About Trombones
- The trombone first appeared, in Europe, around the middle of the fifteenth century. The fact that it origins was a trumpet with a slide attached can be attributed to its very name. Trombone is derived from "tromba," which is Italian for "trumpet." The "bone" part of trombone derives from the Italian "one" which means big. Therefore a trombone actually means "big trumpet."
- The trombone is one of the most recognizable of all the wind instruments due to the long sliding section of the horn. A trombone player manipulates the sound made by blowing through the trombone by the way this slide is pushed outward and pulled back. Because it is a member of the brass family, most trombones have a shiny golden metal finish.
- The true significance of the trombone and what sets is apart from all other contemporary brass instruments is that it alone is capable of producing every single note within the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale consists of 13 half steps to an octave. The great irony of the trombone is that despite this ability, it took composers several centuries to fully exploit this capacity because the trombone was almost exclusively reserved for reverent classical compositions.
- Mardi Gras trombone, Wikimedia Commons
The function of a trombone is to create a rich, deep orchestral sound. Trombones are equipped with a reed in the mouthpiece and when the player vibrates his lips, it creates a buzzing vibration. Changing the shape of the mouth changes the sound that is produced. The slide has seven different positions that change the pitch of the sound that is produced. - The most common type of trombone is the tenor trombone. A tenor trombone is recognizable by the fact that it may not possess a valve at all, or else has just one single rotary valve. Because the tenor trombone is the most popular, you can hear a them played in a variety of musical styles including small jazz bands and enormous college marching bands. The second most common type of trombone is the bass trombone. The bass trombone is recognizable by the larger bore, which means that more air must be blown through it to achieve its sound. The majority of bass trombones are equipped with two finger triggers, but it is also possible to get a bass trombone with just one trigger. The alto trombone was very popular from the 1500s to the 1700s but the decline that began in the 1800s has continued to today. Very few orchestral compositions exist, and even fewer are regularly performed, that contain a part written expressly for the alto trombone. For this reason, the alto is used mainly for solo pieces and choral works. That said, it must also be noted that several modern composers appear intent on facilitating a comeback for the alto trombone.
