by Dr Algernon

Created on: November 22, 2008   Last Updated: January 11, 2009

Oh, the power, the might, the slide, the sheer 'je ne sais quois' that is locked up in that 4-5 foot of brass; I love it. Yes that's right, I'm a trombonist. The trombone has twice as much mettle as one of those puny little trumpets, which makes it one of the most powerful instruments of the orchestra: indeed it takes only about three of them to drown out all the others. Yet, if handled properly it remains capable of producing some of the softest, smoothest sounds imaginable think 'Moonlight Serenade'.

The trombone is unique for one reason: the slide. For those with a good ear it makes the trombone perfectly tunable. It's the only commonly played instrument to change between notes this way. The further out the slide goes, the lower the pitch becomes. There are 7 positions: the 1st position, for the highest notes is with slide in tight, and the 7th , for the lowest notes is with the slide out just a little further than can comfortably be reached. Who doesn't privately whoop with delight when the trombonist pulls the slide from 7th position to 1st to play a great gliding glissando? It is what the trombone was designed for.

On the other hand the slide might simply be pulled from one position to the next, and produce as series of short jerky sounds. Or it might be pushed from 1st position to 7th - the possibilities are endless.

"So what does the trombonist actually do?" I hear you cry. "He (or she) can't constantly be playing glissandos." Well, I'm not a very good trombonist because I don't practice much, and never have, but I've got the general idea. It depends. The trombone can appear in a number of different sorts of ensembles

In an orchestra, he very often sits at the back, centre right, and counts. This is because by and large he has long sections of nothing to play, and must calculate the exact instant when the violins or flutes need to be replaced by something a bit heavier. Care must be taken here, I have often found my mind wondering at such moments, to what I am going to have for dinner, or what I've got to do when I get home. It's easily done. Or the trombone will be playing a repetitive bass line, which seems to just keep going on, quite possibly for ever. Then the music will change and the trombone moves on to a new bass line.

But every now and then there will be a moment to be awake for: when the music has reached a climax and the trombone suddenly has the tune. All trombonists know the joy of blasting out a tune he knows in unison with the rest of his

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>