Family: Wind instruments
Photo: Yamaha Corporation, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The trombone is a brass instrument with a slide instead of valves. By pushing the slide out, the player lengthens the tubing and lowers the pitch. The slide has seven basic positions but can be set anywhere – which is why the trombone can glide smoothly between notes (glissando).
A short history
The trombone’s ancestor is the Renaissance sackbut, used as early as the 15th century. The slide design proved so good that it has hardly changed in several hundred years.
Fun facts
- In early New Orleans jazz, trombonists played „tailgate” – sitting on the tailgate of a wagon during parades so they had room for the slide.
- Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey, leaders of great swing orchestras, were both trombonists.
In rock and jazz
Jazz: Kid Ory, Tommy Dorsey, J.J. Johnson (the bebop pioneer of the trombone), Curtis Fuller. The trombone is also heard in rock and funk horn sections and in ska.
Do you play this instrument? Share your experience in the comments below – tell others what is worth knowing.