Trombone Slide Chart
An interactive trombone slide chart for tenor trombone: tap any note from low E2 to F4 in bass clef and see which of the 7 slide positions plays it, with the alternate positions marked.
Tap a note on the staff or the keys. ← → step, Space plays.
Keys 1 to 4 answer.
How to use the trombone slide chart
A trombone slide chart shows which of the 7 slide positions plays each note, and this one covers the tenor trombone from E2, the lowest note in 7th position, up to F4 at the top of the bass staff, with the alternate positions and the F attachment trigger positions a tap away. Tap a note on the staff or the piano strip: the diagram draws the slide with its 7 positions, the handle marks where to put it, and the chips underneath list the alternate positions, in the order the source chart prefers them. The text tells you which partial of the harmonic series you are on.
← and → step chromatically, Space plays the note. Quiz shows a slide position and asks which of four notes it gives; answer with the buttons or 1 to 4. If your trombone has a trigger, turn on F attachment: the chart then reaches down to C2 and adds the trigger positions, marked with an F on the diagram.
Trombone notes and their positions
Every trombone note from E2 to F4 is on the staff with its slide position, so the page is a trombone position chart that lists the trombone positions and trombone notes together. A trombone fingering chart and a slide chart are the same thing: a straight tenor trombone has no valves, so the slide position does the job a valve combination does on a trumpet. Turn on the F attachment to add the trigger positions and the notes down to C2, and print the chart to keep the trombone slide positions on your stand.
What the 7 positions do
First position is the slide all the way in. Each position further out lowers the pitch by one semitone, so 7th position is six semitones (a tritone) below 1st. In 1st position the lips pick the notes of the Bb harmonic series: Bb2, F3, Bb3, D4, F4 and higher. Every other note is one of those lowered by the slide. That gives this position table, generated from the chart data:
| Position | Lowers 1st position by | Standard for | Alternate for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 semitones | Bb2 F3 Bb3 D4 F4 | - |
| 2 | 1 semitone | A2 E3 A3 Db4 E4 | - |
| 3 | 2 semitones | Ab2 Eb3 Ab3 C4 Eb4 | - |
| 4 | 3 semitones | G2 D3 G3 B3 | D4 F4 (short) |
| 5 | 4 semitones | Gb2 Db3 Gb3 | Bb3 Db4 E4 (short) |
| 6 | 5 semitones | F2 C3 | F3 A3 C4 Eb4 (short) F4 |
| 7 | 6 semitones | E2 B2 | E3 Ab3 B3 |
Short means the slide sits a little higher than the normal spot. On this chart it marks notes on the 7th partial, which is flat, like D#4 in short 6th or F4 in short 4th.
Alternate positions and tuning
Many notes can be played in two places. F3 is 1st position or 6th, Bb3 is 1st or 5th, D4 is 1st or 4th. Players use the alternate to avoid long slide jumps in fast passages; going from Bb3 to C4 is easier from 5th to 6th than from 1st to 6th. The positions are not fixed marks either. The 5th partial (D4 in 1st, C#4 in 2nd, C4 in 3rd) is a little flat on most trombones, so bring the slide in slightly there, and always check against a tuner rather than your eye.
The F attachment (trigger)
A trigger valve opens extra tubing that lowers the trombone from Bb to F. It fills the gap between E2 and the pedal Bb1, where a straight trombone has no notes: C2 is trigger 6th position, D2 trigger 4th. It also gives short-reach options higher up, such as C3 with the trigger in 1st position instead of 6th, and B2 with trigger 2nd instead of 7th.
Reading and pitch
The tenor trombone reads at concert pitch in bass clef, so the note you see is the note you hear and there is no transposition to work out. Higher parts sometimes switch to tenor clef. The exception is the British brass band, where trombone parts are written in treble clef as a Bb instrument, like a euphonium in treble clef. If ledger lines under the staff slow you down, practice them on the bass clef notes page, and use the metronome to keep slide changes clean. Other brass charts: trumpet fingering chart, tuba fingering chart, French horn fingering chart, euphonium fingering chart and mellophone fingering chart.
Questions
What note is 1st position on trombone?
First position with the slide all the way in gives the Bb harmonic series: Bb2, F3, Bb3, D4, F4 and higher, plus the pedal Bb1.
What is 7th position on trombone?
The slide almost fully out. It lowers 1st position by six semitones, giving E2, B2 and E3, and alternates for G#3 and B3 as well.
How many positions does a trombone have?
Seven. Each one is a semitone lower than the one before, and together with the harmonic series they cover every note in the range.
Does trombone music transpose?
Not in bands and orchestras: tenor trombone reads concert pitch in bass clef, sometimes tenor clef. British brass bands write trombone in treble clef in Bb.
What does the trombone trigger do?
The F attachment lowers the instrument from Bb to F. It adds the notes between E2 and the pedal Bb1 and gives shorter alternate positions for some notes.