How to Have Better Tone on a Trombone

Last Updated: November 29, 2022

Just making noise on a trombone is an easy thing to do. But if you ever want to get that solo or make your school's top band, you have to have good tone quality.

Steps

1
Learn to buzz your lips on the pitch center. This is essential. The pitch you buzz with your lips must match the pitch selected by the slide position. Buzzing either too high or too low will result in a weak tone. This is true of all brass instruments, but it is particularly true for the trombone.
- Practice buzzing with just the mouthpiece to train your lips (and your ears) to buzz on pitch. Change pitch by changing your lip position on the mouthpiece, but don't completely readjust. Aim lower for low notes and push from your gut. Aim higher for high notes and push from your chest.
2
Use proper air support. Low range requires large volumes of air delivered at relatively low pressure. High range requires a small volume of air delivered at high pressure. Be sure to use the diaphragm (gut) to support the air flow. This is particularly important in the high range.^{[1]
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3
Make sure you have lots of range. This means you can play very low notes and very high notes, as well as everything in between.You can expand your range by simply playing as high as you can, and holding the note for a few seconds, and then repeating that a few times every time you play.
- Your embouchure is vital to good tone. Embouchure is your mouth and what its doing. Make sure your cheeks aren't puffed out at all.
4
For a rich, full tone, you should say "o" as you play. You can play around with different sounds and what the do to your tone, but unless you're playing jazz, "o" is the one to go with.
- And also, when you have perfected your piece/s and you play them in front of a crowd don't stop playing if you mess up ( you didn't go there to practice the people want to hear you play! ). If you used the tips here and the basics of playing the trombone, you should be fine.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I pitch high notes without changing embouchure?

Community Answer

Air speed -- faster air will help you get high notes out. Aside from that, you have to practice, and doing lip slurs is the easiest way to increase range. If you start low and practice slurring up, you won't be able to change your embouchure, and you'll learn how to play higher with the same embouchure.
Question

Can I play the tone at the corner of my mouth?

Community Answer

It is not recommended, as you get an extremely poor tone quality. The best tone is made at the front of the lips, with a full embouchure.
Question

My teacher wants me to get a strong AND beautiful sound on the trombone. I tried your tips, but it didn't turn out strong and beautiful. What should I do?

Gabe

Community Answer

Make sure you are buzzing with a steady stream of air at all times. If you don't do this, notes tend to crack. Make sure your spit valve is empty before you play. A little bit of spit can mess up the note in big ways. Remember to always keep an open throat and have good posture (edge of your chair, sitting up straight and relaxed). The tips in here are for intermediate players and won't help you if you aren't doing the basics.

Warnings

Spit is a part of the game, so don't be afraid to get a little on you.

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Always do a warm up before playing. Your lips could bleed by the end of practicing if they aren't warmed up.

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