Hello, my name is Christian Jones
and I play the bass trombone
with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
The bass trombone is in the brass family of instruments.
And it makes a sound
when I take a big breath
and buzz my lips into it like this.
(buzzing)
My buzz travels down this mouthpiece
and into the instrument to make a sound.
(buzzing)
To give the note a clear start,
I use my tongue
as if I was pronouncing the letter T.
Ta, ta, ta, ta.
(buzzing)
(rhythmic bass trombone music)
On a brass instrument,
it is the air passing
through my buzzing lips starting the sound.
The tongue is used to tidy up the note
and give it a precise beginning
so that I can play in time with the 80 other musicians
of the Philharmonia Orchestra.
(lively bass trombone music)
When I tighten and slacken my buzzing lips
into the trombone, there's a specific pattern
of notes produced.
(lively bass trombone music)
The first and last note I just played
is the lowest available in that position.
And is therefore known as the fundamental harmonic
of that length of tubing.
Above the fundamental harmonic
is a pattern known as the harmonic series.
And there are no notes in between them.
I can try to bend the notes up or down with my lips
but I'll always end up on the next harmonic.
(playful bass trombone music)
In effect, the trombone is offering my lips a selection
of notes to play.
This may sound strange but the harmonic series
is an inherent property of any sealed length of tubing
whether it's a trombone,
trumpet or hosepipe.
The lowest harmonic on my instrument starts
on a note called the pedal B-flat.
(bass trombone playing a scale)
And this is the lowest or fundamental harmonic
on nearly all modern trombones
which is why we're sometimes called B-flat trombones.
I can control which notes to play with my lips
and make it sound tidy with my tongue.
(bass trombone playing Bugle Wake up Call)
The trombone has a big, long slide too.
Can you count the number of positions on the slide?
(bass trombone playing a scale)
That's right, seven.
And the notes becomes lower
as my slide becomes longer.
What will happen to the notes
when I draw the slide back towards me?
(bass trombone playing a scale)
The notes becomes higher again.
So now I can combine my lips buzzing
and tongue tidying,
(bass trombone playing an arpeggio)
And my arm moving the slide,
(bass trombone playing arpeggios)
to play lots of different notes.
(bass trombone playing Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries)
This is called a bass trombone
which means it can play very low notes.
(bass trombone playing Mahler's 6th Symphony)
And these extra pipes
help me to play low
because they make my trombone even longer
when I use them by pressing these triggers.
Remember that a longer slide makes a lower note.
(playful bass trombone music)
And my extra pipes do the hard work for me.
(playful bass trombone music)
So while all these pipes might look complicated,
they actually make life easier for me.
(bass trombone playing Holst's Jupiter)
The bass trombone can produce all sorts of sounds.
It can be light and delicate.
(bass trombone playing Haydn's The Creation)
Or heavy and menacing.
(bass trombone playing Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets)
(orchestra playing Mahler's 6th Symphony)
It is possible to alter the sound of the bass trombone
by using various mutes
which fit inside or over the bell section of the instrument.
The first is a straight mute
and there are two main types of straight mute.
A metal and a fibre,
this one being a metal.
As you can see, it has corks on the side
which help to keep the instrument inside the bell.
(bass trombone playing a scale)
The sound is now quite metallic.
And this is used by composers
especially to play short, sharp, low notes.
(lively bass trombone music)
This is a cup mute
and when I put this into the bell of the trombone,
it will almost completely cover the opening of the bell
and make a warm, slightly muffled sound.
(bass trombone playing a scale)
The cup mute tends
to be very responsive in the lower register
of the bass trombone
so composers use it down here quite a lot.
(playful bass trombone music)
Thank you for watching.
- [Narrator] If you've enjoyed learning
about the instruments in the orchestra,
why not try our iPad app, The Orchestra
featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen
and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Fully interactive video playback lets you view the orchestra
from all angles
and the revolutionary beat map shows you
who is playing when.
(orchestra playing Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique)
Follow along with synchronised scores,
hear the inside scoop
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of all the instruments.
Available for download in the App Store on iTunes.