows the orchestra to thin out at times, creating a super intimate atmosphere.

Conclusion

The cup mute is one of the most charming sound modifications to the trumpet, and as you can see, this has been realized through plenty of creative applications of it throughout the jazz and classical idioms of the last century.

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