The soprano cornet is a
transposing brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...
similar to the standard B
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...
but pitched a fourth higher in E.
A single soprano cornet is usually seen in
brass bands and
silver bands and can be found playing lead or
descant
A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states:
A descant is a ...
parts in other
musical ensemble
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists ...
s.
Further reading
Introduction to the E soprano cornetby Bram Gay original from ''Sounding Brass'', Issue 6, 1977.
References
Brass instruments
E-flat instruments
{{brass-instrument-stub