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An Educator’s Guide to the Trombone

John Breitenbach

Instrument Assembly

First, instruct your students to place their case on the floor to the right of the chair if there’s room. If
there’s not enough room, have them place their case on the floor directly in front of their chair. The
instrument logo should be on top. If there’s no logo, then the smaller side of the case is normally on top.

- It’s very important to always check the position of all of your students' cases before they open
them to avoid damaging the instrument.

To assemble the trombone, first remove the slide section of the trombone and stand it up off of the
ground so that it rests on the bumper. Have the screw end of the slide on the right and the mouthpiece
receiver on the left while it is standing up. While holding the slide up between your legs and with one
hand, reach into the case with your other hand and grab the bell section. To put the two pieces together,
take the screw end of the bell section and put it into the screw end of the slide. Make sure that the two
parts make an “L” shape at about a 90 degree angle. Then, tighten the thumb screw.

- Make sure your students do not try to force or twist the two sections together!

Next, while holding the instrument up with one hand, reach into the case and grab the mouthpiece.
Insert the mouthpiece into the receiver on the right and give it a slight twist to make sure that it stays in.

Appropriate Playing Posture and Hand Position

Begin by instructing the students to sit comfortably on the edge of their chair with both of their feet flat
on the floor. They should feel relaxed and tension-free.

- Don’t let your students slouch in their chairs as this can lead to poor breath support and tone
production.

When holding the trombone, the left hand is used to hold the instrument, while the right hand is used to
operate the slide. For the left hand, form your hand into the shape of an “L” with your thumb and your
index finger. The thumb wraps around the bell brace.

- If the trombone has an F attachment, the thumb will wrap around the trigger.

The middle finger, ring finger, and pinky on the left hand wrap around the first slide brace. The index
finger will reach up over the mouthpiece.

- Instruct the students to keep their fingers bunched to prevent the slide from pinching their pinky
as they play.
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- If the index finger has problems reaching the mouthpiece, put it in the brace with the other
fingers.

For the right hand, hold on to the second slide brace with two fingers and the thumb. The thumb should
be at the bottom of the brace. The wrist should be relaxed and flexible, while the fingers hold the slide
firmly.

Bring the instrument up to the mouth comfortably with the tuning slide going over the left shoulder. The
slide should not rest on the neck or shoulder. Elbows should be held out slightly away from the body and
the trombone should be held at a slightly downward angle. Place the mouthpiece centered on the face
with 2/3 on top lip and 1/3 on bottom lip. In other words, the mouthpiece should be more up towards
the nose.

- When sitting or standing, the trombone should come up naturally to your mouth and your
students should not be hunching over to reach it. The shoulders should be very relaxed.

Proper Embouchure and Tone Production

To make the first sound, have the students voice the sound “Mmm'' with their fingers on corners of the
mouth. Tell them that their corners should stay firm and make sure that they are not smiling or pulling
the corners of their mouth back. Then, have them hold the mouthpiece with their right hand. Their
thumb should be on the bottom of the mouthpiece and the first two fingers should be on top. Have them
place the mouthpiece centered on the face with 2/3 on top lip and 1/3 on bottom lip.

Next, have the students blow air through their mouthpiece using that same embouchure that they just
learned. Then, have them increase their air speed to produce a vibration. Once you hear that the
majority of your students are making a sound. Have them sustain the sound.

Have your students attempt to match some pitches on the piano. Then, demonstrate some sirens and
have them match you. Lastly, have them buzz some simple melodies. For this, it works well to use some
pop tunes they may know and like!

- Quality sound will come from playing with as little tension as possible while still using proper air
support.

To manipulate the pitch on the trombone, the biggest factors are the airspeed and the tongue position.
In general, a higher tongue position (such as a “hee” syllable) will result in high notes speaking more
easily. Faster air and a slightly smaller embouchure will also help you achieve higher pitches, whereas
using slower air with a slightly larger embouchure will help to play lower pitches. Articulating with a
“tah'' syllable is appropriate for low brass in the lower register while using a “tee” or a “too” syllable will
work well for mid to high registers.
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Proper Breath Support

To take a proper musical breath, students should drop their bottom jaw off of the mouthpiece and take a
deep breath in. Their breath should come from their diaphragm. Telling students to form an “ahh” shape
in the back of their throat while they breathe in can help them to be able to take in more air. Their air
stream should always be strong and consistent.

Articulation

Articulating with a “too” syllable will work well for mid to high registers and using a “tah” syllable is
appropriate in the lower register. The tip of the tongue should hit right behind their top teeth.

To teach articulation, have your students say “too” a couple of times and draw attention to where the tip
of their tongue is hitting in their mouth. It should be right behind the top teeth. Now have them do the
same thing, but just have them use their air. In other words, take the speaking component away.
Demonstrate for them how this should sound. Next, have them do the same thing into their instrument
on an F.

When teaching slurring or legato tonguing, students should use a “doo” syllable.

- Air stream and embouchure should always remain consistent while articulating!

Intonation and Pitch Tendencies

Typically, the standard tuning note for the trombone is Bb. If this note is very sharp or very flat, major
adjustments can be done using the tuning slide located on the back of the instrument. If the Bb is sharp,
have the student pull the tuning slide out slightly. If the Bb is flat, have them push in.

Middle Bb-F, high Bb-D, and high F have a tendency to be sharp. High F# and G have a tendency to be
flat. All of these issues can be fixed by slightly adjusting the main slide position. If the note is a little
sharp, slightly move the main slide out. If the note is a little flat, slightly move the main slide in.

Range and Transposition

The standard range on the trombone is E2 - F5. Most high schoolers should be able to hit an F above the
bass clef staff. For bass trombones the standard range is Bb1-Bb4.

- The trombone is a Bb instrument, but it is not transposing. Open Bb is a concert Bb.

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Common Teaching Problems and Solutions

- Squeezed or pinched tone quality - The student may be pressing the mouthpiece too hard against
their mouth or they may just be pinching too much. Tell them that the horn should come naturally
right to the mouth and that they should be using as little pressure as possible.
- Loud, “blatty” tone quality - Make sure that their lip placement is correct (top 2/3) and that they
have firm corners to the mouth.
- Explosive articulations - Have them just speak the word “too” to get them to realize how much
tongue they should be using when they articulate - it usually takes less tongue motion than they
think it does. You can also have them try a simple “dah” articulation to get them back on the right
track.
- Difficulty with high range - Have them experiment with different tongue positions (too or tee for
higher registers), tell them to use more air, aim for the top of the mouthpiece, or simply tell them
to play louder.

Other common problems can stem from students simply not using enough air support, bad posture, too
much tension/pressing too hard, puffing out the cheeks, or not using the tongue to start notes.

Equipment/Maintenance

Quality beginning instrument brands for beginners include Yamaha, Jupiter, or Bach. For advanced
players, the Yamaha Allegro, Yamaha Xeno, and the Bach Stradivarius trombones are great. Good
beginner mouthpieces for beginners are the 6 1/2 AL mouthpieces. For advanced players, they can use a
Bach 5G.

For basic tenor trombones (small bore) there will be a “small shank” mouthpiece receiver. For the larger
bore instruments (usually with an F attachment), they will have a “large shank” mouthpiece.
The primary mutes used for trombone are a straight mute or a cup mute. Sometimes you see a “wah
wah” mute or a plunger.

To care for the trombone, it’s a good idea to keep a polish cloth in the case to wipe down the trombone
after use. It’s also a good idea to clean out the mouthpiece with cold water once in a while. To thoroughly
clean out the instrument, remove the slide and place both parts into a bathtub with warm soapy water
for 5 minutes. Use a cleaning snake to run through the instrument and the slides. All trombone cases
should have slide oil and slide grease.

Common repairs may include stuck mouthpieces, slides getting dented from falls, water keys falling off,
or bumpers falling off. Have a mouthpiece puller and extra bumpers handy in your classroom just in case.
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Repertoire

Quality method books include the Rubank Method, Melodious Etudes by Rochut, Studies in Legato by
Fink, First Book of Practical Studies by Bordner, The Arban Method, The Walter Beeler Method, 24
Etudes by Paudert, Advanced Etudes by Perderson, and Intermediate Clef Studies by Sauer.

Good jazz method books include How to Play Jazz and Improvise by Aebersold, Jazz Conception - 21
Etudes by Snidero, Scales for Jazz Improvisation by Haerle, and the Charlie Parker Omnibook (Bass
clef).

For easy middle school solo repertoire, I recommend either the Belwin Master Solos Vol. 1 by Snell or
the Class Festival Solos Vol. 1 by Lambor.

For middle school or beginning high school solo repertoire, I recommend a book called Solos for the
Trombone Player by Smith.

Advanced high school repertoire includes Sonatina by Kazimierz Serocki, Concerto in F minor by
George Handel, Romance by Carl Maria von Weber, Sonata in A Major by Arcangelo Corelli (very
advanced), and Concertino for Trombone by Lars-Erik Larsson (very advanced).

Quality Recording Artists for Reference

Great classical trombone soloists to listen to for reference include Joseph Alessi or Ian Bousfield.

Great jazz trombonists to listen to for reference include Urbie Green and Slide Hampton.

Great brass quintets to listen to for reference include Dallas Brass and Canadian Brass.