CONTRA TROMBONE POSITION CHART HOW TO

So all these tones require slide-position adjustment for equitemperament, as shown precisely in Mark McDunn’s diagram.Īnders Larson’s Digitaltrombone chart (from the second to the twelfth harmonic) is qualitatively correct, but quantitatively fairly “approximate”. essentially half-way between reference positions) the thirteenth is 41¢ sharp the fifteenth is 12¢ flat (2¢ sharper than the fifth harmonic or 14¢ flatter than the third). twice as sharp as the third) the eleventh and twenty-second are 49¢ flat (i.e. In these fixed reference positions, compared to their nearest (in frequency) equitempered tones, the third, sixth, twelfth, and twenty-fourth natural harmonics are all 2¢ sharp the fifth, tenth, and twentieth are all 14¢ flat the seventh and fourteenth are 31¢ flat the ninth and eighteenth are 4¢ sharp (i.e. The reference positions correspond to fixed positions for natural harmonics one, two, four, eight, and sixteen. We must add seven new (different) positions for each odd harmonic above that. Mark McDunn’s “The 51 Positions” chart goes from the first natural harmonic (pedal) up to the sixteenth harmonic. When they get note-wise close there is just not enough room to display everything on paper, but the mind's eye can zoom in on the detail to follow the paths. And most charts do not well handle the compression of partials as they go up.

The ear can then recognize in aural context there are position paths available for play, not just notes.Īnyway, this chart does not support that kind of thing. So melody becomes a path of connected positions in the chart. (Lower in his visual model is higher in pitch-don't get that part.)Īnyway, the internal visual model allows one to think visually about lines, and Greg does that in his chart. The best representation of such chart I have seen is in Greg Waits' book, but for some reason his internal model is upside down relative to mine. What I mean by internal model is an internal visualization of the position chart. Most fingering charts do not show how high or low a note is, only the slide position.This chart does not align with my internal model, though it seems pretty accurate for someone with a horn that behaves in that way on his own face. To play the A-flat note shown here you must place the slide in 3rd position and then buzz the mouthpiece up to the 3rd Partial. The horizontal slanted lines are called a ' partials', or sometimes an 'overtone'. The most unique thing about this chart is that it shows how high or low to 'buzz' your lips in order to hit each note.

CONTRA TROMBONE POSITION CHART HOW TO

For details on how to find the wavelengths of half-steps and other intervals, click here. The StepWise slide position chart accurately demonstrates the length of each position from the mouthpiece. This is because according to the natural laws of acoustics, half-steps are not linear multiples of the frequencies of neighboring tones.

It is also important to notice that the distance between each position is slightly longer than the one before it. Notice that 3rd position is not really AT the bell, but slightly BEFORE it.

On StepWise trombone fingering charts the trombone positions are shown across the bottom, and are shown in relation to the bell.

Contra trombone position chart