Instrument reference · brass

Trombone

By Band Tuning editorial · Facts checked 15 September 2026

Trombones are non-transposing instruments written at pitch. ² About nine feet of tubing gives a fundamental of B♭1; the pedal tones from E1 to B♭1 are not dependable.²

The frequencies on this page are computed from the pitch standard A4 = 440 Hz, the 1939 London conference standard reaffirmed by ISO in 1975, in twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into twelve equal semitones: f = 440 × 2^(n/12), where n is the number of semitones above A4 (negative below). ¹ The notes are named in scientific pitch notation, where C4 is middle C.

Tuning notes and reference pitches

In a band's daily tuning the concert B♭ and the concert F are the notes this instrument tunes to, and the source says to warm up before tuning and to use no vibrato. ⁵ The table gives every octave of those notes inside the instrument's sounding range, the note the player reads for it, and its frequency. The browser tuner plays each of these as a reference tone.

How the pitch is adjusted

• Slides pulled out play flatter, pushed in sharper. ⁵
• The U-bend of the bell section is a tight-fitting tuning slide. ²
• The slide has seven positions, first (toward you) to seventh (fully extended), with no position markers; players learn them by feel, and several notes come from each position. ⁶
• With a valve engaged the positions sit farther out; on the F attachment the slide covers six positions over its length. The guide says to confirm your own positions with a tuner. ⁷

Every note in the range at A4 = 440 Hz

E2 to B♭4, tenor trombone, sounding; the bass trombone reaches B1. ⁴ This instrument reads at pitch, so the written and sounding notes are the same.

Maker's specification

Figures as printed in the maker's catalogue for its standard and intermediate models; a bore is the inside diameter of the tubing, a bell the diameter of its rim.

The family: other keys and sizes

Notes from the sources

• Trombones have a range extending one octave lower than the trumpet's. ⁸
• A tenor-bass trombone should in theory reach C three octaves below middle C, a minor seventh below pedal B♭. ⁷
• Bass trombones use a mouthpiece with a larger diameter to make the low notes easier to produce. ⁸