Trombone

A tenor trombone
Brass instrument
Classification	Wind Brass Aerophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	423.22 (Sliding aerophone sounded by lip movement)
Developed	from basic trumpets when the lost Roman Empire art of bending tubing was rediscovered in the 15th century. Until the early 18th century the instrument was called a sackbut
Playing range
Related instruments
Sackbut Buccin Trumpet Bass Trumpet Euphonium Tuba
More articles
List of classical trombonists List of jazz trombonists Types of trombone

The trombone (German: Posaune, Spanish: trombón) is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips (embouchure) cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones have a telescoping slide mechanism that varies the length of the instrument to change the pitch. Instead of a slide, the valve trombone has three valves like those on a trumpet.

The word trombone derives from Italian tromba (trumpet) and -one (a suffix meaning "large"), so the name means "large trumpet". The trombone has a predominantly cylindrical bore like its valved counterpart the baritone horn and in contrast to its conical valved counterparts, the euphonium and the orchestral horn. The most frequently encountered trombones are the tenor trombone and bass trombone, while the E♭ alto trombone has become less common as tenor technique has extended the upper range of that instrument. The most common variant, the tenor, is pitched in B♭, an octave below the B♭ trumpet and an octave above the B♭ tuba. Trombone music, along with music for euphonium and tuba, is typically written in concert pitch, although exceptions do occur, notably in some brass band music where tenor trombone is presented as a B♭ transposing instrument.

A person who plays the trombone is called a trombonist or trombone player.^[1]

Construction[link]

Basic trombone anatomy

tuning slide counterweight mouthpiece slide lock ring bell knob/bumper water key/spit valve main slide second slide brace/stay first slide brace/stay bell lock nut

A disassembled trombone. From left to right: mouthpiece, outer slide, bell section, inner slide.

The trombone consists of a roughly cylindrical tube bent into an elongated "S" shape. Rather than being truly cylindrical, the tube is a complex series of tapers with the smallest at the mouthpiece receiver and the largest just before the bell flare. The design of these tapers affects the intonation of the instrument. As with other brass instruments, sound is produced by blowing air through pursed lips producing a vibration that creates a standing wave in the instrument.

The detachable cup-shaped mouthpiece is similar to that of the baritone horn and closely related to that of the trumpet. It has the venturi: a small constriction of the air column that adds resistance greatly affecting the tone of the instrument, and is inserted into the mouthpiece receiver in the slide section. The slide section consists of a leadpipe, the inner and outer slide tubes, and the bracing, or stays. Modern stays are soldered, while sackbuts (medieval precursors to trombones) were made with loose, unsoldered stays (this remained the pattern for German trombones until the mid-20th century).