[Trombone-l] trombones and choral music

[John Cather]

You won't notice a physical difference. It's in Bore size and  
mouthpiece mostly. For instance: the earliest trombone in existence  
that I know of in the Neuchel (spelling?) from the early 1500's It is  
pitched in Bb. All other tenor trombones of the period are pitched in  
Bb (or thereabouts) and typically about .400" bore. This one is .500"  
bore and came with a deep mouthpiece. Most believe it was played as a  
bass because of this evidence.

The cool thing about this trombone is that it shows that they got the  
ideal basic design of a Bb trombone right away. Perfect from the  
beginning!

Cheers,
John Cather


> There's one question I have.  I can certainly buy that this part is  
> perfectly playable without a valve, I have been studying the  
> instruments themselves for years, have created for myself an imense  
> digital archive, and I have never seen an extant period Bb Bass  
> trombone.  The only thing close was an American 19th century  
> Baritone Trombone in Bb.
>
> Where might I get the specs and perhaps a photo of something like  
> this?
>
> J.c.S.