National Trombone Players Day Date in the current year: April 1, 2025

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family; its main characteristic is that, unlike other brass instruments that use valves to change pitch, most trombones use a telescopic slide mechanism. The exceptions are the valve trombone, which uses valves as its name suggests, and the superbone (double trombone), which has both a slide and a set of valves.

An early form of the trombone, the sackbut, dates from the early 15th century and was used during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Like the modern trombone, it has a telescopic slide to change pitch. However, the sackbut had a smaller bore (inner chamber) and a less flared bell.

The popularity of the sackbut declined in the mid to late 17th century, but began to rise again in the Classical period. The instrument changed, acquiring a more flared bell, and became known under its Italian name trombone, which means “large trumpet”. Classical composers who used the trombone in their works include Christoph Willibald Gluck, Leopold Mozart and his son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Michael Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. The trombone was also included in the wind bands that emerged during the French Revolution of 1789.

During the Romantic period, trombones were used in symphonies, operas and other compositions by many composers, including Hector Berlioz, Franz Berwald, Antonín Dvořák, Charles Gounod, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Bedřich Smetana, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner and others.

The trombone also played a role in the development of jazz. Originally used to play bass lines and outline chords, the trombone began to be used as a solo instrument in the swing era of the 1920s-40s. Outside of jazz, the trombone continued to be used by composers such as Béla Bartók, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Gustav Holst, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky.

Today the trombone can be found in brass bands, brass choirs, big bands, concert bands, military bands, marching bands and symphony orchestras, as well as in chamber music (brass trios, quartets and quintets, trombone groups ranging in size from 3 to 20+ members). Trombones are also commonly found in jazz, merengue, R&B, salsa, ska, swing and New Orleans brass bands. So a skilled trombone player will always find an opportunity to shine!

The origins of National Trombone Players Day are unclear, but the choice of the date makes sense because it falls just before or during the official International Trombone Week, established by the International Trombone Association. You can celebrate this amazing holiday by learning more about the trombone and famous trombone players, watching trombone videos on YouTube and TikTok, signing up for trombone lessons, and spreading the word on social media with the hashtag #NationalTrombonePlayersDay.