Valve trombone
 Valve (tenor) trombone in B♭ | |
| Brass instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 423.233.2 (Valved aerophone sounded by lip vibration with cylindrical bore longer than 2 metres) |
| Developed | Mid 19th century |
| Related instruments | |
| Musicians | |
| Builders | |
Thevalve tromboneis abrass instrumentin thetrombonefamily that has a set ofvalvesto vary the pitch instead of (or in addition to) a slide. Although it has been built in sizes from alto to contrabass, it is the tenor valve trombone pitched in B♭ an octave lower than thetrumpetwhich has seen the most widespread use. The most common models have threepiston valves.They are found in jazz and popular music, as well asmarching bandsin Europe, where they are often built with rotary valves and were widely used in orchestras in the 19th century.
History
[edit]The valve trombone emerged concurrently with the invention ofvalvesin the early 19th century. Most early instruments retained the shape and form of the slide trombone, employing three valves with the tubing arranged in place of the slide; others used the new valve mechanism as an opportunity to explore different configurations while retaining the overall cylindrical bore and bell profile.[1]
It enjoyed its greatest popularity in the 19th century, when the technology of valves was developing rapidly. They became popular in European orchestras particularly in Italy and Austria, where composers wrote with a section of three valve trombones in mind.[6]Among the first French valve trombones was theclavicor,configured upright with three Stölzel valves, briefly replacing thequinticlavein bands until it was itself replaced by saxhorns.[7][8]
Valve trombones were made in many configurations for marching bands, and in particular formounted bands.[9]A type ofcavalry tromboneinvented byAdolphe Saxin the 1860s has six valves, instead of the usual three, one for each position on the trombone slide. Instead of adding tubing, these valves isolate different amounts of tubing from the total length.[10]Their unusual shape was designed to make it easier for players in cavalry bands to hold and use while mounted.[3]They were included in the curriculum at theConservatoire de Parisin the last half of the 19th century, and used in French orchestras for a time despite the large amounts of tubing which made the instruments heavy and unwieldy to play.[10][11]InAustria-Hungaryin the 1860s, instrument makersV. F. Červený & Synovéinvented a family ofArmeeposaune(lit. 'army trombone') in sizes from E♭ alto to B♭ contrabass, also designed for use in mounted and marching bands.[12]
The valve trombone was popular in Americanbrass bandsandmilitary bandsin the mid to late 19th century. In New Orleans the slide trombone did not appear until the "tailgate" style of playing emerged around 1904.[13]
Valvedalto trombonesin E♭ were occasionally built but remain rare instruments; a few survive in museums.[14]
A contrabass valve trombone known as thetrombone basso Verdiwas developed in the late 19th century and is used mainly inoperasbyVerdiandPuccini.This instrument was the prototype for the moderncimbasso,which has seen a 21st century revival invideo game musicandfilm scores.[15]
By the beginning of the 20th century, mass production of reliable instruments with high quality slides led to a return to popularity of the slide trombone. Despite this, valve trombones still remain popular in parts of eastern Europe and Italy, inBanda music,militaryandbrass bandsin South America and India, and injazz,often as a doubling instrument fortrumpetplayers.
Performance characteristics
[edit]
Some passages, particularly fast musical figures, are easier to execute on a valve trombone than on a slide trombone. Italian composers in particular, such as Verdi andRossini,made use of its agility. The valve trombone is also useful for situations when the movement of a slide can be impractical, such as when marching, mounted, or playing in a cramped orchestra pit. Many players consider the tone of a valve trombone to be stuffier and less open, and it is no longer common in orchestras.
In Jazz
[edit]As the B♭tenor valve trombone uses the same fingering as the B♭trumpet,it is occasionally a doubling instrument forjazztrumpeters. Notable jazz musicians who play the B♭tenor valve trombone includeMaynard Ferguson,Bob Brookmeyer,Clifford Thornton,Juan Tizolof theDuke EllingtonOrchestra,Rob McConnellandBob Enevoldsen.
In the 1920s a valve trombone reconfigured into a saxophone shape was developed in Germany, called thenormaphone(German:Normaphon). It was later taken up by American jazz musicians, including William "Hicky" Kelly in the 1960s and Scott Robinson in the 70s.[16]
Hybrid slide-valve trombones
[edit]
Trombones that combine both a slide with a set of valves were built in the late 19th century byBessonandC.G. Conn.[17][18]In the 1940s, jazz musician and machinistBrad Gowansinvented a "valide"(aportmanteauof "valve" and "slide" ) with three piston valves and a short four-position slide.[19] In the 1970s, jazz trumpeterMaynard Fergusonand Larry Ramirez ofHolton Musical Instrumentsdeveloped and patented the Holton TR-395 "Superbone" for Ferguson to use in his band.[20]Similar to the 19th century instruments, it has a very narrow bore of 0.484 inches (12.3 mm), three piston valves, and adds a slide lock which frees the player to operate the valves or the slide with either hand. Holton manufactured it between 1974 and 2004.[21]Subsequent models developed in the early 21st century by British instrument maker Wessex and Australian jazz musicianJames Morrisonuse a larger 0.525-inch (13.3 mm) bore. Morrison's model, built by Austrian instrument manufacturer Schagerl, has three rotary valves built into the bell section.[22][23]
References
[edit]- ^Guion 2010,p. 60-62.
- ^"Clavicor, nominal pitch 8-ft C".Musical Instruments Museums Edinburgh.St Cecilia's Hall:University of Edinburgh. Accession: 4647.Retrieved26 May2024.
- ^ab"Tenor valve trombone ca. 1863".The Met Museum.New York:The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Accession: 2014.488a–d.Archivedfrom the original on 19 January 2022.Retrieved9 May2022.
- ^"Bass valve trombone, nominal pitch 13-ft E♭".Musical Instruments Museums Edinburgh.St Cecilia's Hall:University of Edinburgh. Accession: 6463.Retrieved26 May2024.
- ^"Ventilbasun c. 1888-1905".MIMO: Musical Instrument Museums Online.Stockholm:Scenkonstmuseet.Accession: F132.Retrieved26 May2024.
- ^Yeo 2021,p. 163-164, valve trombone.
- ^Herbert, Myers & Wallace 2019,p. 112, Clavicor.
- ^Herbert, Myers & Wallace 2019,p. 333, Quinticlave.
- ^Guion 2010,p. 60.
- ^abYeo 2021,p. 134, six-valve trombone.
- ^Herbert 2006,p. 196.
- ^Yeo 2021,p. 14, armeeposaune.
- ^Herbert, Trevor (2001). "Trombone".Grove Music Online(8th ed.).Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2252542.ISBN978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^"Alto valve trombone, E♭".National Music Museum.University of South Dakota.1900 [ca. 1895–1912]. Accession number 03245.Archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2024.Retrieved17 September2022.Made in Bohemia; stamped Lyon & Healy, Chicago.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^Meucci, Renato (2001). "Cimbasso".Grove Music Online(8th ed.).Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05789.ISBN978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^Kennedy, Gary W. (2001). "Normaphone".Grove Music Online(8th ed.).Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J655300.ISBN978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^Yeo 2021,p. 46-47, duplex instrument.
- ^"Rare 1884 C.G. Conn Valve-Slide Hybrid Trombone".Worthopedia.WorthPoint Corporation. Archived fromthe originalon 30 May 2022.Retrieved9 June2022.
- ^"Really Doubling in Brass".Popular Science.146(5): 81. May 1946.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-05-20.Retrieved2022-06-21.
- ^US patent 3937116,Lawrence, Ramirez, "Tenor trombone construction", issued 8 June 1976, assigned toG. Leblanc Corporation,class G10D7/10
- ^Yeo 2021,p. 143, Superbone.
- ^"Trombone Model 'Superbone'".schagerl.com.Schagerl Meisterinstrumente.Archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2024.Retrieved30 May2022.
- ^"Superbone (valve/slide trombone) – PB930".www.wessex-tubas.com.Wessex Tubas.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2022.Retrieved31 May2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- Guion, David M. (2010).A History of the Trombone.Toronto: Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0-81087-445-9.OCLC725775517.OL24019524M.WikidataQ111039945.
- Herbert, Trevor (2006).The Trombone.Yale Musical Instrument Series. New Haven:Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300235-75-3.OCLC1007305405.OL30593699M.WikidataQ111039091.
- Herbert, Trevor; Myers, Arnold; Wallace, John, eds. (2019).The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Brass Instruments.Cambridge University Press.doi:10.1017/9781316841273.ISBN978-1-316-63185-0.OCLC1038492212.OL34730943M.WikidataQ114571908.
- Yeo, Douglas (2021).An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player.Dictionaries for the Modern Musician. Peterson, Lennie (illustrator). Lanham:Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-538-15966-8.LCCN2021020757.OCLC1249799159.OL34132790M.WikidataQ111040546.