Resources
Resources
Free Trombone Fingering Chart (Tenor & F Attachment)
Unlike most brass instruments, the trombone uses a slide rather than valves — which means "fingering" is really about slide position. Getting those positions right, and understanding how the F attachment expands your range, is fundamental to good trombone playing. What's in the Chart This chart covers all seven slide positions for the tenor trombone, as well as the additional notes made available by the F attachment (also called the trigger). Each note is shown with its position number and whether the F attachment is engaged, giving you a complete picture of the instrument's range. Who This Is For Beginning trombone students learning the seven positions Students who have recently added an F attachment trombone Band directors who need a quick-reference handout Parents helping a child practice at home Understanding Slide Positions The seven slide positions correspond to different tube lengths, each lowering the pitch by a half step. Position 1 is all the way in; position 7 is fully extended. Because there are no fixed stops like on a keyed instrument, developing a good ear for intonation is especially important for trombonists — and knowing your positions inside out is the first step.↓ Download the Trombone Fingering Chart (PDF)
Read moreHow to Care for Your Trombone
The trombone is one of the more forgiving brass instruments when it comes to maintenance — but the slide is the one area that needs real attention. A smooth, fast slide is everything on trombone, and it only stays that way with consistent care. Slide Care The trombone slide is a precision instrument within an instrument. Even a small dent or bend in the inner slide can make it stick or move unevenly. Keep it clean and lubricated, and handle it carefully. For lubrication, spray the inner slide tubes with water and apply a thin coat of slide cream or oil — whatever product you prefer. Wipe the inner slide tubes clean with a soft cloth before applying lubricant to remove any old residue or grit. A well-lubricated slide should glide effortlessly through all seven positions. F Attachment Care If your trombone has an F attachment (a rotary valve triggered by a thumb lever), it needs regular oiling with rotor oil, just like a French horn. The trigger and linkage mechanism should also be kept lightly lubricated. A sluggish trigger is almost always a sign that it needs oil. Emptying Condensation Open the water keys regularly during playing to empty condensation from the main slide section and the bell section. After playing, remove the slide and let it drain completely before storing. Regular Cleaning Clean the inner and outer slides with a slide cleaning rod and cloth every few weeks, and do a full bath a few times a year. When cleaning, handle the inner slide with care — avoid laying it on hard surfaces where it could pick up dents. Even a tiny dent in the inner slide is enough to affect its action.↓ Download the Trombone Care Tips (PDF)
Read moreJim Fox's Ultimate Mouthpiece Comparison Charts - Trombone
Bach/Schilke listed at the top for comparison. Please do not take diameter measurements too seriously. Most of the time the difference in columns can be 0.02 of an inch (0.5 mm). Not much really. The measurements are done for comparison purposes of relative sizes. Attributes such as cup depth, rim shape, bite, and backbore also make a big difference in how a mouthpiece plays and feels. Table 1 is the largest, Table 3 the smallest — some sizes come in both small and large shank Table 129.03 - 25.50 mm Size in mm / Inches 29.03 mm1.14" 28.52 mm1.12" 27.68 mm1.09" 27.00 mm1.06" 26.75 mm1.05" 26.25 mm1.03" 26.00 mm1.02" 25.50 mm1.01" Manufacturer Bach Contra Bass (30.00) 1G 1.25G 1.5G 2G 3G 4G 5G Schilke 6061 (29.3) 59, 58 57 14, 15 (17.1)Symphony M3, M3d, F3, D3 13C4 13B 12, 52, E2Symphony D52, M52 11 Alliance 2, 2a Best Brass Japan 1C, 3E, 5E Greg Black 0G (29.5)1G (29.0) 1.25G 1.5G (25.27) 2G 3G, 3C Jerome Callet BD28 BD27.5 BD27 BD26.5M & L Conn 2CL Curry 1 1 1/2 3 Doug Elliott 114116 (29.5) 112 110 106 104 103 102 101, 100 Ferguson Contra Bass (30.0)LS Bass (old) L Bass (old) V Bass (old) Giardinelli 1G SymB 2G 3D Giddings & Webster (Stainless Steel) Chinook Sanders DH-100Harwood NY-SNY-O Nor'Easter (32.13) Karif Adriano Wilkins E-2 DHWS-SDHWS-EGW-103 EXLE-1CarbonariaDJNVGW102NB-102SA-100 TZ-103GW103DHWA-SDHWA-EKadja NakazawaGW-101NB-101Boreas EurosAusmanGW-100NB-100WattersGWC-101GWC-100 Hammond 21 20 Size in mm / Inches 29.03 mm1.14" 28.52 mm1.12" 27.68 mm1.09" 27.00 mm1.06" 26.75 mm1.05" 26.25 mm1.03" 26.00 mm1.02" 25.50 mm1.01" Bach Contra Bass (30.00) 1G 1.25G 1.5G 2G 3G 4G 5G Schilke 6061 (29.3) 59, 58 57 14, 15 (17.1)Symphony M3, M3d, F3, D3 13C4 13B 12, 52, E2Symphony D52, M52 11 Josef Klier PO3 (29.50) PO2 (29.00) PO1 P1 P2 P3 P4 Laskey 95D (29.50) 93D (29.30) 85MD LOUD (Stainless Steel) LM-35 (old) LM-20 (old) LM-47 (old) LM-48 MMP Brasswind Jazz Bass 1 Bass 1, Jazz Bass 2 & 3 Bass 2 Jazz 1 Marcinkiewicz CH105 (29.44) 1 1.5G 3 2G 5F, 6E, 7G Steven Mead SM2 SM3, SM3.5 Miraphone PO11 PO9 PO15 Monette Bb BT-1 BT-2 Prime Slide C Rim A, B, D Rims (1.175) Signature Models Doug Yeo (28.7)Jim Martin Jeff ReynoldsBen van Dijk B, BM (Thein) George Roberts Alessi 11.5 & 2Phil Teele EBT2Ernie Tack EBT3Bill Rickenbach Alessi 3, 3.5, 4 Size in mm / Inches 29.03 mm1.14" 28.52 mm1.12" 27.68 mm1.09" 27.00 mm1.06" 26.75 mm1.05" 26.25 mm1.03" 26.00 mm1.02" 25.50 mm1.01" Bach Contra Bass (30.00) 1G 1.25G 1.5G 2G 3G 4G 5G Schilke 6061 (29.3) 59, 58 57 14, 15 (17.1)Symphony M3, M3d, F3, D3 13C4 13B 12, 52, E2Symphony D52, M52 11 Stomvi 0.8 0.9 1 2 3 Stork BT-1, BT-1S BT-1.5, BT-1.5S Warburton 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Denis Wick 0AL (27.42) 1AL (27.10) 2AL (27.00) 3AL Yamaha 60, 60B 59 55, 58 53-54 Zottola 1.06A 1.03A Table 226.00 - 24.40mm Size in mm / Inches 26.00 mm1.024" 25.75 mm1.014" 25.50 mm1.004" 25.40 mm1.000" 25.00 mm0.984" 24.75 mm0.974" 24.50 mm0.965" 24.40 mm0.955" Manufacturer Bach 4G 5G & 6 6 1/2 6 3/4 7-11 12-14 1/2 15 Schilke 52E2Symphony, D52*, D52, M52 52 51, 51BSymphony, D51*, D51, M51 50 47C4 47B, 46D 46, 45 (.960) 45B, 44E4 Alliance 4, 3a 4a, 5 6, 6s 7 8 Best Brass Japan Ichi GoSymphonic (L)Virtuoso (L) KamiyaTrombone (S)Trombone (L) KataokaVirtuoso (S)Virtuoso (L) Greg Black 4C, 4G, 4.5C/G 5C, 5G 6C, 6G, 6 1/2 7C 11C 12C Breslmair 158, 258, 358, 458 154, 254, 354 150, 250, 350, 550 145, 245, 345 Jerome Callet TD25.75 BD 25.4, TD 25.4 TM 24.75 BD 24.5, TM 24.5 Conn 4CL Remington (25.65)5CL 10CL 3 (25.15) 13CL (24.86) 15CL Curry 4.5 5 6 7, 11 12 DEG AW8 Doug Elliott 102 101 (25.65) 100 98, 99 97 96 Endsley #1 #2 Ferguson 1 Tenor NF11 Giardinelli 3G Sym G&T SymAL 4D 5D 6M Giddings & Webster (GW) SA-100NB-102GW-100DJNVCarbonariaEXLE-1 NB-101GW-101KadjaNakazawaGWC-101 EurosBoreasSonnyAusman GWC-100NB-100GB-100Harry Watters Barber Chubasco ChocolateroBacchus Hammond 11 12 13 14 JetTone STS STM, STD Josef Klier (JK) P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 Size in mm / Inches 26.00 mm1.024" 25.75 mm1.014" 25.50 mm1.004" 25.40 mm1.000" 25.00 mm0.984" 24.75 mm0.974" 24.50 mm0.965" 24.40 mm0.955" Bach 4G 5G, 6 6 1/2 6 3/4 7-11 12-14 1/2 15 Laskey 59D 57D 54M 50C 46C LOUD LM-27 LM-52, LM-50 LM-60 MMP Brasswind 8, 8H, 9, 9B 7G 10, 11Jazz, 4, 5 12, 15Jazz 2, 3, 7 Marcinkiewicz 8 5G, 5J 9, 8H, 6.5AL 10, 11, 11C 12 15 Miraphone BT11 BT07, BT09 BT06, BT14, BT15, BT17, BT18, PO13 BT13 BT03, BT05, PO05 Steven Mead SM4, SMB4 SMB6 SMB9 Monette TT-4 TT-5 TS-6 TS-11 Rudy Muck 26MTB Parduba 5 4.5 3.5 (24.63), 4 3 2.5 Sarad All Cups X, Y, or Z Rim Brahms Model Signature Models Alessi 5, 5.5, 6 (25.95)Alessi Alto A-3 Bob Stroup 9BGreg Woll 5GWBenge MarcellusByron Peebles ET1 Peter SullivanCanadian Brass Gene Watts Jiggs Whigham ET1.7 (25.1)Alain Trudel (25.2)Scott Bliege (25.2)Barry Green Solo (25.15) 175 JW Jiggs WhighamJJ Johnson by GiardinelliIan McDougall ET2Charlie Loper ET3 Frank Holton (24.6)Urbie Green (Jet-Tone) All Cup DepthsLloyd Ulyate ET4 Frank Rosolino Size in mm / Inches 26.00 mm1.024" 25.75 mm1.014" 25.50 mm1.004" 25.40 mm1.000" 25.00 mm0.984" 24.75 mm0.974" 24.50 mm0.965" 24.40 mm0.955" Bach 4G 5G, 6 6 1/2 6 3/4 7-11 12-14 1/2 15 Stomvi 4 58330 68335 7 8 Stork BT4 T1 BT5 (25.2), BT6 T2 T3 System Blue Extreme System Blue Euph (LS) System Blue Bari (SS) Warburton 8 9 10 11 12 13 Denis Wick 4AL, 4ABL, 4BL, 4BS 5AL, 5ABL, 5BL, 5BS4.5AL (25.85) 51, 6AL, 6BL, 6BS, 7CS, 9BL, 9BS, 10CS 12CS Zottola 99A & B1.00A 96A & B Table 324.30 - 22.5 mm Size in mm 24.30 mm 24.20 mm 24.00 mm 23.9 mm 23.50 mm 23.25 mm 23.00 mm 22.5 mm Manufacturer Bach 17-18 19 22 Schilke 43A 42 42B 40 Jerome Callet TM24 TM23.5 TS22.5 Doug Elliott 95 (24.1) 94 Josef Klier (JK) P12 Laskey 42C Rudy Muck 23MTB 25MTB Parduba 2 Signature Models David Steinmeyer ET7 Stomvi 9 8350 (24.12) 10 Warburton 14 15 Zottola 93 A&B
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