Trombone

Is a musical instrument of the brass family. Its normal configuration is a single tube with two elbow bends. The section immediately below the mouthpiece encompassing the first elbow bend is a slide which allows the player to extend the length of the instrument thereby lowering the pitch as the tube is progressively extended. The standard Tenor trombone, pitched in B flat, allows for seven semitones of pitch lowering, taking the lowest note of the standard instrument to E natural. As with all instruments in the brass family, progressive tightening of the lips leads to firstly a pitch jump of a fifth and then a fourth and then a third and so on on up the harmonic series. Hence although in the lower range significant movement of the slide is required, for higher notes the player need only use four or less positions of the slide.

The trombone is commonly found in military and other brass ensembles. It is also common in jazz and ska.

Other instruments exist in the family including the Bass trombone which incorporates a single valve offering an instant change in pitch of one fifth.