okay, well, I understand partials. But, on a trumpet, what does each valve do? I mean, I had this idea that each one was a half-step up from the previous...but that's not true. Is there some sort of pattern to them? Does each one have a different purpose?...Please answer as basically as possible. I don't play music very often, and I definitely don't speak brass-ish.
Each valve kicks in that pipe that comes out of it and makes the instrument longer... and lower sounding. #1=1step, #2= 1/2 step, #3= 1 and 1/2 steps. Just add them up to see what the combinations do. Each time you lower it you get another overtone series to play up or down on.
