International Trombone Week – April 7-13, 2024

History of International Trombone Week

If you’ve ever been to a jazz bar, an orchestra, or even a grand live band, then you are more than likely to have been graced by the sweet sounds of the trombone. Often confused with the trumpet, the trombone is a brass musical instrument whose shape is likened to that of a trumpet, only bigger. It has an extendable slide which makes the different sounds possible.

The trombone is not the easiest instrument to master. It takes years of patience, willpower, and lungs of steel to become an expert in the craft. Its roots can be traced way back to the 15th Century, during the Renaissance. Sackbut, as it was called in the 1400s, was a hit in sponsored and dance bands all across Europe from its inception to the late 17th Century. Trombone players in Germany were employed as civil officials. After that, they were mostly used in official settings such as the arrival of important guests to the city. There were still a few trombone players that could be found in orchestras or religious settings.

As Italian music became influential in the 18th Century, sackbuts made a comeback, rebranded as ‘trombones’. In the later Baroque period, composers like Bach and Handel used trombones on certain occasions. The classic instrument underwent a few construction changes and popular demand in a variety of genres from the Classical period through the Romantic period to the 20th Century. Trombones are still being used in orchestras, concerts, bands, choirs, and in music genres like jazz, R&B, swing, and salsa. The International Trombone Association (ITA) was established in 1972 and is the creator of International Trombone Week (ITW).