Trombone

“ My purpose is to give an intelligent reply to the oft-quoted query, "Why the trombone?"
Everybody knows that it is not in the band for musical purposes. It is not a musical instrument. The man who could extract music from a trombone could get grapes out of a coal-mine.
No, its raison d'être is mostly critical and punitive. It is there to see that the orchestra does its job and to put the fear of a hectic hereafter into the man who is out of step with his fellow-conspirators. ”

“ Sometimes of a winter’s night, when I take my seat at the desk before the crackling and cheerful hickory fire, the frog that played the trombone catches my eye, and I go back in memory to the evening when it performed its first solo in my presence, and I see again the beautiful liquid eyes of the friend who brought it to me. We were very young then, both of us, that night before Christmas, and our hearts kept time with the lilt of the tune that the frog played silently on his trombone. Now I am young no longer, I am even getting old, and my friend has been dead this many a year. ”

“ The timbre of the natural horn is mellow, sonorous and rich in harmonics; it is quite distinctive and bears but little resemblance to that of the other members of the brass wind. In listening to its sustained notes one receives the impression of the tone being breathed out as by a voice, whereas the trumpet and trombone produce the effect of a rapid series of concussions, and in the tuba and cornet the concussions, although still striking, are softened as by padding. The timbre of the hand-stopped notes is veiled and suggestive of mystery ”

“ The valve trombone is played with keys like those of a cornet. It is less brilliant and sonorous than the slide instrument. Trombones were employed as far back as Monteverde’s “Orfeo,” early in the [Pg 103] seventeenth century, but there seems to have been no definite use of them till the time of Gluck. He thoroughly appreciated the majestic dignity of dramatic utterance of which the trombone was capable, and he used it with eloquent effect. Furthermore, he established for all time the custom of writing for trombones in three parts. ”

“ The quality of tone varies greatly in the different instruments and registers. The alto trombone has neither power nor richness of tone, but sounds hard and has a timbre between that of a trumpet and a French horn. The tenor and bass have a full rich quality suitable for heroic, majestic music, but the tone depends greatly on the performer's method of playing; the modern tendency to produce a harsh, noisy blare is greatly to be deplored.
Besides the slide trombone, which is most largely used, there are the valve trombones, and the double-slide trombones. ”

“ It is a curious fact that the sackbut or early trombone was merely a trumpet with a slide, or a draw trumpet, and that it was known as such in England, Scotland, Spain, Holland and Italy. Yet as soon as the powerful family of tenor and bass trombones had been created, the slide trumpet seems to have lost its identity and to have become merged in the alto trombone from which it differed mainly in the form of the bent tube. ”

“ Trombone players are generally of awkward, timid disposition, and while barytones, tenors, basses, and violinists revel in dreams of future greatness, the trombonist’s aspirations rise no higher than the back row of the orchestra. This must account for the lady pianists’ hardness of heart toward them, not to speak of the indifference of the lady singers, who are so constantly devoured by the ardent fire of their ambition. ”

“ There are seven positions of the slide on the trombone, each giving a theoretical fundamental tone and its upper partials a semitone lower than the last, and corresponding to the seven shifts on the violin and to the seven positions on valve instruments. These seven positions are found by drawing out the slide a little more for each one, the first position being that in which the slide remains closed. The performer on the trombone is just as dependent on an accurate ear for finding the correct positions as a violinist. ”

“ The pitch sounded by the trombone is altered by lengthening or shortening the tube of which the instrument is constructed, this being possible because the lower part slides into the upper and can be pulled out to increase the total length of the tube through which the air passes. There are usually three trombones in the orchestra, each playing a separate part, and the combination of this trio (with the tuba reinforcing the bass part) is majestic and thrilling, being powerful enough to dominate the entire orchestra in Fortissimo passages. ”

“ This transposition has no reference to the number of vibrations that may be officially or tacitly adopted as the standard pitch of any country or locality. A trombone an octave lower than the tenor has recently been reintroduced into the orchestra, principally by Wagner. The different varieties just cited are constructed with pistons or slides, as the case may be.
Further information on the trombone will be found in the monographs by the Rev. F. W. Galpin, “The Sackbut: its Evolution and History,” Proc. Mus. Assoc. (1906-1907) ”

“ The trombone is characterized by the slide, consisting of two parallel cylindrical tubes, over which two other cylindrical tubes, communicating at their lower extremities by means of a short semicircular pipe, slip without loss of air. The outer tube, therefore, slides upon the inner, and as it is drawn downwards by the right hand opens a greater length of tube proportional to the depth of pitch required. When the slide is closed the instrument is at its highest pitch. ”

“ The trombone is one of the noblest of all orchestral instruments. When it sounds ignoble, it is either because its part is not well written or because it is badly played. In respect of register there are three principal kinds of trombones—alto, tenor, and bass. The alto has a compass extending from A at the bottom of the bass clef to the E flat in the top space of the treble clef. The tenor ranges from E below the bass clef to the B flat in the middle of the treble clef, and this is the instrument most frequently employed. ”

“ Sometimes they achieve rare beauty by accident. Heinrich Schütz’s Lamentatio Davidi is written for a bass voice accompanied by four trombones and organ. The trombone parts are on exactly the same material as the voice, which in fact forms with them a five-part fugue-texture. The effect is magnificent, and admirably suited to the dignity of the trombone. ”

“ In fact, the precise manipulation of the slide of the trombone is analogous to the correct location of the finger on the fingerboard of stringed instruments. There are also trombones with valves, but as they possess no advantage beyond mere facility of execution and are inferior in tone and precision, they are not used in first-class orchestras. ”

“ They are really members of one family, as the name trombone—big trumpet—implies, and blend well together. The trumpet is an instrument of court and state functions, and, as the soprano instrument, comes first. It is what is known as an eight foot instrument in pitch, and gives the different harmonics from the third to the twelfth, and even to the sixteenth. It is made of brass, mixed metal, or silver, and is about five feet seven inches in real length, when intended for the key of F without a slide ”

“ The violin, however, weak of voice as it is, always carries the day, and the other instruments steal discontentedly back to their secondary places, the snuffy old violone keeping up a constant growl at its ill luck, and the trombone now and then leaping out like a tiger on its prey. ”

“ First, the art of trombone playing was in the 15th century in Germany mostly in the hands of the members of the town bands, whose duties included playing on the watch towers, in churches, at pageants, banquets and festivals, and they, being jealous of their privileges, kept the secrets of their art closely, so that writers, such as the above, although acquainted with the appearance, tone and action of the instrument would have but little opportunity of learning much about the method of producing the sound. ”

“ Then again the trombone is employed as a sort of brake when in a moment of excitement the rest of the orchestra has a tendency to overdo things.
For example, all will remember the throbbing moment at the end of the drama, where the hero and heroine, murmuring "At last!" fall into each other's arms and move slowly off the stage whilst the band starts up Mendelssohn's or Glückstein's "Wedding March." The effect on an orchestra is immediate and immense. Somewhere behind each of these stiff shirt-fronts beats a heart that thrills at every suggestion of romance. ”

“ There are three varieties of this instrument: the alto, the tenor and the bass. Each is written in the proper key of the voice whose name it bears.
Trombones differ from all other brasswind instruments in that they are non-transposing, and, therefore, render the notes as they are written. The compass of the instrument is two octaves and a sixth.
“The timbre of the trombone,” writes Lavignac, “is majestic and imposing. It is sufficiently powerful to dominate a whole Orchestra. It produces above all things the impression of power, a power superhuman. ”

“ In instruments changes in the length and form of the resonance chambers affect the pitch as well as the quality of the tone. This is demonstrated in the trombone, French horn, and other wind instruments. The lengthening of the tube of the trombone lowers the pitch of the tone, and the projection of the hand of the performer into the bell of the French horn has the effect of raising the pitch of the sound. If the variation in length or form is only slight, the result is sharp or flat, and the instrument is out of tune. In the human instrument all the organs act together as a unit ”

“ Still{12} worse were it, if a man were supposed so stupid as to expect of each instrument a rôle opposed to its nature,—if he asked of the octave-flute a bass solo, and condemned the trombone because it could not do the work of the many-voiced violin. ”

“ The teacher of oboe and clarinet was a much more agreeable man, but he finally had to admit that Ignace’s future did not lie with either instrument. So did the teacher of bassoon and French horn. In time, however, the young musician found his instrumental niche. “Now, my dear boy,” the professor of brass instruments told him one day, “you are always trying to play piano. But why? You have no future at all with the piano! Your future is here, playing the trombone!” He flung an arm enthusiastically around Ignace’s shoulder. “Don’t you know that you are a great natural trombone player?” ”

“ Of the wind instruments it has often been said that the slide trombone excels all others in accuracy of intonation, and in this respect is unique in being the equal of the stringed instruments. This statement must not be taken too literally. An artist possessing a fine instrument—be it woodwind or brass with valves—can play perfectly in tune by delicate regulation of lip tension and manner of blowing. Thus all good instruments are susceptible of being played in tune if the player is skilled and his ear is perfect. ”

“ Beethoven gave the trombones much to do in the Ninth Symphony, where they begin in the Trio of the Scherzo. Schubert uses them strikingly in his Symphony in C; and Schumann in the Finale of his First Symphony and also in his Manfred Overture.
Berlioz made a great use of this instrument. He said: “The trombone in my opinion is the true chief of that race of wind instruments which I distinguish as epic instruments. It possesses, in an eminent degree, both nobleness and grandeur. ”

“ Wagner, in addition to the usual three tenor trombones, reintroduced the almost obsolete bass trombone. He wanted a trombone group complete in itself, and thus to be able to utilize the peculiar tone color of the instrument; as witness in the Walhalla Motive, where it is scored for the three tenor trombones and bass trombone, resulting in a wonderfully rich and velvety quality of tone. Excepting Wagner and Richard Strauss, 192 there probably is not a composer who would not have used the bass tuba here instead of taking the trouble to revive the bass trombone. ”

“ BELCKE, Friedrich August, a celebrated trombone player, son of the town musician at Lucka in Saxony, and born May 27, 1795. The boy at an early age showed a fondness for brass instruments, and was a good horn-player before he took up the trombone, on which he soon reached a pitch of excellence before unknown. ”

“ A lyric theme follows, C major, for violas (divided) and violoncellos. The violins join later. There is a melody, somewhat like a chant for a solo trombone. This later assumes marked importance. The pace grows faster, until it is vivacissimo, C minor. Mr. Gilman, in his lucid notes for the Philadelphia Programme Book, finds that the subject now announced by the strings “recalls the mood of the scherzo of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica.’” The adagio tempo recurs, as does the trombone theme, which the brass section enlarges. Change in tempo: allegro molto moderato. ”

“ Notwithstanding the increased facility obtained by the use of pistons, they are very far from having gained the suffrage of all players: many prefer the slide, believing that it gives a facility of emission that they cannot obtain with a piston trombone. The flat tonalities having been preferred for military music since the beginning of the 19th century the pitch of each variety of trombones has been raised a semitone. ”

“ But how could I be writing an Organ work without immediately flying to Tieffurt in imagination?—And lo, at the entrance to the church our excellent Grosse [The trombonist of the Weimar orchestra (died 1874) , who was so faithfully devoted to Liszt, and whom the latter remembered in his will] met me with his trombone, and I recollected an old promise—namely, to compose a "piece" for his use on Sundays. I immediately set to work at it, and out of my "Cantico" has now arisen a Concertante piece for Trombone and Organ. I will send you the piece as an Easter egg by the middle of April. ”