Have you ever heard the Tallwood Wind Ensemble and wondered how these instruments developed? More specifically, the best and brightest instrument, the trombone, might have caught your eye. The trombone has changed quite a bit over the past several hundred years, yet it still is one of the instruments that physically changed the least since then. All this begs the question: How has the trombone developed since its first creation?

Beginning Forms and Use 

The predecessor to the modern trombone was created in Belgium and it still had its paper-clip shape and slide even at its earliest. Historians claim that the earliest sackbutts were made around 1450, but the oldest surviving examples are from the 1500s. The name sackbutt itself comes from the French word “sacquer,” which means to draw out. The lengthening and shortening action of the slide resembling a sword being drawn from its scabbard is most likely the reason for this name coming to be.

On top of that the trombone was one of the first instruments that was fully chromatic from its first development due to most instruments just following their harmonic series (this was before the implantation of valves on instruments). 

Start of Use in Secular Music

The trombone, in its early years, was considered a holy instrument to be used in the church, and for quite a while it was. It also was used in some civic contexts; larger towns generally had a band and the church, as well as the local municipality, would hire the band. The shift from this largely started with Beethoven; he was the first well known composer to use trombones in a secular (non-religious) symphony. Specifically “Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67” (“Fate”) was his first symphony in which a trombone was used, first played in 1808.

Use in Diverse Ways 

Over time the trombone bell was widened, giving it more volume and creating a sharper, more penetrating sound. This made it great for small combos which, naturally, made it a great choice for jazz as the style emerged. In addition to that, a good portion of music types we have today were developed after the trombone’s invention. The emergence of several styles and pieces requiring different sounds and skills lead to the development of many different types of trombones. 

The most commonly used trombone is the Tenor, followed by the Bass, then Alto trombones, additionally there are the Soprano and Contrabass trombones that represent the extreme upper and lower register respectively. Those trombones were developed, essentially, by just making less tubing if they wanted it to be able to play higher, and more if they wanted it to be lower. That was the most simple way trombones developed but they also had some much more interesting and diverse instruments that came from the trombone. For one, the valve trombone, usually in a tenor range, is a trombone that uses valves to change pitch instead of the slide. Using valves does take away the most identifiable characteristic of the instrument, but it still has the characteristic trombone sound. Possibly the most interesting and visually stunning instrument is the Cimbasso. The Cimbasso is a type of contrabass valve trombone mainly used in Italian Operas. This trombone also has that characteristic trombone sound while looking nearly unrecognizable from an “ordinary” trombone, including a very large bell, one end that is placed on the floor, and five valves, usually with six triggers (the sixth generally being to easily adjust a tuning slide).

Developmental Aspects of Note

The trombone has come a long way since its creation in the 1400s even though it still has very similar characteristics as it did when it was created. The development of the trombone was driven, of course, by the people who wrote for and played the instrument in all styles. Some famous classical players, renowned throughout the world include Joseph Alessi, Christian Lindberg, John Marcellus and Denis Wick. Additionally there are many extremely influential players in other styles such as jazz including Brandon Marsalis, Marshall Gilks, Al Grey, Slide Hampton and Kid Ory. These are just an extreme few of the many people that contributed to the development and overall worldwide love of the trombone. 

Conclusion 

I hope that you now appreciate the use of the trombone more and how it has come to be in its modern form throughout all of its different uses and performers.