As it turns out, there are a lot of ensemble options for trombone players. In particular, however, I picked what I thought were the 5 best: concert band, jazz ensemble, pit orchestra, orchestra, and ska. Of course, there are plenty of other options including church bands and quartets/quintets/etc. You just need to find what’s best for you!

If you’re interested in learning about these bands, I’ve provided a description along with a few YouTube videos as examples in the following sections.

List of Ensembles for Trombone Players

Without further ado, let’s get to the list! In particular, there are 5 ensembles which I felt were worth mentioning. In addition, there’s a section that includes a few additional choices if none of the main options meet your needs.

Concert Band

First in our list is concert band—which is sometimes called symphonic winds or wind symphony depending on the instrumentation and ability of the group. While concert bands aren’t my favorite groups to play in, they’re often the easiest to find and join, so they’re the only groups I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to over the past couple years.

In concert band, musicians are typically arranged in a large arch that contains anywhere from 30 – 150 players. In this arch, you can find pretty much any wind instrument including but not limited to:

• Flute
• Clarinet
• Alto saxophone
• Tenor saxophone
• Baritone saxophone
• Trumpet
• French horn
• Trombone
• Baritone
• Tuba

In addition, concert bands often feature plenty of percussion including snare drums, timpani, and marimbas. Of course, it’s important to note that there are usually no string instruments like violins or cellos. This is what differentiates a concert band from an orchestra.

As a trombone player, this is probably going to be your first exposure to ensemble music. After all, almost every music program starts musicians off in some beginner concert band. In fact, I play in a community concert band once a week. Naturally, these types of groups have a low barrier to entry, so that’s why I include them in my list of ways to get better at trombone.

In terms of arrangement, trombones can typically be found toward the back of the ensemble near the trumpets and baritones. As you move closer to the front of the ensemble, you’ll find the clarinets, flutes, and other woodwind instruments.

Jazz Ensemble

If concert bands aren’t your thing, you might opt for a jazz band. Honestly, they’re my favorite ensembles by far, but your mileage may vary.

At any rate, Jazz bands typically come in two forms: big band and combo. In a big band, there are typically about 20 members which have the following breakdown:

• 4-5 trumpets
• 4 trombones
• 2 alto saxophones
• 2 tenor saxophones
• 1 baritone saxophone
• 1 drum set
• 1 piano
• 1 guitar
• 1 bass

On the flip side, a combo is usually a small group that consists of any instrumentation you want. For instance, Dave Brubeck—famous for Take Five—had a quartet which contained an alto saxophone, a piano, a double bass, and a drum set. Meanwhile, Miles Davis had a quintet which contained a trumpet, a tenor saxophone, a piano, a double bass, and drum set.

As a trombone player, you’ll have plenty of options in a jazz ensemble. For instance, the trombone section is typically broken up into four parts including three tenor trombones and one bass trombone.

In terms of arrangement, trombones usually sit in 2, 1, 3, 4 part order where the lead trombone is lined down the middle of the ensemble with the lead alto and the lead trumpet. Meanwhile, the bass instruments are on one end of the ensemble and the percussion are on the other end.

Pit Orchestra

While I love a good jazz ensemble, I think my second favorite group to join as a trombone player is a pit orchestra. If you’re not familiar with the idea of a pit orchestra, it’s a small group which plays exclusively for vocal events like musicals and plays. As a result, they tend to be short-term in nature, but they’re a lot of fun.

In terms of instrumentation, pit orchestras can pretty much feature anything—and I mean ANYTHING. After all, if they’re is a particular sound needed for a play, it will be available in the pit orchestra. That said, many of the groups I’ve played for included everything from a jazz combo to a brass band.

In order to get involved in a pit orchestra, you usually just have to get lucky. Many of the gigs I’ve played for were through invitations because they needed more trombones. Of course, I’m sure professional playhouses have formal auditions.

Orchestra

One of the other major ensembles is the orchestra which is a group similar to a wind symphony except most of the winds are replaced with strings. As a result, there are far fewer opportunities for wind instruments. However, trombones can still join. That said, orchestras typically only have enough space for two tenors and a bass.

Personally, I’ve never played in an orchestra, so I can’t speak to the experience. That said, my understanding is that your role as a trombone player is a bit like a percussionists role. In other words, you’re there to play accents, rhythm, and harmony—not necessarily melody. In addition, it’s almost necessary to have a trigger trombone to play orchestra music. If you’re interesting in learning how to use one, check out my article on F triggers.

Regardless, if you’re into that sort of thing, most universities have an orchestra. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with many community orchestras, but there are plenty of professional orchestras as well—like the Cleveland Orchestra. Perhaps that’s something you could strive for.

Ska

If you’re more interested in punk music, there’s an entire genre dedicated to angsty brass called ska. Personally, I’ve never been in a ska band, but I’ve listened to it quite a bit. For instance, I linked a popular piece by Streetlight Manifesto called We Will Fall Together above. Check it out!

If you pay attention, you’ll notice they have a pretty solid makeup: a trombone, a trumpet, a tenor saxophone, a baritone saxophone, a guitar, a bass, and a drum set. Of course, there’s no formal description of a ska band. For instance, at one point, Reel Big Fish had a trumpet, a trombone, a tenor saxophone, a guitar, a bass, and a drum set—though I don’t think they have a trombone player anymore.

If you wanted to get involved in a ska band, you’d probably have to make one yourself. Unlike all the other bands on this list, you’d be unlikely to just stumble upon a ska band at your school or in the community.

Mixed Groups

Outside of the major groups I’ve listed, there are literally thousands of mixed groups you could get involved in. For instance, I spent a winter playing for a holiday trombone quartet. In terms of logistics, we basically just shuffled parts around, so everyone had a chance to play a solid range of pieces.

If quartets aren’t you’re thing, you could always join a local church band. Of course, church bands are usually small and include instruments like the guitar and piano. That said, nothing is really stopping you from filling a cathedral with your beautiful brass sound.

Likewise, you may get value out of niche groups like chamber and baroque ensembles. Personally, I don’t have any experience with them, so Google may be provide better resources.

What’s Your Favorite Ensemble?

And with that, I have nothing else to share. To summarize, there are five types of ensembles you can get involved in as a trombone player: concert band, jazz ensemble, pit orchestra, orchestra, and ska. Of course, don’t limit yourself to this list. There’s plenty more where that came from.

At any rate, what’s your favorite ensemble? Mine is jazz with pit orchestra making a close second. As always, if you enjoyed this article, give it a share. Otherwise, thanks for taking some time to check this article out, and don’t forget to respect the brass!

The post 5+ Best Ensembles for Trombone Players 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 short, to tune a trombone, you’ll want to make sure your tuning slide works. If so, make sure you get a hold of a tuner. Then, start warming up. With your horn ready to go, blow a few tuning notes (B♭ above the staff) into the tuner and adjust the tuning slide as needed. If you’re sharp, pull out. Otherwise, push in.

In the remainder of the article, we’ll go into each of these steps in much greater detail.

Tuning Steps

In general, there are four main steps to perform if you want to tune your trombone—especially if you haven’t done it before or don’t do it often:

1. Make sure your tuning slide works
2. Acquire a tuner
3. Warm up
4. Sustain, interpret, and adjust as needed

Of course, you may skip to steps 3 and 4 if you already have what you need.

Step 1: Make Sure Your Tuning Slide Works

It may seem obvious, but you should make sure you’re able to move your tuning slide first. After all, if you haven’t been using your tuning slide, it may be stuck. if that’s the case, you’ll probably want to get it in the shop.

That said, even if you can move your tuning slide, it’s probably a good idea to clean it up. For instance, you might want to give it a good bath. To do that, you’ll not to remove the tuning slide and scrub it down. If you have the tools, now would be a good time to snake out the tuning slide as well. For all sorts of tips related to cleaning your trombone, check out my 8-step guide.

With the tuning slide all clean, you’ll want to get a decent helping of grease on both tubes. To do that, apply some slide grease to the circumference of each tube. Then, work each tube on individually to spread out the grease. Finally, work the tuning slide into playing position and wipe away the extra grease. For more tips on how to grease a trombone tuning slide, check out my 3-step guide.

Step 2: Acquire a Tuner

Again, it may seem obvious, but it’s pretty hard to tune a horn without a proper tuner. Sure, you could pull up a YouTube video and try to play to some tuning notes, but it’ll be a lot quicker to use a tuner.

If you’re frugal, most smartphones have free tuner apps. For instance, I use InsTuner on iPhone, but there are literally hundreds of options including TonalEnergy, Free Chromatic Tuner, and more.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can always purchase a professional tuner. When you buy a tuner, you’ll usually get more options like the ability to change the reference frequency (i.e. A = 432 vs. 440 Hz). In addition, some tuners also combo as metronomes, so you can use the device throughout a practice session. Finally, they also occasionally have fun features like the ability to be clipped onto surfaces like guitar necks or music stands.

If you’re looking for a few recommendations, I can put together a nice review, but you really can’t go wrong with Snark SN5X, Korg CA-2, or Korg TM60BK.

Step 3: Warm Up

While you might be tempted to start blowing directly into your tuner, it’s important to warm up first. After all, it can take some time to settle in for both you and your horn.

If you haven’t been playing much, you might want to do some long tones and lip slurs. Each of these exercises can help you get in a state where you’ll spend the remainder of your rehearsal. If you tune too early, you may find that your pitch changes as you begin to settle in.

In addition, you’ll want your horn to reach some equilibrium temperature with the environment. If your horn was out in the trunk on a hot summer day, it might be a bit hot. As a result, the horn is going to tend sharp, so give it some time to cool off. On the flip side, if your horn is cold, it’s going to lean flat. Take some time to warm it up—literally.

Once you’re warmed up, it’s time to tune!

Step 4: Sustain, Interpret, and Adjust As Needed

At this point, it’s safe to blow a few tuning notes into the tuner. Typically, trombone players tune to a B♭ above the staff. As you stare at the tuner, pay attention to what it’s telling you.

If the tuner says you’re sharp, then you need to make your trombone longer. To do that, pull out your tuning slide a bit. Then, try again. If the tuner says you’re flat, then you need to shrink the tubing a bit by pushing the tuning slide in.

After a few iterations, your trombone should be fully calibrated. If you want to go the extra mile, you can try tuning other notes. Of course, if the note is outside of first position, you won’t want to play with the tuning slide. Instead, adjust your main slide. Over time, you’ll start to develop a bit of muscle memory for those key positions.

If you have a trigger or two on your horn, you’ll want to tune those as well. Unfortunately, I’m not as familiar with attachments, so I’m not sure how you would go about tuning them. That said, I suspect the process is similar.

Summary

While tuning might seem like a straightforward process, there’s actually a lot of effort that can go into it. After all, if you haven’t been taking care of your tuning slide, you can’t exactly tune your horn.

At any rate, here’s the main summary:

1. Make sure your tuning slide works
2. Acquire a tuner
3. Warm up
4. Sustain, interpret, and adjust as needed

If you follow these steps, you’ll be all tuned up in no time! As always, thanks for checking out this article, and don’t forget to respect the brass!

The post How to Tune a Trombone appeared first on Trill Trombone.

In short, there are few technical tasks you can do right now like practicing your scales and performing breathing exercises. In addition, it’s a good idea to invest in a tuner and a metronome. Then, join an ensemble! If none of that helps, try recording yourself and comparing it to your peers or professionals. Finally, you may just need to take better care of your horn.

For more details, dive into the list below.

Tips List

If you’ve made it this far, it’s because you’re genuinely interested in getting better at trombone. Luckily, getting better is pretty straightforward. You just have to put in the work.

Unfortunately, it’s not always clear what you should be practicing. In this list, we’ll take a look at 7 tips you can follow to improve your current abilities.

Practice Your Scales

One thing you’ve probably heard a million times is “practice your scales,” but the reality is that it works. After all, scales are about as fundamental as you’re going to get. And as anyone who has ever played a sport can tell you, you should be practicing your fundamentals.

Now, lecture aside, I don’t always practice my scales. In fact, I can probably only play of few of the major scales from memory (i.e. B♭, E♭, A♭, F, and C). However, speaking from experience, knowing your scales can be immensely helpful.

For example, how many times have you seen a string of eighth notes in your music and thought “I’ll have to practice this.” Well, chances are that those notes are a part of a scale. If you had already built up the muscle memory for the scale, playing a section or permutation of it wouldn’t be an issue.

In addition, practicing your scales is the best time to improve other aspects of your play. For example, you can use a scale to practice techniques like tonguing and dynamics or styles like swing and bebop.

Do Breathing Exercises

As brass musicians, most of our technique boils down to breath support. After all, we can’t buzz without a proper stream of air. In addition, playing a wind instrument is all about managing airflow.

For example, if we want to connect bars, we have to be aware of how much air we have in the tank. Of course, being aware of our remaining air capacity takes practice. That’s where breathing exercises come in.

Personally, my favorite breathing exercise involves busting out a metronome. Pick a tempo then try a few sets of the following sequences:

• In for 4, out for 8 or 16
• In for 2, out for 4, 8, or 16
• In for 1, out for 4, 8, or 16

Each of these sequences should give you an idea of the corresponding dynamic As you get better at managing your air, try different sequences like in for 4 and out for 32.

When performing these exercises, it’s important to be conscious of where your air is going. When you breath in, you want your air to only expand your gut—not your chest or shoulders. If it helps, place a hand on your belly. In addition, you may find it helpful to physically blow the air through your mouthpiece, so you get used to the resistance.

If you’re interested, I’ve found a couple resources which you should give you additional help with breathing exercises:

• Breathing Exercises for Brass Players by Gabriel Langfur
• Breathing Exercises for Brass Players by Deanna Swobada

In addition, I may put together my own breathing exercise resource in the near future.

Use a Metronome

When it comes to playing trombone, one thing I often neglect is practicing with a metronome. After all, the tool is fairly annoying, and it can sometimes be used as a crutch—why should I count if the tool is going to do it for me?

That said, I think we can all agree that a metronome can be immensely helpful in identify sections of music where we tend to slow down or speed up. For example, if we’re playing a piece and we start to rush or drag, we should feel that in contrast with the metronome.

In addition, metronomes can be used to help get us up to speed when we’re practicing a hard part. In other words, a metronome is a nice indicator of progress. If we start at 80 bpm and need to get to 120 bpm, then we can always be sure how close we are to reaching our goal.

Finally, I’ve heard that recording in a studio requires the use of a click track. If you’re used to using a metronome already, then recording shouldn’t be an issue.

Record Yourself

If you’ve ever had the displeasure of watching a video of yourself, you know how painful it can be to hear your own voice or watch your own behavior. Naturally, that cringe you feel is from your own perception of yourself not matching up with reality.

If you take that philosophy and apply it to music, you’ll find that the cringe you feel will guide you to being a better musician. After all, you are your worst critic. If you can identify issues in your playing, you can learn from them and improve on them going forward.

Personally, I’ve only tried recording myself playing trombone once, and I haven’t done it since. However, I do make coding videos, and I find that recording myself does help me identify issues in my presentation. As I’ve recorded more videos, I’ve become more polished and required less takes. I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw similar results as a musician.

Listen to Professional Trombonists

To be honest, I probably don’t have to tell you this, but if you listen to professional trombonists, you’ll learn a lot. In fact, I recommend going through the effort to see some of your favorites live. That way, you can hear exactly how they sound in person, so you can try to replicate that.

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, here are some of my favorites:

• Glenn Miller
• Tommy Dorsey
• J. J. Johnson

And, I’ll even throw in my old instructor, Paul Ferguson. Obviously, you won’t be able to see most of these guys live, but there are literally hundreds of recordings. In addition, I’m sure all of these guys have tribute bands, so you can at least listen to a profession trombonist try to replicate their work.

Maintain Your Trombone

If you want to ensure your trombone continues to have great sound, you need to take care of it. After all, there’s no use in fighting with a beat up horn. That’s no way to get better.

In terms of maintenance, you should be regularly cleaning the slides and applying the proper lubricants. If your slide is not moving smoothly, it’s probably time to clean it and reapply your favorite lubricant. Don’t have a favorite? Check out this list I put together of the top three trombone lubricants.

Likewise, make sure you take care of your tuning slide. If not, you won’t be able to play in any groups because you won’t be able to adjust your tuning. For those of you who haven’t been taking care of your tuning slides, I recommend an article on how to grease one.

Outside of slide maintenance, it’s never a bad idea to give your trombone a bath. With a regular cleaning, you’ll be able to clear out any debris in the tubing that could be making the trombone more difficult to play. If you’re not sure how to clean a trombone, I have just the article for that.

Finally, you should be ensuring all moving parts (i.e. water keys, triggers, slide locks, etc.) work as expected. If you’re having any problems, it’s probably a good idea to visit your local repair shop.

Use a Tuner

As mentioned previously, your trombone has a huge tuning slide. Of course, it also has a smaller one that needs to be taken care of. If you typically play alone, you might not have used it much. However, once you join a group, it’s important to be in tune.

With a tuner, you’ll be able to adjust exactly where you want the horn to be in your current environment. For example, here in the west, you’ll want to tune an A to 440 Hz. Of course, for trombone players, a normal tuning note would be a B♭ just above the staff.

To actually tune the horn, you’ll want to direct your horn at the tuner. Then, as you blow, note the measurement. If you’re too high, you’re sharp—pull out your tuning slide. Otherwise, you’re flat, so push in a little bit. If you want more information about tuning, I’ll make another article shortly.

All that said, sometimes tuners are not all that useful. For example, if you’re out in the sun or snow, you’ll never have enough tubing to tune your horn. In these environments, it’s better to tune as a group.

Join an Ensemble

If you’re not already playing in a group, I recommend joining one. If you don’t know where to start, I have a list of my favorite ensembles. To summarize, there are tons of great groups you can join such as:

• Concert bands
• Jazz ensembles
• Pit orchestras
• Orchestras
• Ska bands

Of course, feel free to make your own band with your friends. For instance, make a quartet or join a church band. Whatever you choose to do, you’ll be a better player because of it. There’s nothing quite like playing in a group.

Summary

At this point, you should be more than ready to improve your trombone playing. The only thing left to do now is put in the work.

If you need a quick reminder of all the tips mentioned in this list, here’s a summary:

• Practice your scales
• Use a metronome
• Record yourself
• Maintain your horn
• Use a tuner
• Do breathing exercises
• Listen to professionals
• Join an ensemble

As always, thanks for taking some time to read my work, and always remember to respect the brass!

The post 8 Easy Ways to Get Better at Trombone appeared first on Trill Trombone.