soprano trombone

{{broader|Trombone#History}}

Whether the soprano trombone was ever widely used in history is still a matter for debate.{{cite journal |title=The Soprano Trombone Hoax |first=Howard |last=Weiner |journal=Historic Brass Society Journal |volume=13 |date=2001 |pages=138–160 |doi=10.2153/0120010011008 |url=https://www.historicbrass.org/edocman/hbj-2001/HBSJ_2001_JL01_008_Weiner.pdf |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127232731/https://historicbrass.org/edocman/hbj-2001/HBSJ_2001_JL01_008_Weiner.pdf |url-status=live }} The earliest surviving instrument was made in 1677, held by the Landesmuseum in Linz.{{cite journal |title=Sensation or forgery? The 1677 soprano trombone of Cristiann Kofahl |first=Lars E. |last=Laubhold |journal=Historic Brass Society Journal |publisher=Historic Brass Society |date=2000 |volume=12 |pages=259–65 |doi=10.2153/0120000011013 |doi-broken-date=16 January 2025 |url=https://www.historicbrass.org/edocman/hbj-2000/HBSJ_2000_JL01_013_Lauphold_Weiner.pdf |access-date=2 May 2022 |archive-date=9 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709180825/https://www.historicbrass.org/edocman/hbj-2000/HBSJ_2000_JL01_013_Lauphold_Weiner.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Ende für das Musikintrumentenmuseum im Schloss Kremsegg: Instrumente wandern ins Landesmuseum Linz |language=de |trans-title=The end of the musical instrument museum at Kremsegg: instruments transferred to the Landesmuseum in Linz |first=Suzanne |last=Winter |work=Tips Kirchdorf |publisher=Tips Zeitungs GmbH & Co KG |date=19 November 2018 |url=https://www.tips.at/nachrichten/kremsmuenster/land-leute/447821-ende-fuer-das-musikintrumentenmuseum-im-schloss-kremsegg-instrumente-wandern-ins-landesmuseum-linz |access-date=20 May 2024 |archive-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519231642/https://www.tips.at/nachrichten/kremsmuenster/land-leute/447821-ende-fuer-das-musikintrumentenmuseum-im-schloss-kremsegg-instrumente-wandern-ins-landesmuseum-linz |url-status=live }} German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach composed three cantatas around 1723 with four trombone parts, the highest written in soprano clef for a {{lang|de|diskant-posaune}} ({{lit.|descant trombone}}).{{sfn|Yeo|2021|page=137–8|loc="soprano trombone". (cantatas BWV 2, 21 & 38)}}

File:Emaus-trombone-choir.jpg

The soprano trombone was used in German-speaking countries to play the treble part in chorales, and this tradition survives in the trombone choirs of Moravian Church music.{{sfn|Yeo|2021|page=137–8|loc="soprano trombone"}} Outside of this, there is little evidence of the instrument being employed in musical ensembles or written works since the 18th century. This may have been because the {{lang|de|Stadtpfeiffer}} ({{lit.|town pipers}}), who were trained to play all instruments, found fast and high (soprano) passages easier to play on the cornett.{{sfn|Herbert|2006|p=28}}

Soprano trombone is seldom mentioned in the major orchestration treatises of the 19th century. German musicologist Adolf Bernhard Marx (1847) and English music scholar Ebenezer Prout (1897) only mention the soprano to state that it is considered obsolete, and French organist and composer Charles-Marie Widor in his 1904 treatise only mentioned that some manufacturers were still making them, while describing the alto as obsolete.{{sfn|Guion|2010|p=52}}

File:MIMEd 6586. Slide cornet nominal pitch B-flat-A (wb).jpg, 1921; built in B♭ adjustable to A with in-slide tuning]]

From 1900 through to the 1930s some soprano trombones—dubbed slide cornets—were made, mainly for jazz, by American manufacturers C. G. Conn, Buescher, and H. N. White. These instruments used tuning in the slide, rather than on the bow of the bell section.{{sfn|Klaus|2013|p=39-44}} Later, Getzen produced an inexpensive slide trumpet in the 1960s. These were used by a few jazz trumpet players like Louis Armstrong, Bobby Hackett and Dizzy Gillespie, but otherwise were not widely adopted.{{sfn|Yeo|2021|page=137–8|loc="soprano trombone"}}{{cite AV media |author-first=Gilles |author-last=Petard |title=King Oliver And His Creole Jazz Band |others=Armstrong, Louis (slide trumpet) |publisher=Getty Images |date=c. 1923 |type=Photograph |url=https://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/uutiskuva/king-oliver-and-his-creole-jazz-band-studio-group-portrait-uutiskuva/991925076 |access-date=23 May 2023 |archive-date=5 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505223442/https://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/uutiskuva/king-oliver-and-his-creole-jazz-band-studio-group-portrait-uutiskuva/991925076 |url-status=live }}

In the 1970s and 80s, Los Angeles instrument makers Robb Stewart, Larry Minick, and Dominic Calicchio were making soprano trombones for local players including Bob and Chuck Findley, Eugene Lebeaux, and players in Moravian trombone choirs.

{{broader|Trombone#Construction}}

The B♭ soprano trombone is built with dimensions similar to the B♭ trumpet. The bore size is between {{convert|0.450|and|0.470|in|mm}}, and the bell is {{convert|5|to|6|in}} in diameter. It usually takes a trumpet mouthpiece, although some instruments are made with a smaller shank to take a cornet mouthpiece.

The slide of a soprano trombone is much shorter than that of a standard tenor trombone, with the slide positions only half the distance apart.

Soprano trombones are made by several trombone manufacturers, often as novelty instruments. An inexpensive model made in China by Jinbao is also resold as a stencil instrument by several suppliers, including Dillon, O'Malley and Schiller. High quality professional instruments are made by German manufacturers Miraphone, Thein and Helmut Voigt.{{Multiref2

| {{Cite web |title=Mini trombone |publisher=Carol Brass |publication-place=Chiayi, Taiwan |url= https://www.carolbrass.com/products_list.aspx?getId=3B9CD465BD79DF79&getId1=66AFF61204F165F4&getId2=99E92C1947219E4D |access-date=26 February 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250226211600/https://www.carolbrass.com/products.aspx?getId=3B9CD465BD79DF79&getId1=66AFF61204F165F4 |archive-date=26 February 2025 }}

| {{Cite web |title=Soprano trombones |publisher=Helmut Voigt |publication-place=Markneukirchen |url= https://helmut-voigt.com/diskantposaune/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301110151/https://helmut-voigt.com/diskantposaune/ |archive-date=1 March 2023 }}

| {{Cite web |title=JBST-1800拉管小号降B调 |publisher=Jinbao |publication-place=Tianjin |language=zh |url= http://www.jinbaomusic.com/index.php?s=index/show/index&id=664 |access-date=17 November 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231117005820/http://www.jinbaomusic.com/index.php?s=index%2Fshow%2Findex&id=664 |archive-date=17 November 2023 }} Also resold as a stencil instrument by several instrument suppliers including Dillon, O'Malleys, and Schiller.

| {{Cite web |title=Model 150 B♭ Soprano Trombone |publisher=Kanstul Musical Instruments |publication-place=Anaheim, CA |url= https://www.kanstul.com/instruments/trombones/150-bb-soprano-trombone/ |access-date=17 November 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230102030605/https://www.kanstul.com/instruments/trombones/150-bb-soprano-trombone/ |archive-date=2 January 2023 }} Ceased operations in 2020.

| {{Cite web |title=Bb soprano slide trombone |publisher=Miraphone eG |publication-place=Waldkraiburg |url= https://www.miraphone.de/bb-soprano-slide-trombone-2.html |access-date=28 April 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230523024359/https://www.miraphone.de/bb-soprano-slide-trombone-2.html |archive-date=23 May 2023 }}

| {{Cite web |title=Soprano Trombone |publisher=Thein Brass |publication-place=Bremen |url= https://thein-brass.de/en/instrument/soprano-trombone/ |language=en |access-date=28 April 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220307015834/https://thein-brass.de/en/instrument/soprano-trombone/ |url-status=live }}

| {{Cite web |title=Soprano Trombone – PB453 |work=Wessex Tubas |url= https://www.wessex-tubas.com/products/soprano-trombone-pb453 |access-date=1 March 2023 |archive-date=1 March 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230301110142/https://www.wessex-tubas.com/products/soprano-trombone-pb453 |url-status=live }}

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Californian instrument makers Larry Minick and Robb Stewart were making soprano trombones to order in the 1980s, some of which included an F attachment, a valve operated with a left thumb lever or trigger similar to those found on larger trombones.{{Cite web |title=Slide Flugelhorn? Plus: Piccolo Trombone |first=Robb |last=Stewart |publisher=Robb Stewart Brass Instruments |publication-place=Arcadia, CA |date=1 May 2022 |url=https://www.robbstewart.com/slide-flugelhorn |access-date=6 May 2024 |archive-date=5 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505223339/https://www.robbstewart.com/slide-flugelhorn |url-status=live }} In the early 2010s, trumpeter Torbjörn Hultmark of the Royal College of Music commissioned a soprano trombone with an F valve from Thein. Helmut Voigt also makes a soprano with an F valve.

File:Piccolo trombone by Jinbao.png

Trombones smaller than the soprano have only been built since the 1950s, when they first appeared as novelty or "show" instruments.{{sfn|Guion|2010|p=3}}

The {{Visible anchor|Sopranino trombone|text=sopranino trombone}} in E♭, a fourth higher than the soprano and an octave above the alto, exists only in small numbers custom made, mainly for Moravian churches in the United States.{{sfn|Yeo|2021|page=106|loc=Piccolo trombone}}

The {{Visible anchor|Piccolo trombone|text=piccolo trombone}} in B♭ is an octave above the soprano. It is essentially a piccolo trumpet with a slide instead of valves, and is used with a piccolo trumpet mouthpiece.{{sfn|Yeo|2021|page=106|loc=Piccolo trombone}} Bore sizes are {{convert|0.460|in|mm}} or smaller, with bells approximately {{convert|4|in|cm|0}} in diameter. The piccolo is offered by Thein, Chinese manufacturer Jinbao, and Wessex.{{Multiref2

| {{Cite web |title=Piccolo Trombone |publisher=Thein Brass |publication-place=Bremen |url=https://thein-brass.de/en/instrument/piccolo-trombone/ |access-date=28 April 2022 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427214712/https://thein-brass.de/en/instrument/piccolo-trombone/ |url-status=live }}

| {{Cite web |title=JBSL-8150小号Bb/A |language=zh |publisher=Jinbao |publication-place=Tianjin |url=http://www.jinbaomusic.com/index.php?s=index/show/index&id=883 |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209062509/http://www.jinbaomusic.com/index.php?s=index/show/index&id=883 |archive-date=9 February 2023 |url-status=live }}

| {{Cite web |title=Piccolo Trombone – PB300 |work=Wessex Tubas |url=https://www.wessex-tubas.com/collections/trombones-and-sackbut/products/piccolo-trombone-pb300 |access-date=28 April 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129103849/https://www.wessex-tubas.com/collections/trombones-and-sackbut/products/piccolo-trombone-pb300 |url-status=live }}

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Thein also make a novelty {{Visible anchor|Piccolino trombone|text=piccolino trombone}} in F, a fifth higher than the B♭ piccolo, originally made for the German Brass ensemble.{{Cite web |title=Piccolino Trombone |publisher=Thein Brass |publication-place=Bremen |url=https://thein-brass.de/en/instrument/piccolino-trombone/ |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325135902/https://thein-brass.de/en/instrument/piccolino-trombone/ |url-status=live }}

The soprano trombone's similarity to the trumpet—its high pitch, mouthpiece size and narrow embouchure—means it is usually played by trumpeters. The player must combine both trumpet playing and trombone slide techniques to control intonation and note selection accuracy.

{{Image frame | caption = The (sounding) range of the B♭ soprano trombone.{{sfn|Herbert|Myers|Wallace|2019|p=481|loc=Appendix 2: The Ranges of Labrosones}}

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Soprano trombone parts are usually written in treble clef and, like the trumpet, can be in concert pitch or transposed in B{{music|flat}}.

The range of the B{{music|flat}} soprano trombone is similar to the B{{music|flat}} trumpet, E{{sub|3}} to C{{sub|6}}.{{sfn|Herbert|Myers|Wallace|2019|p=481|loc=Appendix 2: The Ranges of Labrosones}}

As part of his "Soprano Trombone Project", Torbjörn Hultmark has used the instrument to successfully begin children on brass instruments from as young as the age of four, and is the world's first registered Suzuki teacher in soprano trombone.{{cite journal |first=Torbjörn |last=Hultmark |title=What is the best age to start playing a brass instrument? |journal=ITG Journal |publisher=International Trumpet Guild |date=October 2020 |page=46}} Hultmark has also worked with the British Music Teachers Board to produce a syllabus of grade examinations for the soprano trombone.{{Cite web |title=Soprano Trombone Syllabus |publisher=Music Teachers' Board |work=MTB Exams |date=2020 |url=https://www.mtbexams.com/syllabus/soprano-trombone/ |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520000512/https://www.mtbexams.com/syllabus/soprano-trombone/ |url-status=live }} Other researchers have reported the soprano trombone can also be used as a pedagogical tool to help trumpet players improve several core aspects of their playing technique.{{Cite web |title=Soprano Trombone: Pedagogical Applications of the Slide for Trumpeters |last=Spencer |first=Ryan |work=The International Trumpet Guild |date=2021 |access-date=27 April 2022 |url=https://trumpetguild.org/content/videos/84-Research/2209-Spencer-2021 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072355/https://trumpetguild.org/content/videos/84-Research/2209-Spencer-2021 |url-status=live }}

File:Steven Bernstein 2.JPG

There is very little classical repertoire written specifically for soprano trombone. The earliest pieces are three cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and two passions by Georg Philipp Telemann (as edited by his grandson) from the early 18th century, and a large body of Moravian Church music for trombone choir from the late 18th and 19th century.

In contemporary music, composers have very occasionally included soprano trombone in orchestral works. British composer Brian Ferneyhough called for two in his large 2006 work Plötzlichkeit; after playing one of the parts in a performance, Hultmark became a proponent of the soprano trombone as a serious instrument.{{Cite web |title=The Soprano Trombone Project |first=Jane |last=Salmon |work=Jane Salmon (blog) |date=23 June 2016 |url=https://janesalmon.info/2016/06/23/the-soprano-trombone-project/ |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521002251/https://janesalmon.info/2016/06/23/the-soprano-trombone-project/ |url-status=live }} He has written and commissioned new compositions for it, and promotes its use as a first instrument for children.{{sfn|Yeo|2021|page=137–8|loc="soprano trombone"}}

In jazz, some contemporary artists are employing the soprano trombone in their work.{{Cite web |title=The Slide Trumpet |last=Sanborn |first=Chase |work=Halftime Magazine |date=16 April 2013 |url=https://halftimemag.com/sectionals/the-slide-trumpet.html |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524145924/https://halftimemag.com/sectionals/the-slide-trumpet.html |url-status=live }} Wycliffe Gordon and Christian Scott both use the instrument in solos and on their albums.{{Cite AV media |title=Wycliffe Gordon plays SWING THAT MUSIC at CancerBlows 2015 |medium=Excerpt from DVD |people=Gordon, Wycliffe (soprano trombone); Saunders, Jay (Music Director) |publisher=CancerBlows |date=16 January 2017 |orig-date=Recorded 4 March 2015 |location=Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas |time=2 min, 57 sec |time-caption=Solo beings at |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTy-NeVaUL4&t=177s |access-date=26 May 2022 |via=YouTube |archive-date=25 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525233728/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTy-NeVaUL4&t=177s |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Album Review: Christian Scott: Anthem |last=Harold |first=C. N. |work=All About Jazz |date=29 October 2007 |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/anthem-christian-scott-concord-music-group-review-by-cn-harold |access-date=28 April 2022 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427214716/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/anthem-christian-scott-concord-music-group-review-by-cn-harold |url-status=live }} New York musician Steven Bernstein has become well known for playing the "slide trumpet" in his band, Sexmob.{{Cite web |title=Biography |first=Steven |last=Bernstein |work=Steven Bernstein |url=https://www.stevenbernstein.net/about |access-date=20 May 2022 |quote=Bernstein formed Sexmob with saxophonist Briggan Krauss, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen. It remains his primary vehicle for exploring the slide trumpet |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417215033/https://www.stevenbernstein.net/about |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Sexmob: Live From 92Y Tribeca |last=Jarenwattananon |first=Patrick |work=NPR Music |publisher=NPR |date=9 May 2013 |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/05/09/182462927/sexmob-live-from-92y-tribeca |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519223512/https://www.npr.org/2013/05/09/182462927/sexmob-live-from-92y-tribeca |url-status=live }}

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{{refbegin}}

{{ubli

| {{cite Q|Q111039945|last=Guion |first=David M. |date=2010}}

| {{cite Q|Q111039091|last=Herbert |first=Trevor |date=2006}}

| {{Cite Q|Q114571908|editor1-last=Herbert |editor1-first=Trevor |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Arnold |editor3-last=Wallace |editor3-first=John |date=2019 |publication-place=unset }}

| {{Cite Q|last=Klaus |first=Sabine Katharina |date=2013|Q116447957}}

| {{Cite Q|Q111040546|last=Yeo |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Yeo |date=2021}}

}}

{{refend}}

• {{Commons-inline}}
• Torbjörn Hultmark: [http://www.hultmark.me/torbjornsopranot.html Soprano Trombone Project]
• Moravian Music Foundation: [https://moravianmusic.org/topics-of-interest/the-moravian-trombone-choir/ The Moravian Trombone Choir]

{{Brass instruments}}

Category:Trombones

Category:B-flat instruments

Category:Continuous pitch instruments