[citation needed] Later, talented players such as the early baroque composer Girolamo Fantini demonstrated that by playing in the extreme upper register and "lipping" the notes of the 11th and 13th harmonics (that is, flattening or sharpening those impure harmonics into tune with the embouchure), it was possible to play diatonic major and minor scales (and, hence, actual melodies rather than arpeggios) on a natural trumpet.

Other "impure" harmonics (such as the 7th and 14th – B♭ on an instrument pitched in C – which are very flat) were avoided by most composers, but were sometimes deliberately used, for example, where their unusual sonic qualities would complement the accompanying text in a sacred work.

The vast majority of baroque trumpet parts were written for a natural instrument pitched in C or D, although there were occasional exceptions.

As early as the time of Bach, crooks (additional lengths of tubing) were introduced between the mouthpiece and the body which lowered the pitch of the instrument and allowed it to be used in a variety of keys.

A few transitional composers, such as Michael Haydn, Leopold Mozart and Johann Molter, wrote concerti for natural trumpets in the early Classical era.

In fact, it could be argued that the concertos of Haydn and Molter represent the zenith of the natural trumpet in terms of technical demands, containing as they do some of the highest notes ever penned for the trumpet in symphonic works (in the case of Haydn, a G above high C – the 24th harmonic on a natural instrument).

In modern-day performances of Baroque and Classical works by period orchestras, the trumpets used are usually altered copies of natural instruments of the period, with the addition of anachronistic nodal "tone holes" (also called "venting holes") used to more easily and accurately correct the intonation of the instrument and the use of altered copies of mouthpieces or baroque inspired modern ones.

However, it appears that these holes were usually placed at antinodes, and thus designed to prevent the note from sounding, rather than allowing it to be played in tune.

Though such vented instruments have been the norm in period orchestras for decades, in recent years ensembles such as La Petite Bande and soloists such as Jean-François Madeuf have been performing and recording using pure natural trumpets.

Some of the finest surviving examples of pre-Baroque and Baroque era trumpets date back as far as the 1580s, and were made by Anton Schnitzer of Nuremberg.

Makers active as of 2021 include Matthew Parker, Graham Nicholson, Markus Raquet, Geert Jan van der Heide, Cristian Bosc, Rainer Egger, Bernhard (Ewald) Meinl, Tony Esparis, Nikolai Mänttäri, Nathaniel Wood, and Gunther Cogen.

Living players of the Baroque trumpet include Robert Farley, Anna Freeman, Alison Balsom, Crispian Steele-Perkins, Friedemann Immer [de], Niklas Eklund, David Blackadder, Will Wroth and John Thiessen.