Editing Trombone (section)

== Technique ==

=== Basic slide positions ===
[[File:Wirth trombone slide position chart.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Slide position chart (new system); most trombones are tenor trombones, like the valveless one in the middle.]]

The modern system has seven chromatic [[Position (music)#Trombone position|slide positions]] on a tenor trombone in B{{music|b}}. It was first described by Andre Braun circa 1795.<ref name="Weiner">{{cite journal |last1=Weiner |first1=H. |title=André Braun's Gamme et Méthode pour les Trombonnes: The Earliest Modern Trombone Method Rediscovered |journal=Historic Brass Society Journal |date=1993 |volume=5 |pages=288–308 |url=https://www.historicbrass.org/component/edocman/hbj-public/hbj-05-1993/hbsj-1993-jl01-019-weiner-pdf |access-date=29 August 2022 }}</ref>

In 1811 Joseph Fröhlich wrote on the differences between the modern system and an old system where four diatonic slide positions were used and the trombone was usually keyed to A.{{sfn|Guion|1988|p=93}} To compare between the two styles the chart below may be helpful (take note for example, in the old system contemporary 1st-position was considered "drawn past" then current 1st).{{sfn|Guion|1988|p=93}} In the modern system, each successive position outward (approximately {{convert|3+1/4|in|cm|0|disp=sqbr}}) will produce a note which is one [[semitone]] lower when played in the same [[harmonic series (music)#partial|partial]]. Tightening and loosening the lips will allow the player to "bend" the note up or down by a semitone without changing position, so a slightly out-of-position slide may be compensated for by ear.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! scope="row" | New system
| 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7
|-
! scope="row" | Old system
| – || 1 || – || 2 || – || 3 || 4
|}

=== Partials and intonation ===
[[File:Trombone first position harmonic series.png|thumb|right|250px|Trombone first position harmonic series, "where additional overtones may be used to stretch the upper range a bit higher."<ref name="Orchestration" />]]
[[File:Trombone seventh position harmonic series.png|thumb|right|250px|Trombone seventh position harmonic series.<ref name="Orchestration" />]]

As with all brass instruments, progressive tightening of the lips and increased air pressure allow the player to move to different [[harmonic series (music)#partial|partial]] in the [[harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]]. In the first position (also called closed position) on a B{{Music|flat}} trombone, the notes in the harmonic series begin with B{{Music|flat}}<sub>2</sub> (one octave higher than the pedal B{{Music|flat}}<sub>1</sub>), F<sub>3</sub> (a [[perfect fifth]] higher than the previous partial), B{{Music|flat}}<sub>3</sub> (a [[perfect fourth]] higher), D<sub>4</sub> (a [[major third]] higher), and F<sub>4</sub> (a [[minor third]] higher).

F<sub>4</sub> marks the sixth partial, or the fifth overtone. Notes on the next partial, for example A{{Music|flat}}<sub>4</sub> (a minor third higher) in first position, tend to be out of tune in regards to the twelve-tone [[equal temperament]] scale. A{{Music|flat}}<sub>4</sub> in particular, which is at the seventh partial (sixth overtone) is nearly always 31 cents, or about one third of a semitone, flat of the minor seventh.  On the slide trombone, such deviations from [[intonation (music)|intonation]] are corrected for by slightly adjusting the slide or by using an alternate position.<ref name="Orchestration" /> Although much of Western music has adopted the even-tempered scale, it has been the practice in Germany and Austria to play these notes in position, where they will have [[just intonation]] (see [[harmonic seventh]] as well for A{{Music|flat}}<sub>4</sub>).

The next higher partials—B{{Music|flat}}<sub>4</sub> (a [[major second]] higher), C<sub>5</sub> (a major second higher), D<sub>5</sub> (a major second higher)—do not require much adjustment for even-tempered intonation, but E{{Music|flat}}<sub>5</sub> (a [[minor second]] higher) is almost exactly a [[quarter tone]] higher than it would be in twelve-tone equal temperament. E{{Music|flat}}<sub>5</sub> and F<sub>5</sub> (a major second higher) at the next partial are very high notes; a very skilled player with a highly developed [[Embouchure|facial musculature]] and [[Thoracic diaphragm|diaphragm]] can go even higher to G<sub>5</sub>, A{{Music|flat}}<sub>5</sub>, B{{Music|flat}}<sub>5</sub> and beyond.

[[File:Trombone F slide position pedal tones.png|thumb|right|250px|Trombone with F attachment slide position second harmonics.<ref name="Orchestration" />]]

The higher in the harmonic series any two successive notes are, the closer they tend to be (as evidenced by the progressively smaller intervals noted above).  A byproduct of this is the relatively few motions needed to move between notes in the higher ranges of the trombone. In the lower range, significant movement of the slide is required between positions, which becomes more exaggerated on lower pitched trombones, but for higher notes the player need only use the first four positions of the slide since the partials are closer together, allowing higher notes in alternate positions. As an example, F<sub>4</sub> (at the bottom of the treble clef) may be played in first, fourth or sixth position on a B{{Music|flat}} trombone. The note E<sub>1</sub> (or the lowest E on a standard 88-key piano keyboard) is the lowest attainable note on a {{convert|9|ft|adj=on}} B{{Music|flat}} tenor trombone, requiring a full {{convert|2.24|m|order=flip}} of tubing. On trombones without an F attachment, there is a gap between B{{Music|flat}}<sub>1</sub> (the fundamental in first position) and E<sub>2</sub> (the first harmonic in seventh position). Skilled players can produce "[[Falset (music)|falset]]" notes between these, but the sound is relatively weak and not usually used in performance. The addition of an F attachment allows for intermediate notes to be played with more clarity.

=== Pedal tones ===
[[File:Trombone slide position pedal tones.png|thumb|right|250px|Trombone slide position "pedal tones".<ref name="Orchestration"/>]]

The B{{Music|flat}} [[pedal tone]] is frequently seen in commercial scoring but much less often in symphonic music, while notes below that are called for only rarely as they "become increasingly difficult to produce and insecure in quality" with A{{Music|flat}} or G being the bottom limit for most tenor trombonists.<ref name="Orchestration" /> The trombone's tubing is largely cylindrical, which inhibits the production of the fundamental as a pedal tone pitch. Instead, trombonists use the higher harmonics of the instrument to produce pedal tones, giving them a bright and hollow tone quality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Myers |first=Arnold |title=Pedal Note |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001}}</ref> Some contemporary orchestral writing, movie or video game scoring, trombone ensemble and solo works will call for notes as low as a pedal C, B, or even double pedal B{{Music|flat}} on the bass trombone.

=== Glissando === <!--[[False glissando]], etc., redirect directly here.-->
The trombone is one of the few wind instruments that can produce a true [[glissando]], by moving the slide without interrupting the airflow or sound production. Every pitch in a glissando must have the same harmonic number, and a tritone is the largest interval that can be performed as a glissando.<ref name="Orchestration" />{{rp|151}}

The trombone glissando can create remarkable effects, and it is used in jazz and popular music, as in the famous song "[[The Stripper]]" by David Rose and his orchestra.

'Harmonic', 'inverted', 'broken' or 'false' glissandos are those that cross one or more harmonic series, requiring a simulated or faked glissando effect.{{sfn|Herbert|2006|p=40}}

=== Trills ===
[[Trill (music)|Trills]], though generally simple with valves, are difficult on the slide trombone. Trills tend to be easiest and most effective higher in the harmonic series because the distance between notes is much smaller and slide movement is minimal. For example, a trill on B{{music|b}}<sub>3</sub>/C<sub>4</sub> is virtually impossible as the slide must move two positions (either 1st-to-3rd or 5th-to-3rd), however at an octave higher (B{{music|b}}<sub>4</sub>/C<sub>5</sub>) the notes can both be achieved in 1st position as a lip trill. Thus, the most convincing trills tend to be above the first octave and a half of the tenor's [[range (music)|range]].{{sfn|Herbert|2006|p=43}} Trills are most commonly found in early Baroque and Classical music for the trombone as a means of ornamentation, however, some more modern pieces will call for trills as well.

=== Notation ===
Unlike most other brass instruments in an orchestral setting, the trombone is not usually considered a [[transposing instrument]]. Prior to the invention of valve systems, most brass instruments were limited to playing one overtone series at a time; altering the pitch of the instrument required manually replacing a section of tubing (called a "[[Crook (music)|crook]]") or picking up an instrument of different length. Their parts were transposed according to which crook or length-of-instrument they used at any given time, so that a particular note on the staff always corresponded to a particular partial on the instrument. Trombones, on the other hand, have used slides since their inception. As such, they have always been fully chromatic, so no such tradition took hold, and trombone parts have always been notated at concert pitch (with one exception, discussed below). Also, it was quite common for trombones to double choir parts; reading in concert pitch meant there was no need for dedicated trombone parts. Note that while the fundamental sounding pitch (slide fully retracted) has remained quite consistent, the conceptual pitch of trombones has changed since their origin (''e.g.'' Baroque A tenor = modern B-flat tenor).<ref name="Palm">{{cite thesis |last1=Palm |first1=Paul W. |date=2010 |title=Baroque Solo and Homogeneous Ensemble Trombone Repertoire: A Lecture Recital Supporting and Demonstrating Performance at a Pitch Standard Derived from Primary Sources and Extant Instruments |degree=DMA |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]] |url=http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/listing.aspx?id=4343 |access-date=1 October 2019 }}</ref>

Trombone parts are typically notated in [[bass clef]], though sometimes also written in [[tenor clef]] or [[alto clef]]. The use of alto clef is usually confined to orchestral first trombone parts, with the second trombone part written in tenor clef and the third (bass) part in bass clef. As the alto trombone declined in popularity during the 19th century, this practice was gradually abandoned and first trombone parts came to be notated in the tenor or bass clef. Some Russian and Eastern European composers wrote first and second tenor trombone parts on one alto clef staff (the German [[Robert Schumann]] was the first to do this). Examples of this practice are evident in scores by Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich. Trombone parts in band music are nearly exclusively notated in bass clef. The rare exceptions are in contemporary works intended for high-level wind bands.

An accomplished performer today is expected to be proficient in reading parts notated in bass clef, tenor clef, alto clef, and (more rarely) treble clef in C, with the British brass-band performer expected to handle treble clef in B{{Music|flat}} as well.

=== Mutes ===
[[File:Trombone Plunger.jpg|thumb|175px|A plunger in use]]
A variety of [[Mute (music)|mutes]] can be used with the trombone to alter its [[timbre]]. Many are held in place with the use of cork grips, including the straight, cup, harmon and pixie mutes. Some fit over the bell, like the bucket mute. In addition to this, mutes can be held in front of the bell and moved to cover more or less area for a [[Wah-wah (music)|wah-wah]] effect. Mutes used in this way include the "hat" (a metal mute shaped like a bowler hat) and plunger (which looks like, and often is, the rubber suction cup from a sink or [[plunger|toilet plunger]]). The "wah-wah" sound of a trombone with a harmon mute is featured as the voices of adults in the ''[[Peanuts]]'' cartoons.