#Bass trombone position charts for triggers pro#

A good friend of mine who is a pro freelance trombone player was a bass trombonist only for many years. I do not think that these two issues are connected however.The only time in band music where I have thought a plug would make things easier, is when I am faced with a passage involving fast movement between bottom C & C sharp or vice versa. It is interesting to note that Dennis Wick, who held the view that except in certain circumstances, a tenor trombone doesn't have a plug, was one of the first pros (when he was Principal with the LSO) to use an alto trombone - although there is a rumour that he only did it so that he could get a doubling fee MoominDave, some good points, especially the one concerning the use of an alto trombone for alto trombone parts.

However, I have never found this to be true. If bass trombonists can manage it, it can't be that hard!Īnother point that people sometimes bring up is that the addition of a valve to the almost bendless tubing of the trombone could in itself make all of the (even non-trigger) notes stuffier. In any case, if your trombone is stuffier with the trigger, you just need to put a bit more air through it. Many of these do make a significant difference, and, whilst I haven't BOCced enough to have performed a comparison of all of these, an open wrap large bore bone with (a) Thayer valve(s) does feel remarkably similar when you play whether or not the trigger(s) is/are engaged. Will's observation about how trigger notes are significantly stuffier is only half accurate, in that a wide range of designs exists these days to mitigate this effect (Thayer valves, Greenhoe valves, Lindberg valves, etc., etc., open vs. The question of whether altos should have a trigger is a slightly sillier one, but there is also a case for them. The 70s was also the time in Britain when pro orchestral 1st players refused to use an alto instrument when appropriate, and it seems to me that these two ideas combine under the somewhat macho ideal of '1 part, 1 instrument I can play anything on this, me!'. TIMBONE, you are correct I do consider your view old-fashioned! There are plenty of passages out there in both orchestral and banding repertoires that can be played smoothly with a trigger that sound comparatively rough on a straight instrument even when played by a pro player. Players who play with it out parallel to the ground tend to find that the extra weight behind their heads aids, not hinders, the balance. Madandcrazytromboneguy, I think Okiedokie has a point at what angle does your bone stick out when you play? If the extra weight of a trigger (which isn't really very much, after all) is giving you balance issues, it sounds like you play with it tilted quite far downwards at the front. Crikey - I haven't seen a subject this ripe for BOCcage in months.