What is a trombone?
A: The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family.
Most brass instruments use valves to alter the pitch,
but what do trombones have instead?
A: A telescoping slide mechanism.
Many modern trombone models also have a valve
attachment which does what?
A: Lowers the pitch of the instrument.
Variants such as the valve trombone and superbone have
three valves like those on what?
A: A trumpet.
The word "trombone" derives from what?
A: Italian tromba (trumpet) and -one (a suffix meaning "large"), so the name
means "large trumpet".
The trombone has a predominantly cylindrical bore like
the trumpet, in contrast to what?
A: The more conical brass instruments like the cornet, the euphonium, and
the French horn.
What are the most frequently encountered trombones?
A: The tenor trombone and bass trombone.
A person who plays the trombone is called a what?
A: A trombonist or trombone player.
The trombone is a predominantly cylindrical tube bent
into what shape?
A: An elongated "S" shape.
The tubing, while approximately cylindrical, is
actually made up of what?
A: A complex series of tapers.
The design of these tapers affects what?
A: The intonation of the instrument.
As with other brass instruments,
sound is produced by
blowing air through pursed lips producing a vibration that creates what?
A: A standing wave in the instrument.
The detachable cup-shaped mouthpiece is similar to
what?
A: A baritone horn and closely related to that of the trumpet.
It has a venturi: a small constriction of the air
column that adds resistance, greatly affecting what?
A: The tone of the instrument.
The 'slide', the most distinctive feature of the
trombone, allows the player to extend the length of the air column, doing
what?
A: Lowering the pitch.
To prevent friction from slowing the action of the
slide, additional sleeves were developed during the Renaissance known as
what
A: Stockings.
These "stockings" were soldered onto the ends of the
inner slide tubes to do what?
A: To slightly increase their diameter.
Many types of trombones also include one or more rotary
valves used for what?
A: To increase the length of the instrument (and therefore lower its pitch)
by directing the air flow through additional tubing.
Like the trumpet, the trombone is considered a
cylindrical bore instrument since it has what?
A: Extensive sections of tubing, principally in the slide section, that are
of unchanging diameter.
Tenor trombones typically have what bore?
A: A bore of 0.450 inches (small bore) to 0.547 inches (large or orchestral
bore) after the leadpipe and through the slide.
During the Renaissance, what was the equivalent English
term for trombone?
A: "sackbut".
The word first appears in court records in 1495 as "shakbusshe"
at about the time King Henry VII did what?
A: Married a Portuguese princess who brought musicians with her.