Like organs and trombones, the cornettino was regarded as primarily a church instrument, and hence was constructed in Chor-ton (choir pitch) at the height of its popularity in the 17th century, which was around 466 Hz.

The surviving score of the large scale madrigal, Udite chiari e generosi figli à 16 voci, by Giovanni Gabrieli, requires a cornetto muto on the cantus line of Choro I.

In the time of Michael Praetorius, the cornettino seems to have sometimes been used in sacred vocal music to play in unison with voices (especially tenors) an octave higher.

The cornettino was favoured by the Stadtpfeiffen and composers like Johann Caspar Horn and Matthias Spiegler wrote a significant quantity of consort music featuring one to three cornettini.

[6] The tessitura of the cornettino is C4 (middle C) to around G5, although a competent player with a strong embouchure can play higher; the highest note in the repertoire is E6.

The timbre of the instrument seems to have been regarded by 17th century Northern European composers as very agreeable juxtaposed the natural trumpets of the time which featured a conical bell and a much more "oboe-like" sound and the violins pitched at A4 = 466 Hz.