Trombone

The trombone is a member of the brass family of musical instruments. It originated in the fifteenth century and is the only member of the brass section that uses a slide rather than valves to play different notes. Music played by a trombone is lower in tone than other members of the brass family such as the trumpet and serves to complement the higher tones. Once considered appropriate only for the accompaniment of church music, the inclusion of parts for the trombone in music by famous composers brought the instrument into the mainstream. It is now considered an important part of many types of musical ensembles, including orchestras and marching bands.

Background

The word trombone comes from the Italian word tromba, which means "trumpet." The trumpet is one of the earliest wind instruments, having been developed when musicians used metal to fashion instruments similar to the ones they had been using made from animal horns. Trumpets predate the design of trombones by centuries; when musicians desired an instrument that could play lower notes than those produced by the trumpet, they adjusted the design until they came up with the trombone. Unlike the straight trumpets available at the time, the trombone had a unique design—part of the tubing slid back and forth to play different notes.

When the trombone first appeared in the 1400s, the French named it the trompette-saicueboute, which means a "push-pull" trumpet. The English pronounced the name "sackbut," and for many years this is how the instrument was known. For most of the first three centuries after it was invented, the trombone was used primarily in churches and royal ceremonies. The ease with which the musician could slide between notes made it an ideal accompaniment to the voices that sang in these locales; it was especially well-suited to be used during the plainsong chants common to church services of the time.

Several things occurred to move the trombone out of church and into the mainstream music of the day, which is now known as classical music. First, the organ grew in popularity for accompanying church choirs. Second, in 1808 Ludwig Van Beethoven began including parts for the trombone in his works. Others soon followed suit. The deep, rich tones of the instrument were often used to convey a mood of the supernatural or spirituality.

After it became a standard part of the orchestra, the trombone was added to other ensembles as well. For a time during its surge of popularity in the 1700s, a number of all-trombone choirs existed and the instrument was increasingly used in marching bands and other groups. Several modifications to the instrument were also attempted, including changing the configuration of the tubing to have some angle up at the bell end. Trombones were also made in different sizes in an attempt to get different sounds, such as alto or tenor, but these became less common as valves were added to trumpets and their cousins, cornets, which provided them with new musical ranges. During this time, some experimented with adding valves to trombones as well.

Overview

The trombone is the only brass instrument that uses a slide to alter the sound it makes. While the seemingly infinite number of positions for the slide would seem to allow for an endless number of notes, many of the positions will result in out of tune or odd sounding tones. As a result, the trombonist plays the instrument by moving the slide to one of seven positions and uses the shape of the lips and facial muscles and the way the air is blown to change to a wide range of pitches. The technical name for this mouth and facial placement is embouchure; it is what musicians are referring to when they say a fellow musician has chops.

Trombones are made of hollow brass tubing with a mouthpiece at one end and a bell-shaped flare at the other. If the tubing were straightened out, the trombone would be a little more than nine feet, or three meters, in length, though some could be as long as thirteen feet, or nearly four meters. Fully assembled and ready to play, the trombone is about five to six feet in length.

The trombone has a number of individual parts that all play a role in how it sounds. Like the other brass instruments, the bell at the very end serves as a speaker to project the sound of the instrument. At the other end, the mouthpiece is shaped so that when the trombonist places the lips against it and blows to make them vibrate, the mouthpiece captures the sound so it can travel down the instrument's length. A piece called the receiver connects the mouthpiece to the rest of the trombone.

The inside of the trombone is different from most other brass instruments. In most cases, an instrument is either cylindrical, meaning the bore inside the tubing is all the same size, or conical, which means the bore tapers from one end to the other. A trombone has sections of both kinds of bore inside. This helps produce its signature sound.

The key unique feature of a trombone is the slide. The tubing of the trombone, which bends back on itself much like a paperclip, also has a section that can slide back and forth. This lengthens or shortens the tubing and changes the pitch of the air being blown through it. This slide makes the instrument challenging to play in two ways. First, it is easier for a right-handed player than a left-handed player because of the way it is positioned. Second, because it goes backwards over the musician's shoulder, the trombonist has the potential to hit objects that are behind. A small rubber bumper on the end helps to cushion some of these possible impacts.

Because of the pressure that using the slide places on the instrument, thin metal pieces called braces or struts are located between parallel pieces of tubing to support them. The slide behind also has a piece known as a counterweight to help balance the considerable weight of the trombone and make it more comfortable to play for longer periods. The counterweight can be shaped like a flat biscuit or be a straight bar similar to the braces.

Trombones can also have valves, along with the accompanying valve casings, pistons, and valve slides that allow access to the pistons for maintenance. However, not every trombone has these. What they do all have is a water key, also known as a spit valve, which is used to drain excess saliva.

Bibliography

"Bass Trombone." Vienna Symphonic Library, www.vsl.co.at/en/Bass‗trombone/History. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

Friesen, Zachariah. "10 Interesting Facts About Trombone." Sheet Music Plus, 21 Nov. 2012, blog.sheetmusicplus.com/2012/11/21/10-interesting-facts-about-trombone/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

Guion, David M. A History of the Trombone. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.

"Instruments of the Orchestra." Oregon Symphony Orchestra, www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/popups/trombone.html. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

O'Bannon, Ricky. "5 Things You Can Do with a Trombone (and One You Probably Shouldn't)." Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, www.bsomusic.org/stories/5-things-you-can-do-with-a-trombone-and-one-you-probably-shouldn-t.aspx. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

"The Trombone." A & G Central Music, School Music Online, www.schoolmusiconline.com/the-trombone/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

"The Trombone." The Instrument Place, www.theinstrumentplace.com/parts-of-the-trombone/#bumper. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

"Trombones." Rice University, tundra.cnx.rice.edu:8888/contents/d6bb9dc3-348a-46f8-a491-99df6a871a4b@4/trombones. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.