The characteristic sound of a trombone is centered, round, resonant, clear, and open. Obvious, isn’t it? Well, maybe not.
Brass instruments play the overtone series over a fundamental pitch whose frequency is equal to the length of the tubing that contains the standing periodic wave we create with our buzz. To play any note in tune, two things must be true: (1) our slide has to be positioned so the note we’re playing is one of the overtones that fits perfectly in the tube; and (2) our buzz has to be at exactly that pitch.
When both are true, the tone sounds “centered.” If we have to lip the pitch up or down to correct the intonation, the tone sounds weak. If our slide position is correct but our embouchure is underdeveloped or has been built incorrectly, the tone sounds rough. We want our sound to be centered on each note.
Some aspects of playing are easier to develop if we cultivate a mental image and strive to match the image, rather than attempting to analyze the technical details intellectually. The idea of a round sound is one of those aspects. In the 1980s I took private lessons with John Kitzman, who was then principal trombonist with the Dallas Symphony and a well-respected recording soloist.
To work on my sound, he asked me to hold a note for a few seconds and then describe the shape that came to mind when I heard it. We agreed my sound “looked like” a flattened rectangle with a weak top that was on the verge of collapse. Then he held a note for a few seconds. His sound “looked like” a circle, solid in the center and gradually fading with distance from the center, with no irregularities or wobbles.
Ever since then, I’ve tried to visualize my sound as a circle and let my body figure out how to realize that vision, without forcing it.
A resonant sound will project throughout a large auditorium and be easily audible to audience members in the back of the space, even when the musician is playing at a piano dynamic level. It will also fill the hall strongly at higher dynamic levels without sounding rough, edgy, or forced.
The instrument will resonate when the standing wave you produce “fits” perfectly within it. Typically, your efforts to cultivate a centered and round sound will result in a resonant sound, as well.
Note that removing the lacquer from your instrument will not enable it to resonate better. This was an unfortunate myth a few years ago. The lacquer helps prevent corrosion.
In the 1970s I studied for a time with Dr William Kramer at Florida State University. He was a prominent trombone soloist who often worked in Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia. If you’re old enough, you may recall the remarkably beautiful sound many brass players from that part of the world achieved; especially horn, trombone, and tuba players. Dr Kramer influenced and was influenced by this brass tradition.
When he performed, his sound filled the auditorium in such a way it seemed as if the room itself were the instrument, rather than his trombone. But in private lessons, he encouraged us to blast as strongly as we could all the time. He even had a diamond-shaped, yellow warning sign on his office door that read, “Danger! Blasting Zone.”
Why did he take this unusual approach when no other teachers did? Most students arriving at the university did not fill the instrument adequately. Through his teaching experience, Dr Kramer had found it difficult to get students to increase their power to achieve resonance. He found it more effective to have students overdo it for a few months, and then back off from the extreme. They reached the point that they were filling the trombone properly in less time than students who took the approach of building up their power little by little.
But those first few months were frustrating. I don’t go to that extreme in my own teaching, but I do appreciate the approach more today than I did at the time. Dr Kramer lost many students because they (we) didn’t really understand where the process was taking us. We saw the students of other instructors apparently advancing much faster; but in fact most of them did not achieve a resonant sound, and maybe never did so later in life, either.
Ultimately, a resonant sound isn’t about blowing hard. There’s merit to the idea of letting the air into the horn rather than forcing it. Resonance occurs when the pitch of our buzz exactly matches the frequency of the wave in the instrument; it isn’t about power. On the other hand, a weak air stream cannot produce a resonant tone.
A clear sound is not tainted by extraneous noise. We may introduce noise into our sound in various ways, all of which can be corrected.
A problem with our embouchure may cause a “growl” in the sound, usually in the middle register. Different embouchure problems may cause notes to start imprecisely, especially in the extreme upper and lower registers.
Tension in the throat can cause “throat noise” when we play. Incorrect breathing or airstream support can introduce “air” sounds or create a delay in the start of the buzz, or cause us to run out of air and lose stability in a long tone.
Excessively hard articulation can introduce popping sounds that distract listeners from the music. Improper practicing of multi-tonguing techniques can introduce a sort of “tongue-flapping” noise in fast, multi-tongued passages.
Many student and amateur players seem to be unaware of that last problem. When they play music such as Henry Filmore’s “Rolling Thunder,” Charles Duble’s “Bravura March,” or Fred Jewell’s “The Screamer,” we often hear their tongues hammering away but most of the notes don’t speak.
You’ve probably heard trombonists whose tone sounds “pinched.” Typically, they are younger students or adult amateurs who never took lessons. The pinched tone can come from a couple of causes.
One cause is that the player’s upper and lower teeth are touching or are very close together. This impedes air flow into the mouthpiece.
Common advice is to blow through a drinking straw, then remove the straw but keep the teeth the same distance apart and continue to exhale. (I turn a mouthpiece around and blow through it backward, rather than rummaging around in the kitchen to find a straw.)
Another suggestion is to stick a finger between your teeth, then withdraw the finger while keeping your teeth separated, and try playing without letting your jaw close.
Another cause is incorrect embouchure development. Players who have a “smiling” embouchure are not taking good advantage of the larger muscles in their cheeks to control their buzz. The fix in this case is to rebuild the embouchure focusing on tight corners.
In these videos, trombonists share tips for achieving a quality of sound that is characteristic of the trombone.
Paul the Trombonist
How to get a great tone on the trombone
Dion Tucker (The Chops Shop)
How to get a great sound on the trombone
Paul the Trombonist
How to get a dark warm trombone sound
Peter Tijerina
Getting great tone on trombone
In my opinion, these trombonists exemplify the “ideal” trombone concept. I suggest listening closely to how they approach the instrument and the quality of sound they produce, to help develop a strong concept to guide your own playing.
Nitzan Haroz
Jean-Michel Dufay, “Deux Danses”
Michel Becquet
Jean-Michel Dufay, “Deux Danses”
Ian Bousfield
Jean-Michel Dufay, “Deux Danses”
Christian Lindberg
Jean-Michel Dufay, “Deux Danses”
Filipe Alves
Eugene Bozza, “Ballade”
Kris Garfitt
Eugene Bozza, “Ballade”
Fabrice Millischer
Bert Appermont, “Colors for Trombone Solo and Band”
Eijiro Nakagawa
Bert Appermont, “Colors for Trombone Solo and Band”
Sam Armstrong
Bert Appermont, “Colors for Trombone Solo and Band”
Martin Schippers with the brass of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Astor Piazzolla, “Maria de Buenos Aires”, arr. Steven Verhelst
Trombone duets, quartets, choirs
Martin Schippers and Tomer Maschkowski
Steven Verhelst, “Angel’s Tango’
Unidentified quartet
Steven Verhelst, “Trombone Quartet No. 1”
U.S. Army Band Trombone Choir
Kyle Price, Austin Westjohn, Michael Burner, Ethan Scholl, Andrew Dougherty
Dmitri Shostakovich, “Festive Overture”
Szeged Trombone Ensemble
György Gyivicsan, József Tóth, Zoltán Czirok, Tamás Asztalos, András Pálfy, József Vörös
Bass Trombone: Brandt Attema, Péter Vörös, Dávid Sztranyák
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow Theme”
Jazz, Latin, and rock players
Marshall Gilkes with the “Sin Filtro” Brass Ensemble
Marshall Gilkes, “Cyclic Journey”, 9th movement
Dave Steinmeyer with the US Air Force Airmen of Note
Chick Corea, “Spain”
Dave Steinmeyer, April 1988 Mid-South Jazz Festival
“Ice Castles”
Sean Nelson with the New London Big Band
“Beautiful Love”
Randy Purcell with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band
“Feelings”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxJUURlt1c8
Bert Boeren with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw
“All the Things You Are”
Carl Fontana with the Carl Fontana Quartet, 7/15/75
“Easy To Love”
Carl Fontana with the Carl Fontana Quartet, 7/15/75
“Autumn Leaves”
Jorge Chinchilla
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Trombone Shorty with the White House Band (2012)
“St. James Infirmary”
Orchestral excerpts
SJ Park
Maurice Ravel, “Bolero” - trombone solo
New York Philharmonic Low Brass, 2018
Colin Williams, David Finlayson, George Curran, Alan Baer
G. Rossini, “Fountains of Rome”
Southeast Trombone Symposium, 2015
Colin Williams (NY Phil), Nathan Zgonc (ATL Sym), Brian Hecht (ATL Sym),
James Nova (Pittsburgh Sym), Bradley Palmer (Columbus State Univ.),
Andrew Miller (Alabama Sym), Alan Baer (NY Phil)
several orchestral excerpts