(07-25-2019, 10:10 PM)Mattias Westlund Wrote: Speaking of trombones: I was playing around with the free Carpenter Trombone Kontakt library the other day and that one has a truly immense range! While the highest notes aren't necessarily pretty they're way up there in trumpet territory. Few if any of the sample libraries I have go that far up in the trombones.
The highest (and often to some extent lowest) ranges of most brass and woodwinds are only limited by the ability of the performer, with the design of the instrument to some extent limiting as well (such as many woodwinds where high notes become increasingly out of tune, as there is a compromise that must be made between tuning of each partial in the shaping of tone holes).
Generally, amateur trombonists can be expected to play up to the F or G above middle C, semi-professionals up to the Bb above middle C, and professionals frequently beyond. The only fixed limit on triggerless/'straight' trombones is the low E below bass clef, although many players can play a few of the pedal tones beneath that starting on the Bb below bass clef. With an F trigger, such as is common on almost all orchestral and band trombones today, the range from low E down to Bb is accessible via the F trigger, which basically transposes the instrument down a fourth.
Interestingly, these are in fact the same sounding-length Bb and F as the Bb and F portions of modern double-horns, which are the form of horn most commonly used professionally. What makes the horn and trombone sound so different is simply down to mouthpieces, bore ratio and shape, and bell size/flare. If you put a horn mouthpiece on a trombone (with an adapter), you can get a tone out of the trombone somewhat closer to that of a horn, albeit with the bell facing forward. This, aside from right-handed vs. left-handedness, is what distinguishes a wagner tuba from a 'kaiser baritone' or saxhorn-family instrument, or a trumpet from a cornet. In a sense, all brass instruments exist somewhere on a spectrum of bore ratio, bell size/flare, and mouthpiece shape. What survives today are simply what managed to win out commercially in a 200-year evolutionary struggle.
At the present moment, my favorite composer in terms of orchestration prowess is Sir Arnold Bax (and with a cool name like that, why not?). Some of his textures and blends are so impressively woven, and he definitely wasn't afraid of any section of the orchestra, unlike many more famous Romantic and Post-Romantic composers who tended to underwrite for those instruments they were less familiar with. I think he really brings out some of the best qualities of many instruments-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9vg1U1ZEDc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQsJle7UqvU (I love the writing in this piece so much, I used it as temp music for the VSCO 2 'Seasons' scoring contest)
Sample library developer, composer, and amateur organologist at Versilian Studios.
