trombone

trombone, brass wind musical instrument sounded by lip vibration against a cup mouthpiece. It has an extendable slide that can increase the length of the instrument’s tubing. The slide thus performs the function of the valves on other brass instruments. From the 19th century, some trombones have been made with valves, but their use was never universal.

The trombone is a 15th-century development of the trumpet and, until approximately 1700, was known as the sackbut. Like a trumpet, it has a cylindrical bore flared to a bell. Its mouthpiece is larger, however, suited to its deeper musical register, and is parabolic in cross section, like a cornet. The slide is composed of two parallel and stationary inner tubes, thickened at their lower ends, and two movable outer tubes. The two sets of tubes are telescoped in and out by a cross stay manipulated by the player’s right hand. The other half of the trombone, the bell joint, passes over the player’s left shoulder, counterbalancing the weight of the slide. Its bend usually incorporates a tuning slide.

The most common form is the tenor trombone in B♭ (that is, the fundamental note is a B♭), sounding an octave lower than the B♭ trumpet. Music for the tenor trombone, however, is usually notated in concert pitch (that is, a C played on the trombone is the same note as the C on a piano). With the slide drawn in (first position), the notes of the harmonic series of the B♭ below the bass staff are available: B♭₁–B♭–f–b♭–d′–f′–a♭′ (approximately)–b♭′–c″–d″, etc. Shifting the slide a few inches to the second position allows the harmonic series of A, a semitone lower, to be sounded. Further extensions of the slide progressively lower the key of the instrument to E (seventh position). A chromatic (12-note) scale is thus available from E below the bass staff, the highest note of the range being determined by the player’s ability.

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Britannica Quiz

Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz

Many orchestral instruments are B♭–F trombones. These have an F attachment consisting of a coil of extra tubing placed in the loop of the bell. A rotary valve actuated by the player’s left thumb connects this attachment to the main tube, thus lowering the pitch of the instrument by a fourth. The scale can then be extended down to C, the additional low notes being known as fundamentals, or “pedals.” Trombones vary in bore. The older bore, no wider than that of a trumpet, was largely superseded by medium and large bores with wider bells, reaching 9.5 inches (24 cm) in diameter. The widest bores are made for playing bass trombone parts. The mid-20th-century vogue of the trombone as a virtuoso instrument in dance music is mainly associated with a B♭ tenor instrument of medium-large bore, but most larger dance and jazz orchestras include a bass trombone in the section.

Trombones of the 16th century differ from 20th-century models in little but narrow bells and details of craftsmanship. They were extensively used in polyphonic (many-voiced) music and were built in alto, tenor, and bass sizes, the treble part being supplied by the cornett—a wooden, lip-vibrated instrument with finger holes. The old arrangement survives in the trombone trio of classical orchestration, the parts being written in the old alto, tenor, and bass vocal clefs. In brass bands the tenor trombone is written in the treble clef to sound an octave lower.