Trombone: the story on HearLore

Trombone

The trombone is the only brass instrument capable of producing a true glissando, a smooth slide from one pitch to another without interrupting the airflow, a feature that has defined its unique voice since the 15th century. This mechanical simplicity, relying on a telescoping slide rather than valves, allows the player to access every note in the chromatic scale without the mechanical complexity found in trumpets or tubas. The instrument's history begins in the Renaissance, where it was known as the sackbut, a name derived from the Italian word for trumpet combined with a suffix meaning large. During the 15th century, these early instruments were used extensively across Europe in outdoor events, concert settings, and liturgical ceremonies, often serving as the contratenor part in dance bands. In 16th-century German city-states, trombonists were employed to stand watch in city towers, heralding the arrival of important people to signify wealth and strength, a role that separated them from the more skilled musicians playing in religious ensembles like the alta capella wind groups at St Mark's Basilica in Venice. The sackbut featured a bell that was more conical and less flared than modern versions, and its dimensions were slightly smaller, yet it established the trombone's fundamental role as a support for vocal lines in sacred works. Composers such as Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, and Giovanni Gabrieli wrote for the instrument, doubling voice parts in sacred music while also creating early solo pieces that showcased its capabilities. By the 18th century, the instrument returned to common use in England, where Italian influence led to the adoption of the name trombone, which remained constant in Italy and Germany as Posaune. The transition from the sackbut to the modern trombone was gradual, with the bell becoming slightly more flared during the Baroque period, but the core mechanism of the slide remained unchanged until the 19th century innovations began to reshape the instrument's construction and role in the orchestra.

From Church Towers to Opera Houses

The trombone's journey from a heralding instrument to a staple of the symphony orchestra was marked by significant changes in its construction and the repertoire written for it. Christoph Willibald Gluck was the first major composer to use the trombone in an opera overture with his 1767 work Alceste, followed by its use in Orfeo ed Euridice and Iphigénie en Tauride. Ludwig van Beethoven is sometimes mistakenly credited with introducing the trombone to the orchestra, but he actually used it in his Symphony No. 5 in 1808, Symphony No. 6 in 1808, and the monumental Symphony No. 9 in 1824. The trombone trio, originally combined with cornetts during the Renaissance, evolved to replace the alto trombone with the tenor trombone in orchestras, a shift that was completed by the mid-19th century. In Germany and Austria, the alto trombone was retained longer than in France, which preferred a section of three tenor trombones until after the Second World War. The standard orchestral configuration of two tenor trombones and one bass trombone became established by the mid-19th century, with the bass trombone regaining independence in the early 20th century. Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen introduced the contrabass trombone, a design commissioned in the 1870s that was an octave below the tenor with a double slide. Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss later added a second bass trombone to the usual trio, expanding the low brass section. The trombone's role in the orchestra was further solidified by composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Giuseppe Verdi, who wrote for the instrument in operas, symphonies, and other compositions. The trombone's ability to double choir parts and its integration into the orchestra marked a significant shift from its earlier role as a support for vocal lines in ecclesiastical settings. The instrument's construction also evolved, with the addition of stockings to reduce friction and the development of the water key to expel condensation, features that improved its playability and reliability. The trombone's transition from a heralding instrument to a symphonic staple was a testament to its versatility and the evolving demands of composers.

What is the only brass instrument capable of producing a true glissando?

The trombone is the only brass instrument capable of producing a true glissando, a smooth slide from one pitch to another without interrupting the airflow. This feature has defined its unique voice since the 15th century.

When did the trombone history begin and what was it originally called?

The instrument's history begins in the Renaissance, where it was known as the sackbut. This name is derived from the Italian word for trumpet combined with a suffix meaning large.

Who was the first major composer to use the trombone in an opera overture?

Christoph Willibald Gluck was the first major composer to use the trombone in an opera overture with his 1767 work Alceste. He subsequently used the instrument in Orfeo ed Euridice and Iphigénie en Tauride.

What is the fundamental note of the tenor trombone?

The tenor trombone has a fundamental note of B and is usually treated as a non-transposing instrument. Tenor trombones with C as their fundamental note were almost equally popular in the mid-19th century in Britain and France.

When did plastic trombones emerge as a cheaper alternative to brass instruments?

Plastic instruments including the pBone and the Tromba plastic trombone emerged in the 2010s as a cheaper and more robust alternative to brass. These instruments have found increasing popularity as practice tools that make for more convenient travel.

The Mechanics of Sound and Slide

The trombone is a predominantly cylindrical tube with two U-shaped bends and a flared bell at the end, and its sound is produced by blowing air through pursed lips, creating a vibration that generates a standing wave in the instrument. The slide section consists of a leadpipe, inner and outer slide tubes, and bracing, or stays, which replaced the loose stays found on sackbuts. The most distinctive feature of the trombone is the slide that lengthens the tubing and lowers the pitch, a mechanism that has remained largely unchanged since the Renaissance. The slide section is connected to the bell section by the neckpipe and a U-bend called the bell or back bow, and the joint connecting the slide and bell sections has a threaded collar to secure the connection. Prior to the early 20th century, this connection was made with friction joints alone. The trombone's construction also includes a short tuning slide in the U-shaped bend between the neckpipe and the bell, a feature designed by the French maker François Riedlocker in the early 19th century. The trombone's tubing is largely cylindrical, which inhibits the production of the fundamental as a pedal tone, and instead, trombonists use the higher harmonics of the instrument to produce pedal tones, giving them a bright and hollow tone quality. The trombone's slide positions are subject to adjustment, compensating for imperfections in the tuning of different harmonics, and the fifth partial is rather flat on most trombones, requiring a minute shortening of the slide position to compensate. The trombone's ability to produce a true glissando, a smooth slide from one pitch to another without interrupting the airflow, is a unique feature that has defined its voice since the 15th century. The trombone's construction also includes a variety of mutes, such as the straight, cup, harmon, and pixie mutes, which can be used to alter its timbre. The trombone's ability to produce a wide range of sounds, from the bright and hollow pedal tones to the rich and resonant orchestral tones, made it a favorite among composers and performers.

Regional Variations and Global Voices

Trombones have been built in a wide variety of bore and bell sizes, with German trombones differing substantially from American designs in many aspects. The traditional German Konzertposaune is typically made of gold brass, with a mouthpiece that is rather small and placed into a slide section with a very long leadpipe of at least 12.7 centimeters. The whole instrument is typically made of gold brass, and many have a metal ring called a Kranz on the rim of the bell. Their sound is very even across dynamic levels but can be difficult to play at louder volumes. While their bore sizes were considered large in the 19th century, German trombones have altered very little over the last 150 years and are now typically somewhat smaller than their American counterparts. French trombones were built in the very smallest bore sizes up to the end of the Second World War, and the French usually preferred the tenor trombone to any other size. French music, therefore, usually employed a section of three tenor trombones up to the mid-20th century. Tenor trombones produced in France during the 19th and early 20th centuries featured bore sizes of around 11.5 centimeters, small bells of not more than 11.5 centimeters in diameter, as well as a funnel-shaped mouthpiece slightly larger than that of the cornet or horn. French tenor trombones were built in both C and B, altos in D, sopranos in F, piccolos in B, basses in G and E, and contrabasses in B. The trombone's construction also includes a variety of mutes, such as the straight, cup, harmon, and pixie mutes, which can be used to alter its timbre. The trombone's ability to produce a wide range of sounds, from the bright and hollow pedal tones to the rich and resonant orchestral tones, made it a favorite among composers and performers. The trombone's regional variations reflect the diverse musical traditions and preferences of different cultures, from the even sound of German trombones to the small bore sizes of French instruments.

The Many Faces of the Trombone

The trombone has been built in sizes from piccolo to contrabass, with the most frequently encountered types today being the tenor and bass. The tenor trombone has a fundamental note of B and is usually treated as a non-transposing instrument, with tenor trombones with C as their fundamental note being almost equally popular in the mid-19th century in Britain and France. The trombone's slide positions are subject to adjustment, compensating for imperfections in the tuning of different harmonics, and the fifth partial is rather flat on most trombones, requiring a minute shortening of the slide position to compensate. The alto trombone is smaller than the tenor trombone and almost always pitched in E a fourth higher than the tenor, although examples pitched in F are occasionally found. The soprano trombone is usually pitched in B an octave above the tenor, and has seldom been used since its first known appearance in 1677 outside of trombone choirs in Moravian Church music. The sopranino and piccolo trombones appeared in the 1950s as novelty instruments, and are even smaller and higher than the soprano, pitched in high E and B respectively, one octave above the alto and soprano trombones. The contrabass trombone is the lowest trombone, first appearing in BB an octave below the tenor with a double slide, and has largely been supplanted by a less cumbersome single-slide bass-contrabass instrument pitched in 12' F. The cimbasso covers the same range as a tuba or a contrabass trombone, and the modern cimbasso first appeared as the trombone basso Verdi in the 1880s, with three to six piston or rotary valves and a predominantly cylindrical bore. The trombone's construction also includes a variety of mutes, such as the straight, cup, harmon, and pixie mutes, which can be used to alter its timbre. The trombone's ability to produce a wide range of sounds, from the bright and hollow pedal tones to the rich and resonant orchestral tones, made it a favorite among composers and performers.

The Future of the Slide

The trombone continues to evolve in the 21st century, with new materials and designs being developed to meet the demands of modern composers and performers. Plastic instruments, including the pBone and the Tromba plastic trombone, emerged in the 2010s as a cheaper and more robust alternative to brass, and have found increasing popularity as practice tools that make for more convenient travel as well as a cheaper option for beginning players not wishing to invest so much money in a trombone right away. Manufacturers now produce large-bore models with triggers as well as smaller alto models, and the trombone's construction also includes a variety of mutes, such as the straight, cup, harmon, and pixie mutes, which can be used to alter its timbre. The trombone's ability to produce a wide range of sounds, from the bright and hollow pedal tones to the rich and resonant orchestral tones, made it a favorite among composers and performers. The trombone's future also includes the development of new valve designs, such as the Thayer axial flow valve and the Hagmann valve, which offer a more open, free sound than the tight bends in conventional rotary valve designs. The trombone's versatility and adaptability have ensured its place in a wide range of musical genres, from symphony orchestras and concert bands to big bands, marching bands, military bands, brass bands, and brass choirs. The trombone's ability to produce a true glissando, a smooth slide from one pitch to another without interrupting the airflow, remains a unique feature that has defined its voice since the 15th century. The trombone's future also includes the development of new materials and designs, such as plastic instruments and new valve designs, which offer a more open, free sound and enable players to access lower notes that were previously difficult to play. The trombone's journey from a heralding instrument to a symphonic staple and then to a jazz icon is a testament to its versatility and the evolving demands of composers and performers.