• What Is a Mute?
• How Many Types of Mutes Are There?
• How Do I Get a Mute?
• How Much Does a Mute Cost?
• How Do I Learn How to Use a Mute?

As always, these types of articles are meant to provide an overview of the topic. If you want more details about any of the questions in particular, feel free to follow the links provided in those sections.

What Is a Trombone Mute?

Quick answer: it’s a piece of material that goes in, on, or around the trombone bell to alter the tone of the instrument.

More specifically, a mute is a device that you attach to your bell to change how the trombone sounds. Typically, you would own a few different mutes for different occasions. For example, it’s not uncommon for a straight mute to show up in concert band music. Likewise, you’ve probably scene a plunger used once or twice in jazz music. Take a look:

Unfortunately, due to the sheer variety of trombone mutes out there, it’s tough to describe exactly what they are. That said, like most things in music, I find it helpful to just take a listen:

How Many Types of Trombone Mutes Are There?

Quick answer: a lot, but not all of them are practical.

By this point, you’ve probably had a chance to see the various types of mutes there are for trombone, which begs the question: how many types of mutes are there?

This question can be broken up into two parts. First, I would argue there are only a handful of general purpose mutes that you’ll want to have on hand. In my experience, that includes a straight mute and a cup mute. And even then, I’ve gotten away with using a music stand to literally mute the sound of my horn.

That said, there are many, many types of mutes. But outside of the straight and cup, there are only a handful of other mutes that you might be exposed to regularly. These include the plunger and bucket mutes. If you peak at the thumbnail above, there are also several other mutes including pixie, harmon, softone, and buzz. These are significantly more rare.

However, it really depends on the context. As a jazz musician, I might see plungers more regularly than an orchestral musician. Similarly, folks who play in pit orchestras for musicals probably see the widest variety of mutes for various effects.

If you’re interested in seeing what the most common mutes look like, check out my article on the 5 most common trombone mutes.

How Do I Get a Trombone Mute?

Quick answer: head to your local music store, make an online purchase, or hunt for a deal on Craigslist.

Now that you’ve seen some mutes, let’s talk about how to get one. In general, there are two main ways to get a mute: online or in-person at a music store.

Unlike trombones, mutes are significantly more affordable. As a result, you’re less likely going to want to try-before-you-buy. That said, if you decide to purchase a mute online, I recommend reading a lot of reviews:

• 5 Best Straight Mutes for Tenor Trombones

Worst case scenario: you send it back and buy a different one. If you’re looking to save some money, I’m sure there are folks willing to part with their used mutes on eBay and Craigslist. And since mutes are so rarely used, this might be a good option.

In my case, I don’t think I started buying mutes until high school or even college. In fact, according to Amazon, I last purchased a mute in 2013. At that point, I was using straight and cup mutes more regularly in concert band, and if I ever needed something else, I was usually able to borrow one. And since I used the mutes so infrequently, I went sort of cheap with the old reliable Humes & Berg brand.

If online shopping isn’t your thing, you can always try to find mutes at your local music store. I believe I’ve seen then at larger chains like Guitar Center. Alternatively, if you’re in an ensemble, you can try to see if they have mutes that you can borrow.

All that said, be very careful when you pick out a mute. Trombones aren’t the only instruments that support mutes. For instance, you can buy straight mutes for all sorts of brass instruments including trumpets, French horns, and euphoniums.

How Much Does a Trombone Mute Cost?

Quick answer: trombone mutes are relatively inexpensive with prices ranging from $10 to $100, depending on brand and materials.

Now that you know where to look for a mute, it’s time to talk about how much you’ll be spending. If you’re like me and don’t mind being a little cheap, you can pick up a stonelined mute, which is effectively a very durable cardboard, for around $20. Alternatively, I’ve seen some plastic varieties for around the same price, though I cannot really comment on their quality or tone.

If you want something that is a bit more professional, you’ll have to shell out a little bit more cash. For instance, I’ve seen some nice aluminum mutes in the $30 to $50 range.

As always, the type of mute also impacts the cost. For instance, straight mutes seem to be the most affordable which I’ve seen as low as $10. In fact, I’ve written a nice list of straight mutes, if you’re in the market for one.

Alternatively, cup mutes seem to be about twice the price on average (i.e, $50 – $100), though this makes sense considering they require a bit more material. Likewise, I’ve often seen cup mutes feature removable cups (i.e., a 2-in-1 cup and straight mute). However, those can be a bit annoying to use if you have to switch back and forth often.

Some of the more rare mutes seem to be quite affordable as well. For example, the Harmon mute has a comparable cost to a cup mute. I suspect this is due to the lack of demand, but who knows.

All that said, I am sure there are professional mutes made of fancy materials like rose gold which skyrocket the price. That said, for everyday use, you can get a mute for a very affordable price. That said, be careful not to buy too many. They’re somewhat difficult to store.

How Do I Learn How to Use a Trombone Mute?

Quick answer: pick up a songbook, join a community band, find a private instructor, or watch some YouTube videos.

In my experience, there is not much you need to learn to be able to use a mute, though most of my experience is with cup and straight mutes. In general, those just twist right into the bell. From there, it’s a matter of practicing to get the right tone.

For some of the more intricate mutes like the plunger and Harmon mutes, there are definitely techniques that go beyond blowing into the horn. For instance, here are some techniques for learning how to use a plunger mute:

All that said, mutes typically require context to be effective, so you’ll want to grab some sheet music that includes muted parts. Or, you can always listen to you favorite musician and try to mock their sound.

Ultimately, the best way to learn is with others, so you’ll either want to pick up an instructor or join a community band. That’ll help you get up to speed quickly!

Get Started Today!

If you came here because you knew nothing about mutes, now you have plenty of knowledge to get started. As always, thanks for taking the time to check out the site. As always, respect the brass!

The post Everything You Need to Know About Trombone Mutes appeared first on Trill Trombone.

At a high level, there’s a lot to talk about in terms of trombone anatomy. For example, outside of the slide, the mouthpiece, and the bell, there are also small components like the water key, the slide bumper, and the tuning slide. In total, there are at least 15 unique elements in the anatomy of a trombone.

Of course, if you’re looking for more information, feel free to browse the rest of the article.

Overview

In general, the trombone is made up of three main sections:

• The Mouthpiece
• The Slide
• The Bell

If you’ve ever put together a trombone, these are the three main pieces you have to regularly assemble and disassemble.

Of course, these aren’t the only moving parts on a trombone. For example, the slide is actually made up of an inner and an outer slide. In addition, it features other moving parts like the slide lock and the spit valve.

In the following sections, I’ll break down the three main components into exactly what they are, what they do, and what makes them up.

The Mouthpiece

On a trombone, the mouthpiece is the cup-like object that you buzz into. Unlike the slide and the bell, there’s really nothing too special about the mouthpiece—it’s just a chunk of metal or plastic.

However, there’s a lot of thought that goes into a mouthpiece. In fact, I could probably write a whole other article on the anatomy of the mouthpiece.

For starters, there a few main sections of the mouthpiece worth knowing about:

• Rim
• Cup
• Throat
• Backbore

As you can probably tell from the name, the rim is the circular ridge that you place your lips against. Naturally, the shape of the rim (i.e. flat vs. curved) has consequences. For example, a flat rim is usually easier to play on, but you don’t have as much flexibility in terms of tone.

Meanwhile, the cup is the open space just beyond the rim. As you can imagine, the depth of the cup affects tone color and dynamic range. In addition, cup depth plays a role in player control and stamina.

Just beyond the cup, you’ll find the throat. In essence, the throat is a hole that regulates back pressure and tone quality. Again, these factors are also related to the player’s control and stamina.

Finally, we have the backbore which is the shank part of the mouthpiece that gets wedged in the slide. In addition to providing some way to fix the mouthpiece to the horn, the backbore is also responsible for directing air into the horn. As a result, its design can affect tone quality and dynamic range. All that said, it’s less important than the cup and the rim.

Of course, when you actually buy one, you’ll want to be familiar with the various brands and their part numbers (i.e. 12C, 5AL, etc.).

The Slide

As mentioned already, the slide is the section of the trombone that connects the mouthpiece to the bell. Naturally, I felt it made sense to talk about it next!

As you can see in the image above, the trombone slide has a handful of features. For example, it’s composed of a set of nesting tubes. In other words, there’s an inner slide and an outer slide.

Of course, metal generally shouldn’t touch, so to keep things in good shape, we usually lubricate the inner slide. If you’re in the market for a new slide lubricant, check out my list of the top three slide lubricants. Of course, if you want a quick recommendation, I’d grab Slide-O-Mix then follow my directions here.

In addition, there are sections on the slide that are built specifically for holding the horn. For instance, there are two slide braces that run perpendicular to the slide. One of the slide braces is meant to remain stationary as you hold the horn. Meanwhile, the other slide brace is what you use to move the slide.

When the two slide braces meet, there’s a slide lock which we can use to hold the inner and outer slide together. As you can probably imagine, the slide lock is a small ring that rotates into place.

Just above the slide lock, you’ll find the mouthpiece receiver. This is the location where the mouthpiece connects to the horn.

On the other end of the slide, you’ll find the water key or spit valve which is used to release fluid from the slide during play. At a basic level, the spit valve is composed of a lever, a cork pad, and a spring. As a result, the spring holds the lever and the pad in place to keep any air from escaping.

Finally, the last piece you’ll notice is the slide bumper. If you pay attention, you’ll see it’s the pointed piece of metal extending from the end of the slide. In general, the purpose of the slide bumper is to keep the slide from get damaged. For example, you might stand your trombone on its bumper while counting rests. Without the bumper, you’d be damaging the end of the outer slide.

That said, if you’ve ever seen any pictures of my slide, you’ll see all kinds of dents in it. After all, I’ve been in many ensembles with more chairs than space, so I’ve hit a few chair legs in my day.

The Bell

Finally, we’ve reached the bell which is actually made up of a few pieces. For starters, the slide receiver which is the section of the bell which connects to the slide. Unlike the mouthpiece receiver, the slide receiver typically has a nut which connects to a set of threads on the slide.

Moving along, you’ll notice two more braces. These are called bell braces and they connect the bell to the slide receiver. In addition, they provide structure for the tuning slide—which provides airflow from the slide to the bell.

In addition, the tuning slide allows the player to adjust their tuning. If you’ve never played around with your tuning slide, I recommend doing so as soon as possible. Unfortunately, tuning slides are one of the more neglected features of a trombone, so it’s possible that yours is stuck right now. If so, you should get it to the shop.

Regardless, it’s always a good idea to give it a proper cleaning and lubricating. If you’re curious about how to do that, I’ve written a guide to greasing a tuning slide.

One last thing I’d like to mention is that the bell is often the most customizable piece of the trombone. For example, many professionals have triggers which tap into the tubing on the bell. As a result, they’re able to extend the range of their horn while also giving them more options for slide positions. For instance, it’s common to skip C in sixth position and use an F trigger at first position.

Summary

Overall, there are three main sections of the trombone: the slide, the bell, and the mouthpiece. In addition, each section can be broken down into different features. For example, the bell features a tuning slide and multiple bell braces. All that said, there are many different makes and models of trombones, so some features may not have made the list.

As always, I hope you liked this article. If so, make sure to give it a share. Otherwise, I appreciate your feedback. After all, there may be some topics you think I missed in this article. At any, don’t forget to respect the brass!

The post The Anatomy of a Trombone appeared first on Trill Trombone.

In particular, I was able to find 4 solid trombone songbooks for beginners. If you’re looking for a book for a child, check out The Real Book for Beginning Elementary Band Students and The Beginning Band Fun Book by Larry Newman. Otherwise, look out for Easy Pop Melodies by Hal Leonard Corp and Easy Rock Instrumental Solos by Bill Galliford.

Review Criteria

When it comes to finding a trombone songbook for beginners, there’s just a ton to choose from. Luckily, we don’t have to rely on anyone to tell us what’s good. We just have to listen to the plethora of product reviews across the internet.

As always, I like to leverage Amazon as it has probably the largest database of products and consumer reviews. That way, we know exactly what’s good based on what people like us are saying.

To start, I usually like to dramatically narrow my search by using the following filter options:

• Department: Trombone Songbooks
• Music Skill Level: Beginner
• Average Customer Review: 4+ Stars

Then, I like to sort all of the products by average customer review, so we know we’re getting the best products. In the next section, we’ll take a look at the top 7 songbooks that come up in that search.

4 Best Beginner Trombone Songbooks

When I put together this article, I found that there are a lot of different trombone songbooks that are targeted at beginners. For instance, Larry Newman put together a few excellent songbooks for elementary band students. Of course, there are other books which get students interested in music through pop and rock music. In other words, there a tons of ways to get started.

Naturally, the point of this article is to put together a list of some of the best books that you can find. If you know of any excellent books that didn’t make the list, let me know! Otherwise, let’s get to the list!

#1. The Real Book for Beginning Elementary Band Students (Trombone) – $

Up first on the list is The Real Book for Beginning Elementary Band Students (Trombone): Seventy Famous Songs Using Just Six Notes by Larry Newman. If you’re not familiar with Larry, he’s long been involved in music education for kids since 1986 (according to his LinkedIn profile).

At any rate, he put together a few trombone songbooks for beginners, and The Real Book happens to be the most popular songbook on Amazon. As the title suggests, The Real Book contains 70 famous songs written with 6 notes or less. To aid in playing, the music notation is slightly oversized. In addition, each song is printed twice: once with the note letters inside the notes and once with regular notes.

If you happen to have an interest in any other instruments, this book may also exist for them. As a result, many of the reviews refer to various versions of the same booked. At any rate, I think the reviews are still valuable. For instance, one of the customers was very happy with the book, but they wished that it contained a fingering chart.

Of course, many people were very happy with the book—including one customer who said the book is great for students who are still learning their notes. While I haven’t personally tested out this book, I have to say that I might grab it just to see what it’s all about.

#2. The Beginning Band Fun Book (Trombone) – $

As you can probably imagine, the next book up in the list is The Beginning Band Fun Book: for Elementary Students by Larry Newman. Clearly, Larry does an excellent job with these books because he’s snagged the top two spots in our list.

As far as I can tell, this is more of an educational resource than the previous songbook. Of course, like the previous book, this book features oversized notation with note names in the note heads. Even better, you can find a copy of this book for mini pBones. How cool is that?

At any rate, reviews for The Beginning Band Fun Book are all solid. Unfortunately, they weren’t all that informative. That said, one customer had a few things nice to say about the clarinet version of the book. In particular, they felt the book did a great job for someone who didn’t have a teacher. Apparently, this book also made someone the cool grandma in their family.

If you like Larry’s books, you’ll be happy to know that there’s an intermediate collection as well. In other words, you’ll have plenty of material for awhile.

#3. Easy Pop Melodies: for Trombone – $

If you aren’t a fan of Larry’s books, you might like this collection of pop songs by Hal Leonard Corp. In this book, you’ll find 50 pop songs including:

• Don’t Stop Believin’
• Hey, Soul Sister
• Love Story
• Viva La Vida
• Fireflies

And honestly, I only listed the songs that hit me with nostalgia. If you like any of these songs, you’ll probably love this book!

In terms of reviews, the opinions vary. For instance, one customer was only moderately satisfied with the book. While they found the book fun, they didn’t think the songs were very difficult—and therefore not very true to the originals. That said, I think they make a great point in that the book could be easily extended by an intermediate player.

All that said, other customers felt the book was excellent, so your mileage may vary. For instance, another customer was really happy with the size of the notes. In addition, having chord changes above measures is awesome! That’s a great way for intermediate players to get value out of this book as well.

#4. Easy Rock Instrumental Solos, Level 1: Trombone, Book & CD – $

Last but not least, we have the Easy Rock Instrumental Solos book by Bill Galliford, the Director of Instrumental Solo Strategy for Alfred Music. If you’re interested in the repertoire, this songbook features:

• Boulevard of Broke Dreams
• Stairway to Heaven
• My Immortal
• Take it Easy
• And, many more!

Of course, is this songbook any good? According to the reviewers, absolutely! In fact, one of the reviewers mentioned that the book was great because the keys were all reasonable. That said, be careful! One of the reviewers felt that the book wasn’t easy enough for a beginner.

If you want to pick a book full of pop songs, perhaps the previous book is a better pick. That said, this book dives a bit more into rock songs, so that’s at least interesting.

Summary

Overall, I feel pretty good about this list. Two of the books—both books by Larry—seem to be directly targeted at children, so if you might want to opt for the other books if you’re a bit older. Otherwise, I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of these songbooks.

All that said, there were a few honorable mentions:

• Easy Steps to the Band Trombone and Baritone B.c.: Trombone & Baritone B.c.
• Accent on Achievement – Book 2 – Trombone – Bk+CD by Alfred
• Classic Festival Solos: Trombone, Vol. 1- Piano Accompaniment

At any rate, hopefully this helped you out! If you liked this review, check out some of my other reviews:

• 5 Best Tenor Trombones for Musicians on a Budget
• 3 Best Slide Lubricants for Trombones

And with that, thanks again! As always, respect the brass.

The post 4 Best Trombone Songbooks for Beginners appeared first on Trill Trombone.