Editing Trombone (section)

== Types ==

The most frequently encountered types of trombone today are the [[tenor trombone|tenor]] and [[bass trombone|bass]], though as with many other instrument families such as the [[clarinet]], the trombone has been built in sizes from [[piccolo trombone|piccolo]] to [[contrabass trombone|contrabass]]. Although trombones are usually constructed with a slide to change the pitch, [[valve trombone]]s instead use the set of three valves common on other brass instruments.

=== Slide trombones ===
[[File:Trombone family composite 3.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2|Trombones (''top'' to ''bottom''): [[piccolo trombone|piccolo]] in B{{Music|flat}}, [[soprano trombone|soprano]] in B{{Music|flat}}, [[alto trombone|alto]] in E{{Music|flat}}, [[tenor trombone|tenor]] in B{{Music|flat}}, [[bass trombone|bass]] in B{{Music|flat}} with F and G{{Music|flat}} valves, [[contrabass trombone|contrabass]] in F with D and B{{Music|flat}} valves. ]]

==== Contrabass trombone ====
{{Main|Contrabass trombone}}
The contrabass trombone is the lowest trombone, first appearing in BB{{Music|flat}} an octave below the tenor with a double slide. This design was commissioned by [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] in the 1870s for his ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' opera cycle. Since the late 20th century however, it has largely been supplanted by a less cumbersome single-slide bass-contrabass instrument pitched in 12' F. With two valve attachments to provide the same full range as its predecessor, this design is effectively a modern bass trombone built down a [[perfect fourth]]. Although the contrabass has only appeared occasionally in orchestral repertoire and is not a permanent member of the modern orchestra, it has enjoyed a revival in the 21st century, particularly in film and video game soundtracks.

==== Bass trombone ====
{{Main|Bass trombone}}
Although early instruments were pitched in G, F or E{{Music|flat}} below the tenor trombone, the modern bass trombone is pitched in the same B{{music|flat}} as the tenor but with a wider bore, a larger bell, and a larger mouthpiece. These features facilitate playing in the lower register of the instrument. Modern bass trombones have valves that allow a fully chromatic range down to the pedal register (B{{music|flat}}{{sub|1}}). In Britain, the bass trombone in G was used in orchestras from the mid-19th century and survived into the 1950s, particularly in [[British brass band]]s.

==== Tenor trombone ====
The tenor trombone has a [[Fundamental frequency|fundamental]] [[Musical note|note]] of B{{music|flat}} and is usually treated as a [[nontransposing instrument|non-transposing instrument]] (see below). Tenor trombones with C as their fundamental note were almost equally popular in the mid-19th century in Britain and France. As the trombone in its simplest form has neither crooks, valves nor keys to lower the pitch by a specific interval, trombonists use seven chromatic ''slide positions''. Each position progressively increases the length of the air column, thus lowering the pitch.

Extending the slide from one position to the next lowers the pitch by one [[semitone]]. Thus, each note in the [[harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]] can be lowered by an [[interval (music)|interval]] of up to a [[tritone]].  The lowest note of the standard instrument is therefore an E{{music|natural}} – a tritone below B{{music|flat}}. Most experienced trombonists can play lower "[[falset (music)|falset]]" notes and much lower pedal notes (first partials or fundamentals, which have a peculiar metallic rumbling sound). Slide positions are subject to adjustment, compensating for imperfections in the tuning of different harmonics. The fifth partial is rather flat on most trombones and usually requires a minute shortening of the slide position to compensate; other small adjustments are also normally required throughout the range. Trombonists make frequent use of alternate positions to minimize slide movement in rapid passages; for instance, [[Scientific pitch notation|B{{music|flat}}<sub>3</sub>]] may be played in first or fifth position.  Alternate positions are also needed to allow a player to produce a [[glissando]] to or from a higher note on the same partial.

While the lowest note of the tenor trombone's range (excluding fundamentals or pedal notes) is E<sub>2</sub>, the trombone's upper range is theoretically open-ended. The practical top of the range is sometimes considered to be F<sub>5</sub>, or more conservatively D<sub>5</sub>. The range of the C tenor trombone is F{{sharp}}<sub>2</sub> to G<sub>5</sub>.

==== Alto trombone ====
{{Main|Alto trombone}}
The [[alto trombone]] is smaller than the tenor trombone and almost always pitched in E{{Music|flat}} a fourth higher than the tenor, although examples pitched in F are occasionally found. Modern instruments are sometimes fitted with a valve to lower the pitch, either by a semitone to D (known as a "trill" valve), or by a fourth into B{{Music|flat}}. The alto trombone was commonly used in the 16th to the 18th centuries in [[church music]] to strengthen the alto voice, particularly in the [[Mass (music)|Mass]]. Early 19th century composers such as [[Beethoven]], [[Brahms]], and [[Schumann]] began writing for alto trombone in their [[symphony|symphonies]], but the subsequent use and popularity of tenor trombones in the orchestra largely eclipsed their use until a modern revival that began in the late 20th century.

==== Soprano trombone ====
{{Main|Soprano trombone}}
The [[soprano trombone]] is usually pitched in B{{music|flat}} 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]]. Built with mouthpiece, bore and bell dimensions similar to the B{{music|flat}} [[trumpet]], it tends to be played by trumpet players. During the 20th century some soprano trombones—dubbed ''slide cornets''—were made as novelties or for use by jazz players including [[Louis Armstrong]] and [[Dizzy Gillespie]]. A small number of contemporary proponents of the instrument include jazz artists [[Wycliffe Gordon]] and [[Christian Scott (musician)|Christian Scott]], and classical trumpeter Torbjörn Hultmark, who advocates for its use as an instrument for young children to learn music.

==== Sopranino and piccolo trombones ====
{{Main|Soprano trombone#Sopranino and piccolo trombones}}
The sopranino and piccolo trombones appeared in the 1950s as novelty instruments, and are even smaller and higher than the soprano. They are pitched in high E{{music|flat}} and B{{music|flat}} respectively, one octave above the alto and soprano trombones. Owing to being essentially a slide variant of the [[piccolo trumpet]], they are played primarily by trumpet players.

=== Trombones with valves ===

==== Valve trombone ====
[[File:Yamaha YSL-354 V valve trombone.png|thumb|left|Valve (tenor) trombone in B{{Music|flat}}]]
{{Main|Valve trombone}}
In the 19th century as soon as [[brass instrument valve]]s were invented, trombones with valves instead of slides were adopted widely in orchestras, and remain popular in some parts of Europe and in [[military band]]s.

==== Cimbasso ====
{{Main|Cimbasso}}
[[File:WANZ Instrument 2024-09 IMG 7815 (white crop).png|thumb|upright|A modern cimbasso in F]]
The cimbasso covers the same range as a [[tuba]] or a [[contrabass trombone]]. The term {{lang|it|cimbasso}} first appeared in early 19th century [[Italian opera]] scores, and originally referred to an [[upright serpent]] or an [[ophicleide]]. The modern cimbasso first appeared as the ''trombone basso Verdi'' in the 1880s and has three to six [[piston valve|piston]] or [[rotary valve]]s and a predominantly cylindrical [[bore (wind instruments)|bore]]. They are most often pitched in 12' F, although models are available in E{{Music|flat}} and occasionally 16' C and 18' B{{Music|flat}}. The cimbasso is most commonly used in performances of late [[Romanticism|Romantic]] Italian operas by [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] and [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]], but has also experienced a 21st-century revival in film, television and video game soundtracks.

==== Superbone ====
{{Main|Superbone}}
[[File:MIMEd 3596. Holton TR-395 Superbone (white).png|thumb|left|Holton TR-395 Superbone]]
A hybrid, "duplex" or "double" trombone is a design of trombone that has both a slide and a set of three valves for altering the pitch. It has been reinvented several times since first appearing in the 19th century by [[Gustave Auguste Besson|Besson]], and later [[Charles G. Conn|Conn]]. Jazz trombonist and machinist [[Brad Gowans]] invented his "[[valide trombone]]" in the 1940s with a short four-position slide. In the 1970s [[Maynard Ferguson]] and [[Holton (Leblanc)|Holton]] produced the "Superbone", very similar to the earlier Conn. In 2013 Schagerl in collaboration with [[James Morrison (jazz musician)|James Morrison]] announced a larger bore variant with rotary valves.

==== Flugabone ====
[[File:F.E. Olds Flugabone.jpg|thumb|upright|Flugabone in B{{Music|flat}} by Olds]]
The "flugabone" (or sometimes "flugelbone"), portmanteau of "[[flugelhorn]]" and "trombone", also known as the "marching trombone", is a [[marching brass]] instrument, essentially a [[valve trombone]] wrapped into a compact flugelhorn shape.<ref name="flugabone-mfrs">{{Cite web |title=Model 955 Bb Flugelbone |work=Kanstul Musical Instruments |url= https://www.kanstul.com/instruments/trombones/955-flugelbone-in-bb/ |access-date=21 July 2022 }} {{Cite web |title=FB124 Bb Flugabone (Marching Trombone) |work=Wessex Tubas |url= https://www.wessex-tubas.com/products/flugabone-marching-trombone-fb124 |access-date=21 July 2022 }}</ref> It retains the [[bore (wind instruments)|cylindrical bore]] of the trombone, rather than the conical bore of either the [[flugelhorn]] or [[bugle]], and thus is similar in playing characteristics to a [[valve trombone]]. A similar marching trombone is the "[[trombonium]]" first produced by [[King Musical Instruments]], wrapped and held vertically like a [[euphonium]].

=== Other variants ===

==== Sackbut ====
[[File:Sacabutxs, conjunt al Museu de la Música.jpg|thumb|left|Alto, tenor and bass sackbuts, [[Museu de la Música de Barcelona]]]]
{{Main|Sackbut}}
The term "sackbut" refers to the early forms of the trombone commonly used during the [[Renaissance music|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque music|Baroque]] eras, with a characteristically smaller, more cylindrically proportioned [[bore (wind instruments)|bore]], and a less-flared [[bell (wind instrument)|bell]].

==== Buccin ====
[[File:Detall de buccén.jpg|thumb|Bell of a buccin, Museu de la Música de Barcelona]]
{{Main|Buccin}}
A distinctive form of tenor trombone was popularized in France in the early 19th century.  Called the [[buccin]], it featured a tenor trombone slide and a bell that ended in a zoomorphic (serpent or dragon) head. It sounds like a cross between a trombone and a [[French horn]], with a very wide dynamic range but a limited and variable range of pitch. [[Hector Berlioz]] wrote for the buccin in his ''[[Messe solennelle (Berlioz)|Messe solennelle]]'' of 1824.

==== Tromboon ====
A [[portmanteau]] of "trombone" and "bassoon", the "tromboon" was created by musical parodist [[Peter Schickele]] by replacing a trombone's [[mouthpiece (brass)|mouthpiece]] with the [[double reed|reed]] and [[bocal]] of a [[bassoon]]. It appears in several humorous works of Schickele's fictional composer, [[P. D. Q. Bach]].

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