The Trombone Family
Tenor Trombone- This is the most commonly used trombone in the family. Players most prefer to play this trombone because of its smoother and higher sound than the bass and the contrabass. It has an F attachment and has seven slide positions.
Contrabass Trombone- This trombone is pitched in F, a perfect fourth below the tenor and the bass instruments. The contrabass being such a cumbersome instrument it is difficult to slide all the positions, therefore most have a double slide to alleviate the far extension to the lower positions.
Bass Trombone- the bass trombone is very similar to the tenor trombone except for the bass has a larger bore and a larger mouth piece which allows it to have a full lower sound.
Alto Trombone- The alto trombone is the third most common trombone and was brought in when the tenor could not hit the high notes. The alto plays an octave higher than the tenor, it also has a short slide. From the 16th to the 18th century the alto was the highest voice in the choir.
Soprano Trombone- The soprano trombone also known as the slide trumpet is a smaller version of the tenor trombone, it is pitched an octave above the tenor. This trombone is harder to play in tune which is why it is not often seen in bands.
Soprano Trombone Example!
Sopranino and Piccolo Trombone- These two trombones are the rarest trombones out of them all. The sopranino is a smaller version of the soprano trombone and the piccolo plays an octave higher than normal. These two are not played without player of knowledge and the parts are specifically written in.