#Trombone position chart high notes series#

The role of each valve stays the same between brass instruments, and the same sequence of combinations is used as it relates to the partials. The valves on all brass instruments are developed the same way, allowing for the transfer of fingering concepts across brass instruments. Notably, the 6th partial is so flat that it is functionally unusable. Octaves of the fundamental are always in tune, but the other partials need to be adjusted through the embouchure to ensure that they are played in tune. Each partial also has characteristic tuning problems.

#Trombone position chart high notes series#

Historically, there was also literature written that utilized this extreme upper register, such as diatonic trumpet music of the Baroque period.Īs shown in the chart below which presents the most common brass instruments, once the fundamental pitch is established, it becomes easy to identify the various partials using the series of intervals. For musicians that perform advanced literature that continues into that upper register, individuals will frequently identify the easiest fingering combinations and partials to use for various notes. Hypothetically, this pattern continues infinitely with increasingly smaller intervals between notes. With that said, this fundamental is regularly used in advance literature for various instruments including horn, bass trombone, and tuba.Ībove that fundamental, open fingers follow the same pattern.

For some brass instruments, particularly the trumpet, this pitch is not usable due to the acoustical construction of the instrument which distorts the timbre in that register. Each brass instrument has a fundamental pitch, which is the hypothetically lowest note in open fingering (or first position for trombone), as shown in the chart below. You may also hear brass players refer to shelves, which is a slang reference to brass partials. Partials are the presentation of the various overtones as the primary overtone on a brass instrument. On any fingering combination, a sequence of partials can be played. There are obviously well more than seven notes that can be played on a brass instrument, and this is done through the manipulation of the overtone series. So what does this mean for brass instruments? As you have already noticed, there are only 3 valves on most brass instruments (or seven slide positions for the trombone). A quick Google search for “Harmonic Series Ratios” will give you a much more scientific and detailed explanation than will be provided here for the curious! Similar ratios exist for every harmonic interval. A880 is the A above the treble clef staff (aka a5). A220 is one octave lower, the A below middle C (aka a3). So to use a commonly referenced pitch, A440 is the A above middle C (aka a4). Every time the length of a sound wave is cut in half, our ear perceives the difference of an octave between any two pitches. The strings of the piano will sympathetically resonate the present overtones, creating a harmonic echo of the instrument that was played.įor all musical sounds, the overtone series is fixed based on sound wave ratios. A great illustration of these overtones can be heard if you play a note on any instrument directly into an undampered grand piano. The particular combination of overtones with varying degrees of prominence is also what gives each instrument its unique timbre. These overtones become apparent on non-brass instruments as well in particular situations, such as the altissimo register on single reed instruments and harmonics on strings. Overtone seriesĪll musical sounds make use of a fixed overtone series which is dictated by physics.

If you can develop your familiarity with these underlying principles, your movement between instruments as a performer and a teacher will be greatly simplified. These principles make it that concepts learned on one instrument transfer to all other brass instruments. Brass instruments are all built on a shared set of acoustical principles.