Hello!

My dad passed away at the end of August. He was a professional trombone player-played in an orchestra until he retired and went back to his first love, jazz. Unfortunately the musical gene skipped my brother and I, so we’re trying to figure out what to do with his trombone.

I know it’s looks pretty beaten up- it was played daily for about twenty years, so it’s definitely seen some use. It’s a Martin. I’m trying to figure out if it had enough value to make it worth selling, or, if anyone knows of some place that would be interested in it as a donation. I know he would have wanted it to be played, instead of sitting in a case in my house. I am in SE Ohio, if that matters at all.

Thank you so much for looking at my post! If there’s any other information/photos I can get that will help please let me know!

How do I get the lip trill on a double G to be faster and more free sounding? I feel like im really forcing it right now

I was at a football game recently and during 3rd quarter, when I had a break I was sitting down, and when I came back in 4th quarter there was thins dent. I haven’t noticed any issues so it do it doesn’t impact my playing but idk how much it would cost/ if it’s worth it.

What is currently available trombone with an f-attachment that you would recommend in the 1-2k range that would last me a long time as a high school trombonist who plans to carry it into college.

I'm back to share what I think is the final version of my trombone parts diagram. I've had great help along the way from Reddit, Facebook groups, amateur and professional players I know, and a repair tech at a well-respected local shop. Thank you all. It's a much better diagram because of you.

I really wanted to stick with a fully assembled trombone, but I was eventually convinced to show the slide tenon by separating the bell and slide just a little. It still looks like a complete trombone while fitting in a part you interact with every time you assemble your horn.

This isn't meant to be extremely technical or to cover everything you'd discuss with a repair technician or custom instrument builder, so I've deliberately left out smaller parts like ferrules, different valve types (or any valve internals), springs, and any cutaways besides the "inside view" showing the slide stocking. 

The goal is to show the parts that come up in lessons, rehearsals, and everyday playing – and fit it all on one page that could serve as a handout or poster – rather than trying to cover absolutely everything in a multi-page comprehensive guide.

This diagram also only covers tenor trombone – bass trombone would need another diagram of its own to cover the different tuning options, levers, and single/double/dependent/independent/etc. valve configurations.

Nothing like this is ever 100% complete (which is part of the reason I'm sharing it under Creative Commons licenses), but I'd love one more look from the community here. Do any labels seem unclear or confusing, especially from the point of view of a newer player or teacher? Is anything missing that you'd really expect to see? And if you disagree with any of my choices, I'm happy to hear it and explain my thinking.

For anyone who wants to print it at poster size, there's a free high-resolution PNG on my website. The high-res version is available for noncommercial use, but allows educators to use it in paid settings. I’ll update it if I make any tweaks.

Thanks again for all the help!

Hello friends! So I used to play trombone throughout middle and high school and recently picked it back up at 21. Back I school I neglected truly learning which notes were which slide positions. I can read the notes but I just can’t always tell which position I need to be in. I used to often refer to my position sheet and would just write in the slide position. Any tips? Any resources to practice putting the two together?

Yo anyone know a good cheap ish bass bone with 2 rotors?

I made an app to help sight reading and it’s great for trombone players. It’s called Sight Reader Trainer and is available for Apple (Android coming soon). I appreciate any feedback https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sight-reader-trainer/id6822368534