Editing Trombone (section)

== History ==
=== Etymology ===
"Trombone" comes from the [[Italian (language)|Italian]] word ''tromba'' (trumpet) plus the suffix ''-one'' (large), meaning "large trumpet".

During the Renaissance, the equivalent English term was "[[sackbut]]". The word first appears in court records in 1495 as "''shakbusshe''". "''Shakbusshe''" is similar to "''sacabuche''", attested in [[Spain]] as early as 1478. The French equivalent "''saqueboute''" appears in 1466.<ref name="Michault">{{cite book |last1=Michault |first1=Pierre |title=Le doctrinal du temps présent , compilé par maistre Pierre Michault, secrétaire du très puissant duc de Bourgoingne |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k70431s/f17.item |via=Gallica, [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]] |access-date=4 December 2018 |page=16 |language=fr}}</ref>

The German "''Posaune''" long predates the invention of the slide and could refer to a natural trumpet as late as the early fifteenth century.{{sfn|Guion|2010|p=22}}

=== Origin ===
{{See also|Sackbut}}
[[File:MIMEd 6111. Tenor sackbut in A, Monk model.png|thumb|Renaissance era tenor sackbut (replica by Frank Tomes, London)]]
The sackbut appeared in the 15th century and was used extensively across Europe, declining in most places by the mid to late 17th century. It was used in outdoor events, in concert, and in liturgical settings. Its principal role was as the [[Countertenor|contratenor]] part in a dance band.{{sfn|Herbert|2006|p=59}} It was also used, along with [[shawm]]s, in bands sponsored by towns and courts. Trumpeters and trombonists were employed in German city-states to stand watch [[tower music|in the city towers]] and herald the arrival of important people to the city, an activity that signified wealth and strength in 16th-century German cities. These heralding trombonists were often viewed separately from the more skilled trombonists who played in groups such as the [[alta capella]] wind ensembles and the first orchestral ensembles, which performed in religious settings such as [[St Mark's Basilica]] in [[Venice]] in the early 17th century.<ref name="Green">{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=Helen |title=Defining the City 'Trumpeter': German Civic Identity and the Employment of Brass Instruments, c. 1500 |journal=Journal of the Royal Musical Association |date=2011|doi=10.1080/02690403.2011.562714 |s2cid=144303968 }}</ref> The 17th-century trombone had slightly smaller dimensions than a modern trombone, with a bell that was more conical and less flared. Modern [[Historically informed performance|period performers]] use the term "sackbut" to distinguish this earlier version of the trombone from the modern instrument.

Composers who wrote for trombone during this period include [[Claudio Monteverdi]], [[Heinrich Schütz]], [[Giovanni Gabrieli]] and his uncle [[Andrea Gabrieli]]. The trombone doubled voice parts in sacred works, but there are also solo pieces written for trombone in the early 17th century.

When the sackbut returned to common use in England in the 18th century, Italian music was so influential that the instrument became known by its Italian name, "trombone".{{sfn|Guion|1988|loc=p. 3: "Many modern musicians prefer to use the word 'sackbut' when referring to the Baroque trombone. All other instruments in constant use since the Baroque have changed more...In response to the number of times people including musicians, have asked if the sackbut is something like a trombone, I have stopped using this misleading word."}} Its name remained constant in Italy ([[:it:trombone|''trombone'']]) and in Germany ([[:de:Posaune|''Posaune'']]).

During the later Baroque period, [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] and [[George Frideric Handel]] used trombones on a few occasions. Bach called for a ''tromba di tirarsi'', which may have been a form of the closely related [[slide trumpet]], to double the [[cantus firmus]] in some liturgical [[cantata]]s.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Lewis |first1=Horace Monroe |date=May 1975 |title=The Problem of the ''Tromba Da Tirarsi'' in the Works of J. S. Bach. |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Louisiana State University |doi=10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.2799 |s2cid=249667805 |url=https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2799 |access-date=18 June 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref> He also employed a choir of four trombones to double the chorus in three of his cantatas ([[Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2|BWV 2]], [[Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21|BWV 21]] and [[Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38|BWV 38]]),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weiner |first1=Harold |title=The Soprano Trombone Hoax |journal=Historical Brass Society Journal |url=https://www.historicbrass.org/edocman/hbj-2001/HBSJ_2001_JL01_008_Weiner.pdf |access-date=18 June 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127232731/https://historicbrass.org/edocman/hbj-2001/HBSJ_2001_JL01_008_Weiner.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and used three trombones and a cornett in the cantata [[Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25|BWV 25]]. Handel used it in ''[[Samson (oratorio)|Samson]]'', in ''[[Israel in Egypt (oratorio)|Israel in Egypt]]'', and in the ''Death March'' from ''[[Saul (Handel)|Saul]]''. All were examples of an [[oratorio]] style popular during the early 18th century. Score notations are rare because only a few professional "Stadtpfeiffer" or [[alta cappella]] musicians were available. Handel, for instance, had to import trombones to England from a Royal court in Hanover, Germany, to perform one of his larger compositions.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}} Because of the relative scarcity of trombones, their solo parts were generally interchangeable with other instruments.

=== Classical period ===
The construction of the trombone did not change very much between the Baroque and Classical period, but the bell became slightly more flared. [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]] was the first major composer to use the trombone in an opera overture, in the opera ''[[Alceste (Gluck)|Alceste]] ''(1767). He also used it in the operas ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'', ''[[Iphigénie en Tauride]] ''(1779), and ''[[Echo et Narcisse]]''.

Early Classical composers occasionally included concertante movements with alto trombone as a solo instrument in [[Divertimento|divertimenti]] and [[Serenade|serenades]]; these movements are often extracted from the multi-movement works and performed as standalone alto trombone concerti. Examples include the Serenade in E{{Music|flat}} (1755) by [[Leopold Mozart]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=March |first1=Ivan |title=Albrechtsberger; Mozart, L.: Trombone Concertos |url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/albrechtsberger-mozart-l-trombone-concertos |website=Gramophone}}</ref> and Divertimento in D major (1764)<ref>{{cite web |title=Haydn, M.: Concerto per Trombone Alto in D |url=http://www.stretta-music.at/haydn-concerto-per-trombone-alto-in-d-nr-675861.html |website=Stretta Music}}</ref> by [[Michael Haydn]]. The earliest known independent trombone concerto is probably the Concerto for Alto Trombone and Strings in B{{Music|flat}} (1769)<ref>{{cite web |title=Albrechtsberger, J.G.: Concerto per trombone alto ed archi |url=http://www.stretta-music.at/albrechtsberger-concerto-per-trombone-alto-ed-archi-nr-198464.html |website=Stretta Music}}</ref> by [[Johann Georg Albrechtsberger]].

[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] used the trombone in operas (notably in scenes featuring the Commendatore in ''[[Don Giovanni]]'') and in sacred music. The prominent solo part in the ''Tuba Mirum'' section of his [[Requiem (Mozart)|Requiem]] became a staple audition piece for the instrument. Aside from solo parts, Mozart's orchestration usually features a trio of alto, tenor and bass trombones, doubling the respective voices in the choir. The earliest known symphony featuring a trombone section is Symphony in C minor by [[Anton Zimmermann]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Threasher |first1=David |title=A. Zimmermann: Symphonies (Ehrhardt) |url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/reviews/review?slug=a-zimmermann-symphonies-ehrhardt |website=Gramophone}}</ref> The date is uncertain but it is most probably from the peak of the composer's activity in the 1770s. The earliest confident date for introducing the trombone to the symphony is therefore Zimmermann's death in 1781.

==== Transition to Romantic period ====
Symphony in E{{Music|flat}} (1807) by Swedish composer [[Joachim Nicolas Eggert]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kallai |first1=Avishai |title=Biography of Joachim Nikolas Eggert |url=http://musicalics.com/fr/compositeur/Joachim-Nikolas-Eggert |website=Musicalics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108151031/http://musicalics.com/fr/compositeur/Joachim-Nikolas-Eggert |archive-date=8 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> features an independent trombone part. [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] is sometimes mistakenly credited with the trombone's introduction into the orchestra, having used it shortly afterwards in his [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5 in C minor]] (1808), [[Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 6 in F major ("Pastoral")]], and [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 9 ("Choral")]].

=== Romantic period ===

==== 19th-century orchestras ====
Trombones were included in operas, symphonies, and other compositions by [[Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy|Felix Mendelssohn]], [[Hector Berlioz]], [[Franz Berwald]], [[Charles Gounod]], [[Franz Liszt]], [[Gioacchino Rossini]], [[Franz Schubert]], [[Robert Schumann]], [[Giuseppe Verdi]], and [[Richard Wagner]], and others.

The trombone trio was combined with one or two [[cornett]]s during the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. The replacement of cornetts with oboes and clarinets did not change the trombone's role as a support to the alto, tenor, and bass voices of the chorus (usually in ecclesiastical settings), whose moving harmonic lines were more difficult to pick out than the melodic soprano line. The introduction of trombones into the orchestra allied them more closely with trumpets, and soon a tenor trombone replaced the alto. The Germans and Austrians kept alto trombone somewhat longer than the French, who preferred a section of three tenor trombones until after the [[Second World War]]. In other countries, the trio of two tenor trombones and one bass became standard by about the mid-19th century.

Trombonists were employed less by court orchestras and cathedrals, who had been providing the instruments. Military musicians were provided with instruments, and instruments like the long F or E{{Music|flat}} bass trombone remained in military use until around the [[First World War]]. Orchestral musicians adopted the tenor trombone, as it could generally play any of the three trombone parts in orchestral scores.{{vague|date=December 2018}}

Valve trombones in the mid-19th century did little to alter the make-up of the orchestral trombone section. While its use declined in German and French orchestras, the valve trombone remained popular in some countries, including Italy and [[Bohemia]], almost to the exclusion of the slide instrument. Composers such as Giuseppe Verdi, [[Giacomo Puccini]], [[Bedřich Smetana]], and [[Antonín Dvořák]] scored for a valve trombone section.

{{listen|type=music|title=Trombone solo|description=from [[Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)|Mahler's 3rd Symphony]], 1st movement (composed 1893–1896)
|filename=Gustav Mahler - Trombone Solo from 3rd Symphony, 1st movement.ogg}}

As the [[ophicleide]] or the tuba was added to the orchestra during the 19th century, bass trombone parts were scored in a higher register than previously.{{vague|date=December 2018}} The bass trombone regained some independence in the early 20th century. Experiments with the trombone section included Richard Wagner's addition of a [[contrabass trombone]] in ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' and Gustav Mahler's and Richard Strauss' addition of a second bass trombone to the usual trio of two tenors and one bass. The majority of orchestral works are still scored for the usual mid- to late-19th-century low brass section of two tenor trombones, one bass trombone, and one tuba.

==== 19th-century wind bands ====
Wind bands began during the French Revolution of 1791 and have always included trombones. They became more established in the 19th century and included circus bands, military bands, brass bands (primarily in the UK), and town bands (primarily in the US). Some of these, especially military bands in Europe, used rear-facing trombones with the bell pointing behind the player's left shoulder. These bands played a limited repertoire that consisted mainly of orchestral transcriptions, arrangements of popular and patriotic tunes, and feature pieces for soloists (usually cornetists, singers, and violinists). A notable work for wind band is Berlioz's 1840 ''[[Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale]]'', which uses a trombone solo for the entire second movement. Toward the end of the 19th century, trombone virtuosi began appearing as soloists in American wind bands. [[Arthur Pryor]], who played with the [[John Philip Sousa]] band and formed his own band, was one of the most famous of these trombonists.

==== 19th-century pedagogy ====
In the Romantic era, [[Leipzig]] became a center of trombone pedagogy, and the instrument was taught at the [[University of Music and Theatre Leipzig|Musikhochschule]] founded by [[Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy]]. The [[Paris Conservatory]] and its yearly exhibition also contributed to trombone education. At the Leipzig academy, Mendelssohn's bass trombonist, [[Karl Traugott Queisser]], was the first in a long line of distinguished professors of the trombone. Several composers wrote works for Queisser, including Mendelssohn's concertmaster [[Ferdinand David (musician)|Ferdinand David]], Ernst Sachse, and [[Friedrich August Belcke]]. David wrote his ''[[Trombone Concertino (David)|Concertino for Trombone and Orchestra]]'' in 1837, and Sachse's solo works remain popular in Germany. Queisser championed and popularized [[Christian Friedrich Sattler]]'s tenor-bass trombone during the 1840s, leading to its widespread use in orchestras throughout Germany and Austria.

==== 19th-century construction ====
Sattler had a great influence on trombone design, introducing a significantly larger bore (the most important innovation since the Renaissance), ''Schlangenverzierungen'' (snake decorations), the bell garland, and the wide bell flare. These features were widely copied during the 19th century and are still found on German made trombones.

The trombone was improved in the 19th century with the addition of "stockings" at the end of the inner slide to reduce friction, the development of the water key to expel condensation from the horn, and the occasional addition of [[F attachment tenor trombone|a valve]] that was designed to be set in a single position but later became the modern F-valve. The valve trombone appeared around the 1850s shortly after the invention of valves, and was in common use in Italy and Austria in the second half of the century.

=== Twentieth century ===
{{listen|type=music|title="Miss Trombone"
|description=1908 ragtime by [[Henry Fillmore]]; played by The Indestructible Military Band
|filename=Fillmore, Henry - Miss Trombone (1911).ogg}}
[[File:Newsboy Military Band Member with Trombone, Toledo, Ohio - DPLA - 6b52b39cf72038f9058254142eef1e79 (page 1) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Newsboy Military Band Member with Trombone, Toledo, Ohio]]

With the rise of recorded music and music schools, orchestral trombone sections around the world began to have a more consistent idea of a standard trombone sound. In the 1940s, British orchestras abandoned the use of small bore tenors and G basses in favor of the American/German choice of large bore tenors and B{{Music|flat}} basses. French orchestras did the same in the 1960s.

==== 20th-century wind bands ====
During the first half of the 20th century the popularity of touring and community concert bands in the United States decreased. At the same time, the development of music education in the public school system made high-school and university concert bands and marching bands ubiquitous. A typical concert band trombone section consists of two tenor trombones and one bass trombone, but using multiple players per part is common practice, especially in public-school settings.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

==== Use in jazz ====
{{further|List of jazz trombonists}}
In the 1900s the trombone and the tuba played bass lines and outlined chords to support improvisation by the higher-pitched instruments. It began to be used as a solo instrument during the swing era of the mid-1920s. [[Jack Teagarden]] and [[J.&nbsp;J. Johnson]] were early trombone soloists.<ref name="Bernotas">{{cite web |last1=Bernotas |first1=Bob |title=Trombone |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/trombone-by-bob-bernotas |website=All About Jazz |access-date=29 August 2022 |date=7 September 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Wilken">{{cite web |last1=Wilken |first1=David |title=The Evolution of the Jazz Trombone: Part One |url=https://www.trombone.org/articles/view.php?id=89 |website=trombone.org |access-date=29 August 2022 }}</ref>

==== 20th-century construction ====
The trombone's construction changed in the 20th century. Different materials were used, mouthpiece, bore, and bell dimensions increased, and different mutes and valves were developed. Despite the overall trend towards larger bore instruments, many European trombone makers prefer a slightly smaller bore than their American counterparts.

One of the most significant changes was the development of the F-attachment trigger. Through the mid-20th century there was no need for orchestral trombonists to use instruments with the F attachment trigger. As contemporary composers such as Mahler began to write lower passages for the trombone, the trigger became necessary.

=== Contemporary use ===
The trombone can be found in symphony orchestras, concert bands, [[big bands]], marching bands, military bands, brass bands, and brass choirs. In chamber music, it is used in [[brass quintet]]s, quartets, and trios, and also in trombone groups ranging from trios to choirs. A trombone choir can vary in size from five to twenty or more members. Trombones are also common in swing, jazz, merengue, salsa, R&B, [[ska]], and New Orleans brass bands.