Trombone Slide Positions Chart (Trombone Fingering Chart)

How do you read a trombone slide positions chart?

Find your note in the first column and move the slide to the position shown: 1st is all the way in, 7th is almost all the way out. Where two positions are given, the first is the usual one and the second is an alternate position.

A trombone fingering chart is really a slide chart: there are no valves on a standard tenor trombone. Each position is a fixed place on the slide, and every position gives several notes (partials) that you choose with your lips and air. In the interactive chart above, the filled circle shows the main position and a dashed circle the alternate.

★ marks notes outside the usual beginner range (B♭2 to F4). Notes are in bass clef at concert pitch.

To keep a printable copy, use your browser's Print and choose "Save as PDF". The tables print without the buttons and pictures.

What are the 7 trombone positions?

The positions are seven places on the slide, each a semitone lower than the one before. On most tenor trombones 3rd position is just before the bell and 4th is about level with the end of the bell; 5th, 6th and 7th are further out, and 7th needs a full arm stretch.

The distance between positions gets a little bigger as the slide goes out. Move the slide from the wrist and elbow, not the shoulder, and keep it parallel to the floor. Good slide technique is quick and light: the slide should arrive just as the note starts.

Quiz: name the trombone slide position

Eight quick questions on the beginner notes of the instrument chosen in the chart, then a short "I can" checklist.

• Marked by Classfern – the eight slide position questions, checked straight away.
• Self-assessed – the "I can" checklist: you tick it when you have done it.

Start the quiz

What are the first notes to learn on trombone?

Many beginners start with F3 (1st position), E♭3 (3rd), D3 (4th), C3 (6th) and B♭2 (1st) – the notes of a B♭ major scale going down from F. B♭2 and F3 are both in 1st position: you move between them with your lips and air.

1. Play a long, steady B♭2 in 1st position, with relaxed lips and plenty of air.
2. Stay in 1st position and play F3 by making the air faster.
3. Add E♭3 (3rd), D3 (4th) and C3 (6th), checking each position by ear.
4. Play F E♭ D C B♭ slowly down and up, then open the trombone play-along to play a tune with the position shown for every note.

What are trombone alternate positions?

Some notes can be played in two positions on different partials. The most common alternates are F3 in 6th instead of 1st, B♭3 in 5th instead of 1st, and D4 in 4th instead of 1st. They save a long slide move, for example between C3 in 6th and F3.

Higher up, notes have even more choices: F♯4 can be played in 3rd or 5th and G4 in 2nd or 4th. Alternate positions are often a little out of tune, so listen and adjust the slide slightly. Many trombones also have an F attachment (a trigger valve) that gives other choices; this chart is for the straight tenor trombone.

How do you read treble clef trombone parts?

Brass band and some school parts are written in treble clef for a B♭ trombone, a major 9th above the sound. Written C (treble clef) sounds as concert B♭ and is played in 1st position. Use the treble clef chart below, which gives the position for each written note.

More fingering charts and music tools

The charts are Classfern's own, written from the standard published basic slide positions; there are often other slide positions for the same note, and your teacher may prefer one of them. Mr Chopin and Miss Clara Schumann are Classfern's own cartoon characters, named in honour of the composers Frédéric Chopin and Clara Schumann – they are not portraits of the real people.