Trombone, musical instrument: photo, description

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Like other symphony orchestra instruments, the trombone is a musical instrument with a unique sound and an interesting history. He is a full-fledged member of the symphony orchestra and jazz bands, but such a wide purpose was not always - he was preceded by centuries of narrow application and technical improvement.

Origin

Translated from Italian and French "trombone" - a trumpet or a large pipe. The name "trombone" begins to be used in the Renaissance, in the 15th century. They designate a brass instrument with a wings, which allows you to make the sound of the instrument lower and booming.

The forerunner of the musical instrument trombone in the Renaissance and Baroque references was the sakbut. Both terms were used as synonyms for a long time, but after the 17th century, the term "trombone" was fixed and replaced all others.

Timbre and Description

What does a trombone look like? The musical instrument, the description of which can be found already in the 15th century, has not changed very much since that time. It is a double-bent pipe with a movable link. Its end passes into a cone. The length of the tube is three meters, the diameter is 1.5 cm. The mouthpiece is obligatory for all wind instruments - the mouthpiece of the trombone is large, in the form of a rounded bowl.

In the photo, the musical instrument trombone stands out noticeably. Unlike other brass instruments, the trombone is more technical, allowing you to smoothly move from note to note, perform chromaticisms, as well as glissando.

There are soprano, alto, tenor, bass, contrabass varieties of the instrument. The most commonly used tenor trombone.

The range of the instrument is from G (G) of the counteroctave to F (F) of the second octave.

His timbre is low, sonorous and lingering, sounding differently in high and low registers. At the top it has a brilliant and bright timbre, at the bottom it is gloomy and formidable. Thanks to its timbre qualities, the trombone has become a musical instrument trusted by solo parts and whole works.

Pickup mechanism

The bright, inviting sound of the trombone and its technical capabilities are determined by its structure. Unlike other brass instruments, the trombone has a backstage - an elongated U-shaped piece that is part of a musical instrument. Thanks to it, the trombone acquires additional technical capabilities - it expands the range of sound, allows you to easily slide from note to note (glissando).

The transition to a fourth and a fifth is carried out with the help of a quarter valve and a fifth valve, such possibilities were absent in historical forms of trombone.

Like other brass instruments, when played ona trombone can be used with a mute (muting the sound).

Bible Echoes

References to large pipes are very diverse and can be found in ancient texts. Terrible trumpet voices accompanied significant events and were issued by angels and archangels. Researchers of biblical texts and music of that period believe that this instrument, hatzotsra, is an ancient wind instrument, vaguely resembling a modern trumpet and trombone, but without wings. Nevertheless, it is the sound of the trombone in many works that means the voice of God, the signal for the beginning of the Last Judgment.

Historical predecessors

Documentary references to the rock musical instrument are already found in Antiquity. Isidore and Virgil point to a special sliding pipe (tuba ductills), the sound of which changes depending on the position of the moving part. It is also known that during the excavations of Roman Pompeii in the 18th century, two trombones were found, but the traces of these finds are more reminiscent of a legend than a fait accompli.

Most researchers believe that ancient trombones were not fiction, but one can only guess about their appearance and sound.

The first official references and images of the trombone date back to the 15th century. At that time, there was no single name for the instrument: sacbut (French "sacquer" - to drag and "bouter" - to push), posaunen (English), tuba ductili (Italian) was mentioned along with trombone. All of them are equally common in various sources.

The popularity of the trombone in the 15th century is quite high - it is used in church services, becomes part of secular ensembles and a solo instrument. It is allowed to be used in solemn civil ceremonies and on the battlefield.

Fixed in musical culture

The birthplace of the musical instrument trombone is considered to be Germany or Italy. The first craftsmen who made silver trombones for the royal courts also lived here.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. the trombone became associated with the music of the past. Remaining an ensemble and solo instrument, it stands apart and is not part of the orchestras. This does not prevent many composers from creating works for this instrument.

In most cases, the main area of application of the trombone timbre was church music: it accompanied or duplicated singing voices, the high register was used for this.

The classical symphony orchestra created in the 18th century by J. Haydn did not include a trombone. Apparently, this instrument was perceived as old-fashioned and too prominent in the harmonic sound of the tutti. In addition, it is not yet time for its technical improvement.

In a special position, however, the trombone was used in musical theater. Its sound took on a dramatic hue in the operas of K. V. Gluck, and W. A. Mozart endows it with a tragic and formidable role in the opera Don Giovanni and Requiem.

Trombone in symphonyOrchestra

The introduction of the trombone as a musical instrument into the symphony orchestra took place only at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. by L. V. Beethoven. G. Berlioz for the first time entrusted him with a detailed solo part in symphonic music, designating him as a noble and majestic timbre. In the modern composition of the orchestra, as a rule, two or three trombones are used (two tenor and bass). The orchestras of R. Wagner, P. I. Tchaikovsky, G. Mahler, J. Brahms are inconceivable without the sonorous and inviting timbre of the trombone, where his voice is associated with fatal and formidable forces.

In Tchaikovsky's symphonic music, the sound of the trombone symbolizes images of Rock and Providence. For R. Wagner, the trombone, along with other brass instruments, symbolizes power and impregnable strength, images of Rock. R. Wagner used the upper registers to express love lyrics (“Tristan and Isolde”). This unusual semantic move was continued in the music of the twentieth century.

With the increased interest in the trombone in the 19th century, the use of glissando remained practically banned, which began to be used only by the classics of the 20th century - A. Schoenberg and I. Glazunov.

Trombone in Jazz

Jazz trombone is a new role of a musical instrument. It begins with the era of Dixieland - one of the first movements of jazz music. Here, for the first time, this instrument is perceived as solo improvising, creating a countermelody and skillfully playing it. The most famous jazz trombonists - Glenn Miller, Myth Mole, Edward Kid Ory, createdown style of play. One of the main techniques is a combination of individual accented notes and a characteristic glissando on the trombone. It creates the unique sound of 1920s Dixieland. XX century. Thanks to jazz trombonists, the jazz style is associated with brass instruments.

Trombone also sounds in Latin American music - this was facilitated by touring jazz ensembles, where the trombone was the solo instrument.

Modern possibilities of the trombone are multifaceted - from the performance of classical music to sound in jazz, rock and other styles. The use of this instrument is becoming more and more creative and interesting, and the place of the trombonist in an orchestra or ensemble is becoming more and more prominent.