I Want To Play The Trombone

image credit the trombone players of the Bethlehem Moravian congregation in 1867


1. The trombone was developed in Burgundy in 1450
2. The trombone player does not blow into the mouthpiece s/he buzzes into it
3. Mahler's Third has the longest trombone solo in music
4. Originally the trombone was called a Sackbut
5. Trombone, comes from the Italian tromba which means little trumpet.
6. Trombone is noted for wide range in pitch & dynamics & chromatic scale ability
7. There are typically 3 types alto, tenor, and bass.
8. Beethoven's 9th is the first symphonic piece to contain a score for trombone
9. The main parts of a trombone are tuning slide, counterweight ,mouthpiece ,slide lock ring ,bell, knob/bumper, water key/spit ,valve, main slide ,second slide brace ,first slide brace, and connector nut.
10. The trombone is ideal for glissando because of its 'slide'
11. The water key, or "spit valve" has a useful and obvious function
12. The bell shaped end is called a bore
13. Valve Trombones (like a trumpet) were inented in the 1820's in Vienna
14. You should disassemble and soak the pieces in warm soapy water once a month
15. A trombones pitch is lower than a trumpet
16. Sound is produced by producing a standing wave in the instrument.
17. venturi, are a small constrictions of the air column and affect the tone
18. 20th century trombone music includes Stjepan Sulek's Vox Gabrieli, & Jacques Casterèdes Sonatine
19. The tenor trombone uses a fundamental note of B flat
20. 1st position when the slide is fully retracted and in 7th position is all the way out
21. Skilled players create "falset" notes & lower pedal notes with a rumbling sound
22. Modern tenor trombones often have additional tubing which is used by a special trigger or valve.
23. The contrabass trombone is tpically pitched a perfect fourth lower than the modern tenor or bass
24. The alto trombone is pitched in E flat
25. There are also soprano and piccolo trombones
26. "The trombones are too sacred for frequent use." Felix Mendelssohn
27. The trombone is not usually a transposing instrument which is a musical instrument whose music is written at a pitch different from the actual "concert pitch"
28. Trombone parts are notated in bass clef
29. You can use a trombone mute to alter its timbre
30. Trombone bells are made of yellow brass, comprising 70% copper and 30% zinc.
31. Tenor trombone bells are 7 and 9 inches in diameter
32. Bass trombone bells are 9½ in or 10 in in diameter.
33. The slide bore for an orchestral instrument is 0.547" & the attachment tubing bore is 0.562".
34. Mouthpiece dimensions vary in length, diameter, rim shape, and cup.
35. The German's called it a Posaune
36. Famous trombone players are Glenn Miller, Tyrone Jefferson, & Tommy Dorsey
37. In Mozart's Don Giovanni the trombone represents the hero's descent into hell.
38. Shostakovich got into trouble using the trombone suggestively in the opera Lady Macbeth
39. Trombonists call "slurring" legato
40. There are five possible ways to slur on the trombone Lip Slurs. Cross-Grain Slurs. Tongued Slurs. Valve Slurs, and Gissando
41. There are five ways to produce vibrato on the trombone. Slide Vibrato, jaw Vibrato, Combination Vibrato, Diaphragm Vibrato and Hand Vibrato
42. Only the trombone can make the effect called the "tailgate trombone." This is swoop between two notes using the slide and buzzing air through the trombone.
43. Brass lead pipes produce a warmer broader sound whereas sterling leadpipes focus the sound.
44. Nickel-silver outer slides are light and provide quicker response
45. The "German-style" trombone has a dual bore slide and large bell flare
46. Stencil-line trombones are 'own brand' trombones which are produced with no markings.
47. Erling Kroner changed his mouthpiece from a Bach 11c to a 12 c on the recommendation of his teacher.
48. The most well known tailgate trombonist was Edward "Kid" Ory. Born in Louisiana in 1886,
49. If the slide is dented or bent at all the trombone is unplayable
50. Famous classical composers for the trombone are Leopold Mozart, Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Johann Albrechtsberger and Johann Ernst Eberlin
51. You can alter the pitch of a trombone with tubing called a 'crook'
52. Wikipedia has a huge list of Jazz trombonists
53. The trombone should not be confused with the tromboon, which is an instrument made using the reed and bocal of the bassoon attached to the body of a trombone
54. The medieval trompette des menestrels was probably the Sackbut an early trombone
55. In early Scotland the slide trombone is referred to as draucht trumpet
56. Modern Sackbut's are glued together so they don't fall apart.
57. La Hieronyma is the earliest work for accompanied trombone written in 1621
58. Aequale is the name for three or four part trombone pieces.
59. The trombone is the lead instrument in a Shout Band
60. Wikipedia has a list of classical trombonists
61. A special type of tenor trombone is called the Buccin
62. The 'F' attachment was invented by Christian Friedrich Sattler to lower pitch
63. There is usually one bass trombone in a standard symphony orchestra
64. Wagner used a contrabass trombone for the first time in the opera house in 1876
65. Ernst Dehmel, a German inspector of orchestras and bass trombonist from Berlin, patented a new design of contrabass in 1921
66. The basic range of the E flat alto trombone is A2 to B flat5
67. Because Soprano trombone slides are short, there are often only six positions
68. The range of the B flat soprano trombone is E3 to C6
69. The range of the E flat sopranino trombone is A4 to E flat6
70. Its easier to play fast passages with a valve rather than slide trombone
71. Trombonists can use either hand Superbone valves
72. Schoenberg's Gurrelieder is for seven trombones
73. Soprano trombones are sometimes called Slide Cornets
74. The Trombonist in the Duke Ellington Orchestra was Juan Tizol
75. The International Trombone Association was formed in 1972
76. Meredith Wilson wrote the song 76 Trombones for the musical The Music

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