How to prepare the trombone for playing

Trombone is a brass instrument. It has a long history. This instrument was first made in the mid-15th century. In the 18th century, trombone was played at the church, so it is a sacred instrument. It is called the God’s instrument.

People who play the trombone change the pitch by moving the slide. This is a charactaristic that other instruments do not have. When I saw this instrument for the first time, I was interested in the structure of the instrument, so I decided to play it in brass band club. One day, my friends who were not members of brass band club were interested in this instrument and they asked me about the structure of this instrument. They said “How do you assemble it?” I think many people may be interested in it, too. They can understand the structure of this instrument if they know how to prepare to play the trombone, so I decided to introduce this procedure.

《List of tools》

・A instrument 

・A mouthpiece　

・A piece of gauze (to wipe dirt)　

・Slide cream: about 2g　

・A water spray (to get the slide wet)

・A few sheets of newspaper

 

《How to prepare the trombone for playing》

1. First, remove the instrument from its case. The instrument has two parts, a slide section and a bell section. You should hold them with both hands not to damage its body.

2. Second, remove slide part and wipe dirt from inside of the inner slide with a piece of gauze. If you forget to wipe dirt from the slide, the slide become rusty, so this is one of the important process.

3. Third, apply appropriate amount of slide cream on the tip of the slide. You should lay a few sheets of newpaper on the floor not to make dirty the floor.

4. Next, use a water spray to get the slide wet. The amount of water sprayed is about 4 pushes.

5. After the slide get wet, put the outer slide on the inner slide and slide them several times to blend slide cream and water. Be careful not to drop the slide at this time.

6. Next, hold the slide and bell section and attach the slide section to the bell section. It is important to attach them suitable angle when you play.

7. Next, attach the mouthpiece to the instrument and ready to play the trombone.

If you read this, you are able to know about trombone and understand the structure of it. I do them every time before I play it. These processes are important to keep the instrument clean. In addition, the procedure for preparing to play the trombone is different for each person, so this is my original procedure. The type and amount of slide cream also vary from person to person. If you have a opportunity to listen to brass bands or orchestras, pay attention to the trombone, please!