Klarinet Archive - Posting 001100.txt from 2002/06

From: Bear Woodson <bearwoodson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Trombones
Date: Sat, 29 Jun 2002 22:24:42 -0400

Hello, Klarinet List.

I was never a trombone player, nor a clarinetist,
but as a composer I've written sonatas for trom-
bone, and am now writing a Clarinet Sonata for
Professor Joze Kotar. (The First Movement is
done, I'm half-way through the Second Movement
and I've sketched ideas for the 3rd and 4th Move-
ments.)

I do remember studying that the biggest obstacle
to overcome in the Invention of the Slide Trombone
was the Metallurgy involved. It needs to be made
of metal strong enough to not bend or get dented
easily, while having a Clearance between the Inner
and Outer Slide of about Three-Ten-Thousandths
of an Inch, which is 0.000762 cm! Only since the
Industrial Revolution of the 1830's in Europe was
it finally possible to make metals this strong and
also light weight. Modern Trombones became
possible and common after 1839.

Only since the better metals of the 1830's on-
ward was it possible to make the fine, large Con-
cert Grand Pianos, which hold many tons of
stress from the triple-stringed notes. This does
not even mention the stronger, yet lighter-weight,
Metal Keys on Woodwind Instruments. Even
the Metal-Ribbon-Wrapped Violin Strings have
benefited from the Better Metals of the last 160
years.

Wooden "Serpents" and "Sackbuts" were com-
mon in much earlier centuries, and how they had
metal slides of any kind, prior to the Industrial
Revolution is a mystery to me. Apparently they
did manage to use some kind of Metal Slides on
Trombone by the 1450's or so, but it is clear that
the best metals have existed since the last 160
years, and have gotten progressively better.

I found this Site about Trombone History, but
frankly I don't have the time to read it.

http://www.lysator.liu.se/~backstrom/trombone.html#1

Posaune in the Highest!

This may sound like a dumb question, but in
between composing and writing dozens of letters
daily, I skim dozens of Instrument Lists daily, so
I miss a lot of data that is common knowledge on
each List. Can someone please send me privately
the exact dates of the Swedish Clarinet Fest? I
know it is soon, but don't know when it begins
and ends. (While you're at it, please try to E-Mail
me a Lobotomy, so I'll finally have that long over-
due personality.)

Bear Woodson
Composer in Tucson, Arizona, USA

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