Trombone - Technique

Technique

The pedal tone on B♭ 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♭ or G being the bottom limit for most trombonists.

As with all brass instruments, progressive tightening of the lips and increased air pressure allow the player to move to a different partial in the harmonic series. In the first or closed position on a B♭ trombone, the notes in the harmonic series begin with B♭2 (one octave higher than the pedal B♭1), F3 (a perfect fifth higher than the previous partial), B♭3 (a perfect fourth higher), D4 (a major third higher), F4 (a minor third higher), A♭4 (a minor third higher than the previous partial; this tone (the "seventh partial (sixth overtone)") is always 31 cents, about one sixth of a tone, flat of the twelve-tone equal temperament minor seventh, "however it can be brought into tune by an adjustment of the slide," it may be avoided and played in an alternate position, though it has been the practice in Germany and Austria to play the note in position, see harmonic seventh and just intonation), B♭4 (a major second higher), C5 (a major second higher), D5 (a major second higher), E♭ (a minor second higher, but almost exactly a quarter tone higher than it would be in twelve-tone equal temperament), F5 (a major second higher). Very skilled players with a highly developed facial musculature can go even higher than this, to G5, A♭5, B♭5 and beyond.

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, F4 (at the bottom of the treble clef) may be played in first, fourth or sixth position on a B♭ trombone. The note E1 (or the lowest E on a standard 88-key piano keyboard) is the lowest attainable note on a 9' B♭ tenor trombone, requiring a full 2.24 m of tubing. On trombones without an F attachment, there is a gap between B♭1 (the fundamental in first position) and E2 (the first harmonic in seventh position). Skilled players can produce "falset" notes between these, but the sound is relatively weak and not usually used in performance.

Joseph Fröhlich, in 1811, described the modern system of seven chromatic slide positions rather than four diatonic ones, and a tenor trombone in B♭ rather than A. For ease of comparison (for example, in the old system contemporary 1st-position was considered "drawn past" then current 1st), the following chart may be helpful: