The cornett family may be divided into two main groups: curved and straight. The principal group was that comprising the curved cornetts, also sometimes called “black cornetts” (cornetti neri) since they were nearly always made of two pieces of wood glued together down the length of the instrument and covered with blackdyed leather or parchment to ensure the integrity of the joint. Curved cornetts came in the following sizes:
Cornetto (Chorzink, dessus de cornet): The standard cornett was pitched in a (cornett pitches always refer to the note that sounds when all fingerholes are covered) and, in the hands of a skillful player, could ascend to d"' or, according to Michael Praetorius, as high as g"'. Because pitches in the seventeenth century were not standardized, it is impossible to fix this a with any precision in absolute terms. Surviving instruments, however, tend to be high with respect to the modern pitch standard of a' = 440. In general, it could be said that they range from approximately a' = 440 to a' = 500, with an average close to a' = 466 (a half tone above a' = 440). For this reason, modern cornett makers have tended to standardize cornett pitches at a' = 440 (usually referred to as “modern pitch”) and a' = 466 (usually called “high pitch” or sometimes Chorton).
