Looking to take up Trombone...

[Reptar On Ice]

So yeah, I decided I want to learn to play Trombone. I talked to a few people (nobody special, just anyone I thought might know anything), and got a few tips, and now I'm turning to UG for help. First off, I have about a year and a half of Bass and just over a year of Guitar behind me, and I'm told I'm not doing bad with that. Anyway, a few questions maybe someone can help me with...

- I'm told playing Trombone is slightly easier if you already play guitar. How true is that?

- I played my friend's Trumpet (he doesn't play, he just has one), and finally got the hang of blowing into it. I accidentally played a song, and couldn't do it again. He says it was because of the pitch of my voice. Another friend suggested it's just how hard you blow. If anyone can tell me how this works, (that would be pitch and how hard you blow), and how similar it is on a Trombone, that'd be cool.

- I'm curious as to how similar the mouthpieces are for a Trumpet and a Trombone. If I practice blowing into the Trumpet for a week or 2, will I be used to it for the Trombone?

I guess that's it for now. I just wanna have a good idea of what it's like so I know what to do when I go to rent one from Alto music store. Thanks :D

[Griever988]

This is ultimate guitar not ultimate trombone...but yes it does depend on how hard you blow, you need to build up lung strength otherwise you wont get anywhere

[sixstringsteve]

we need an ultimate trombone site.

[rustic_metal]

lol ultimate-trombone :haha

[Reptar On Ice]

God damn why does everyone on here have to be like this? What a waste of 2 and a half posts..

Don't you think I thought of the fact that this is a guitar site? It's better and easier for me not to join another forum site just to ask one question, I tried googling and wikipedia searching an answer beforehand too. There's a sticky for vocals help here, and the forum we're in is Musician's talk, not guitarists talk, AND my question related to guitar, so I don't see a problem. I thought at least posting in the Musicians talk forum as opposed to the pits would avoid the stupid remarks, but clearly I was wrong. Maybe I'll just go ahead on my own and figure out the instrument that way.

[Tomaz24]

I used to play the Trombone and I’m in a funk band with a bit of brass too.

- Playing the guitar does NOT make playing the trombone any easier. How could it? It’s completely different.

- How hard your blow doesn’t really make a difference, obviously you’ve got to reach a certain point for volume, but that’s not too hard so I would think your lips just aren’t suited to the trumpet. If you find playing the trumpet difficult you should find the trombone easier.

- Mouthpieces for the Trumpet and Trombone aren’t really similar, so if you’re going to practice using a mouthpiece, I suggest using a trombone one.

Good luck with that anyway, it’s a fun instrument. Although the guitar is miles better. ;-)

[Fongie]

- I'm told playing Trombone is slightly easier if you already play guitar. How true is that?

No, that's just false. Obviously, music theory applies for all instruments but otherwise no.

- I played my friend's Trumpet (he doesn't play, he just has one), and finally got the hang of blowing into it. I accidentally played a song, and couldn't do it again. He says it was because of the pitch of my voice. Another friend suggested it's just how hard you blow. If anyone can tell me how this works, (that would be pitch and how hard you blow), and how similar it is on a Trombone, that'd be cool.

It's not how you blow, it's how you shape your mouth. It's hard to explain so to be honest, just try until it works. The pitch has to do with the tension in your lips, kind off.. but once again, you'll notice. Oh and, you do have to blow pretty hard but you wont get the tone just because you blow harder.

- I'm curious as to how similar the mouthpieces are for a Trumpet and a Trombone. If I practice blowing into the Trumpet for a week or 2, will I be used to it for the Trombone?

They are actually the same, although the trombone's mouthpiece is bigger. A trumpets is harder to get a tone in. Practicing with a trumpet will help somewhat in terms of how to do it at all, but I'd want to start with a trombone anyway :p:

Oh and.. a teacher would do a lot of good, I've never heard of a self-taught trombonist :wtf:

[Nick_]

Many players make the mistake of blowing harder for higher notes; they do need more support but you should be able to play them at any dynamic. Learning to separate the two is sort of an epiphanic moment for a brass player.

If you played unlined fretless bass you might be ahead of the pack in terms of intonation, and the fact that you already play an instrument will always make it easier to pick up new ones

[UtBDan]

I played trumpet. As previously said, the mouthpiece of it is the trombone's but smaller.


You get a higher pitch by tightening your lips, almost in a kissing fashion. Like, go to do a kiss on the cheek (only the interior of the mouth piece), and then open your lips so that there's a small circle of air coming through.


How hard you blow determines the volume.

You don't want to blow with your cheeks even though it looks funky and there are a lot of pictures of the pros doing it. You want to blow with your lunges.

I don't think playing guitar will make playing trombone easier unless you played guitar via sheet music or learned theory. After a year of playing guitar and a year and a half of bass, I'm sad to say that I doubt you know enough to make trombone that much easier. You might... but as I said, I doubt it.


You should atleast get one lesson on trombone, to teach you the right form to hold and blow it. Then you can probably get one of those beginner's lesson books and work your way through it. However, just as I would with guitar & bass, I'd suggest taking lessons until you feel you can do what you want to do it on it.

[Reptar On Ice]

Well, that was certainly some good info, thanks all. I've played a bit of fretless unlined bass, so I do understand the idea there. And as to lessons.. well, I'm self-taught with guitar, and lessons just seem to be bothersome and ineffective. I've studied theory and practiced techniques with the help of the internet, and one friend who I'd ask a few extra things (like Drop Tuning, what to buy and where, etc.). But otherwise, everything was done solely by me in my own time. So a new question, are trombone lessons more important than guitar lessons, or are lessons lessons and that's that? Err.. what I mean is, is it easier to learn guitar without lessons than to learn a brass instrument?

[psychodelia]

You don't want to blow with your cheeks even though it looks funky and there are a lot of pictures of the pros doing it. You want to blow with your lunges.

This is true, the only thing I might clarify is that you want to not just use the lungs, but you really need to support your sound with your diaphragm.


I would get a teacher, at least for a few lessons. I played four brass instruments in high school, and whenever I'd switch to a new instrument I'd take a few lessons to make sure my technique was decent. I had absolutely no long-term plans for playing the instruments, but I still wanted to make sure that I had a decent grasp of the instrument and that I was playing with reasonable efficiency. With wind instruments, you have that whole new dimension of breathing to worry about, and having an experienced teacher point out how you can improve that aspect is a great help. You also need to worry about things like articulation.

[TheBandGeek3]

i agree take at least a couple of lessons to make sure you have your embrasure correct and other things like breathing and articulation. After those lessons though you can teach your self.

It's a pretty simple instrument. There's 7 different positions (unlike a clarinet or flute where there is many different fingerings) and about 28 notes that you can play. The mouth piece is pretty large so its not too hard to get up high or go low. And when you first start out your lips feel really weird.

[Nick_]

There are more than 28 - the upper range a pro can get with a trombone is pretty astounding.



Most popular styles of guitar are not at all demanding technique wise; it's often acceptable to use bad technique simply because the borders and limits placed on your playing are never reached.

With orchestral instruments and classical study however, you'll find that incorrect technique will limit you far faster.

In short, if not a lesson, at least someone who knows what they're doing to point out what you need. Learning to breathe properly and having a correct embouchure is KEY.

[Reptar On Ice]

Well, lessons are kinda out of the question, there aren't really any places near me that offer them and I haven't the money anyway. I'm gonna go ahead and find some sites with technique help, and maybe buy a book. I appreciate all of everyone's help, thanks.