Partials after high D

[SwissTbone]

So I have gotten pretty proficient with my high range work until high D (the one two octaves higher than the middle of the bass clef staff).

What notes are available after that note on first position ?

On some horns I had a a good Eb up there, on some an F. And what then?

[Matt K]

It gets pretty squirrely up there on any instrument and the small idiosyncracies on lower partials are magnified quite significantly. I often play just about everything in around a flat 1st after the F, which is normally the next note for me on all the horns I've played, except altos of course. Basically, it's mostly lip bend but I also don't often have any particular use for those notes other than my warmup and the occasional use in improvisation.

[Baker]

What notes are available after that note on first position ?

On some horns I had a a good Eb up there, on some an F. And what then?

jm2c : D, Eb (very sharp), F, G, Ab, A, Bb....

[imsevimse]

This is a chart I did, it is from my webbpage brazzmusic. If you would like to visit the page it can be accessed from my signature. The chart is based on the first position is away from the bumper for all notes but the high d and that the 7th position is just before the slide falls of. Somewere at my webbpage a chart can be found that describes the more common register too.



"E in sharp 4, F in sharp 3, F# in sharp 2"
I can see I think of the E as a very, very flat 3rd position rather than a raised 4th position, and the same with the F and the F#. It is more how you look at it. Other than this I don't think there is a difference.

/Tom

[SwissTbone]

Ok, my observations seem to concur with what you guys write. I'm not completely off

Today a young trombone friend of mine asked me where I would play High E. So just for fun I played it for him in 1st, than in 2nd, then in 3rd... and then I played a high E with the slide glissing all around without the note changing.

I think my young friend is now a little afraid of the high range on the trombone

[imsevimse]

Ok, my observations seem to concur with what you guys write. I'm not completely off

Today a young trombone friend of mine asked me where I would play High E. So just for fun I played it for him in 1st, than in 2nd, then in 3rd... and then I played a high E with the slide glissing all around without the note changing.

I think my young friend is now a little afraid of the high range on the trombone

I understand he is confused. You could give him a link to a chart that teaches him the high register

Where did the E sound best? I understand he is confused if you move the slide and force the E in every position. Tell your friend to make a note where the slide is when the best sound happens on that E when you move the slide, then he might go home and practice and learn where that E is himself eventually.

Personally I consider a high note be within my playable range when I can do dynamics on the note at the same time as a nice slide vibrato. If I do dynamics and a slide vibrato and the note does not change with the slide then the note is not yet within my register, it is still what I would describe as a squeak. It is still the high note but the sound needs more work to be centred and full. This is when it matters where you put the slide.

/Tom

[SwissTbone]

Where did the E sound best?

I think around second position. But it really isn't a note I consider in my range yet.

I can play it fine in warmups etc, sometimes in a musical context it sounds fine, sometimes it sounds like s%&*t, sometimes it doesn't sound at all so... still some work up there.

[Basbasun]

If you accept any sound, even bad, all notes can be played on all positions. The trick is to find the position where the tone locks in. You can hear and feel when it does.

[tbonesullivan]

Up that high, the trombone is almost a natural horn, so things like positions start to lose their meaning, as the resonance points are so close together. The D up there, I have always played in 1st position, even though that chart says b2 or 4. As with any trombone, the farther out you are on the slide, the more the notes naturally become harder to lock in, probably because the slide is extended, and can more freely vibrate along the entire length.

Good luck, and go with what works!

[Pre59]

On my small bore horns, I prefer the tone of the high D and F in the b2. Also when moving from a high C sharp to a D there's a nice snap when played across the grain. High E sounds better around 3rd as well.

[baileyman]

...
Personally I consider a high note be within my playable range when I can do dynamics on the note at the same time as a nice slide vibrato. ...

/Tom

Nice criterion.