Trombone
A tenor trombone
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| Brass instrument | |
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| Classification | |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 423.22 (Sliding aerophone sounded by lip movement) |
| Developed | in the mid 15th century. Until the early 18th century the instrument was called sackbut in English. In Italian it was always called trombone, and in German, posaune. |
| Playing range | |
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| Related instruments | |
| More articles | |
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List of classical trombonists List of jazz trombonists Types of trombone |
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The trombone 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. Many modern trombone models also utilize a rotary valve as a means to lower pitch of the instrument. Variants such as the valve trombone and superbone have three valves like those on the 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 and in contrast to its conical valved counterparts, the euphonium and the horn. The most frequently encountered trombones are the tenor trombone and bass trombone. The most common variant, the tenor, is a non-transposing instrument pitched in B♭, an octave below the B♭ trumpet and an octave above the B♭ tuba. The once common E♭ alto trombone became less widely used as improvements in technique extended the upper range of the tenor, but it is now enjoying a resurgence due to its lighter sonority which is appreciated in many classical and early romantic works. Trombone music, along with music for euphonium and tuba, is typically written in concert pitch in either bass or tenor clef, although exceptions do occur, notably in almost all brass-band music where tenor trombone is presented as a B♭ transposing instrument, written in treble clef.
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