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Trombone
trombone, French trombone, German Posaune, brass wind musical instrument
sounded by lip vibration against a cup mouthpiece. It has an extendable slide that can
increase the length of the instruments 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
players right hand. The other half of the trombone, the bell joint, passes over the
players 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 Bfbdfa
cd, etc. Shifting the slide a few inches to the second position
1
(approximately)b
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 players ability.

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 players 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 The older bore, no wider than that of a trumpet, was largely superseded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

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