Thursday, February 11, 2010

Types of trombone

There are many different types of trombone. The most frequently used trombones today are the tenor and bass. Below are the types of trombone:

1. Contrabass trombone
2. Bass trombone
3. Tenor trombone
4. Alto trombone
5. Soprano trombone
6. Valve trombone

Other types of trombone:

  • Valve trombone
  • Superbone
  • Tromboon
  • Buccin

What is a trombone?

In order to learn how to play trombone, you need to understand how trombone works. The trombone is a musical instrument. It belongs to the brass family. The sound of all brass instruments is produced when the player vibrates his or her lips (it is known as embouchure) causing a vibration in the air column inside the trombone. The trombone is usually described and characterized by its telescopic slide on which the player adjusts the length of the tube to change its pitches. On the other hand, a brass trombone uses three valves closely similar to those of the trumpets.

The word trombone is derived from the Italian word "tromba" or trumpet and -one, a suffix meaning "large". The name trombone literrally means "large trumpet". Trombones and trumpets share the important characteristic of having predominantly cylindrical bores. So, therefore, the most frequently used trombones which are the tenor and bass trombones, are the bass counterparts of the trumpets. These instruments are both pitched in B♭, with the slide are being parallel all the way in. The notes of these harmonic series can be played based on B♭, but trombone players generally read music in a concert pitch.