History of the Contrabass Trombone

The contrabass trombone, like all other trombones, has been thought to have been developed from ancestral brass instruments like the slide trumpet that shared the trombone's unique sliding mechanism to change the instrument’s pitch. These trumpets were frequently used in the 13th to 15th century to mark celebratory occasions amongst the nobility of German-speaking territories. During the renaissance era, an instrument called a sackbut lengthened the tubing of the slide trumpet and folded it in a recognisable fashion to today’s contrabass trombone. Early records about the contrabass trombone include a design by German instrument maker Carl Wilhelm Moritz who managed to create a trombone capable of these low contrabass notes in 1860 by using a double slide mechanism for pieces by Richard Wagner. Composers such as Richard Strauss went on to write trombone parts that were only deemed possible on a contrabass trombone. Berlin-based trombonist Ernst Dehmel is often credited with the two-valve trombone design in 1921, which ultimately became the standard design of a contrabass trombone. In modern music performances, the instrument is still best known for appearing in operas by Wagner and in trombone choirs and ensembles that need a contrabass range.

Inventor: Carl Wilhelm Moritz