Like other instruments of the symphony orchestra, the trombone is a musical instrument with a unique sound and an interesting story. He is a full-fledged participant in a 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” is a trumpet or a large pipe. The name "trombone" begins to be used in the Renaissance, in the XV century. They designate a brass instrument with a backstage, which allows you to make the sound of the instrument lower and more echoing.
The precursor of the trombone musical instrument in the mentions of the Renaissance and Baroque was the sacred. Both terms have long been used as synonyms, however, after the 17th century, the term “trombone” is fixed and crowds out all the others.
Voice and Description
What does a trombone look like? A 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 ending goes into a cone. The length of the tube is three meters, the diameter is 1.5 cm. The mouthpiece is mandatory for all wind instruments - it is large in the trombone, in the form of a rounded bowl.
In the photo, a trombone musical instrument stands out. Unlike other copper instruments, the trombone is more technical, allows you to smoothly switch from note to note, perform chromatisms, as well as glissando.
There are soprano, alto, tenor, bass, double bass instrument types. The most commonly used tenor trombone.
The range of the instrument is from G (salt) of the controctave to F (fa) of the second octave.
Its timbre is low, sonorous and lingering, sounding differently in high and low register. Above it has a brilliant and bright timbre, below - gloomy and formidable. Thanks to its timbre qualities, the trombone has become a musical instrument trusted by solo parts and whole works.
Sound extraction mechanism
The bright, inviting sound of the trombone and its technical capabilities are due to its structure. Unlike other brass instruments, the trombone has a backstage - an elongated U-shaped part, which is part of a musical instrument. Thanks to it, trombone acquires additional technical capabilities - it expands the sound range, makes it easy to slide from note to note (glissando).
The transition to the fourth and fifth is carried out with the help of a quarterventile and a quintile; in historical forms of the trombone, such possibilities were absent.
Like other brass instruments, mute (sound attenuation) can be used on trombone.
Biblical echoes
Mention of large pipes is very diverse and is found in ancient texts. Terrible trumpet voices accompanied significant events and were published by angels and archangels. Researchers of biblical texts and music of that period believe that this instrument - a hatsotsra - is an ancient wind instrument, vaguely reminiscent of a modern trumpet and trombone, but without a wings. Nevertheless, it is the sound of the trombone in many works that means the voice of God, the signal of the beginning of the Last Judgment.
Historical predecessors
Documentary references to the rocker musical instrument are already found in antiquity. Isidore and Virgil point to a special sliding tube (tuba ductills), the sound of which varies depending on the position of the moving part. It is also known that during the excavations of the Roman Pompeii in the 18th century, two trombones were found, however, 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 their appearance and sound can only be guessed at.
The first official mentions and images of the trombone date back to the 15th century. At this time, there was no single name for the instrument: saccut (French: “sacquer” - drag and “bouter” - push), posaunen (English), tuba ductili (Italian) was mentioned along with trombone. All of them are equally often found in various sources.
The popularity of the trombone in the XV century is quite high - it is used in church services, becoming part of secular ensembles and a solo instrument. It is allowed to be used at civil ceremonies and on the battlefield.
Consolidation in the musical culture
Germany or Italy is considered to be the birthplace of a trombone musical instrument. Here lived the first craftsmen who made silver trombones for the royal courts.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. 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, church music was the main area of application of the trombone timbre: it accompanied or duplicated singing voices, a high register was used for this.
The classical symphony orchestra, created in the 18th century by J. Haydnom, did not include trombone. Apparently, this instrument was recognized as old-fashioned and too distinctive in the harmonious sound of tutti. In addition, the time has not yet come for its technical improvement.
In a special situation, trombone, however, was used in a musical theater. Its sound acquired a dramatic connotation in the operas of K. V. Gluck, and V. A. Mozart endows it with a tragic and formidable role in the opera Don Giovanni and Requiem.
Trombone in the symphony orchestra
The introduction of trombone as a musical instrument in a symphony orchestra occurred only at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. at L.V. Beethoven. G. Berlioz first entrusted him with a detailed solo part in symphonic music, designating it as a noble and majestic timbre. As a rule, two or three trombones (two tenors and a bass) are used in the modern composition of the orchestra. The orchestras of R. Wagner, P.I. Tchaikovsky, G. Mahler, J. Brahms are inconceivable without a sonorous and inviting timbre of the trombone, where his voice is associated with fatal and formidable forces.
In P.I. Tchaikovsky's symphonic music, the sound of the trombone symbolizes the images of Rock, Providence. At R. Wagner, the trombone, together with other brass ghosts, symbolizes power and unapproachable power, the images of Rock. R. Wagner used upper registers to express love lyrics (“Tristan and Isolde”). This unusual semantic move was continued in the music of the twentieth century.
With increased interest in trombone in the 19th century, the use of glissando remained practically forbidden, 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 this instrument is first recognized as solo improvising, creating a counter-melody and skillfully beating it. The most famous jazz trombonists - Glen Miller, Myth Mole, Edward Kid Ori, created their own playing style. One of the main tricks is a combination of individual accented notes and a characteristic glissando on a trombone. It creates the unique sound of the Dixieland of the 20s. Twentieth century. Thanks to jazz trombonists, jazz style is associated with wind instruments.
Trombone also sounds in Latin American music - this was facilitated by touring jazz ensembles, where the trombone was a solo instrument.
The modern capabilities of the trombone are multifaceted - from playing classical music to sounding 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 outstanding.