Trombone playing hurts!

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Gary
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Trombone playing hurts!

Post by Gary »

I'm a trumpet player learning trombone. I hold the trombone exactly (I think) just like standard photos I see. But it hurts to hold the horn. I also feel weight on my right hand and, for freedom of the slide right hand, shouldn't I feel no weight on my right hand?

Reference: I play a "Urbie Green" lightweight horn.

Any tips, or is this just something I have to grow into? Thanks.
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BGuttman
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by BGuttman »

We need to see what you are really doing. It shouldn't hurt.

And you shouldn't be seeing the problem many F-attachment players experience because the Martin Urbit is a straight horn.

You have to be doing something wrong, and it should be easy to fix.
Bruce Guttman
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
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Doug Elliott
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by Doug Elliott »

Well... I invite anybody who thinks it shouldn't hurt your left hand to play left handed and see what that feels like on your right hand.

Yes, it hurts and you have to get used to the holding position.
"I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two."
brassmedic
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by brassmedic »

You should be able to hold it up with the left hand alone. You are correct that the right hand should not feel the weight of the instrument. Post a picture of yourself holding the trombone; I bet someone here can figure out what's going on.
Brad Close Brass Instruments - brassmedic.com
baileyman
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by baileyman »

No one designed the thing to be held.
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harrisonreed
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by harrisonreed »

Not by humans anyway. Note that the oldest depictions of the trombone show them being played by angels and space aliens. When the last trombone sounds, they'll be the ones playing it.
Doubler
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by Doubler »

@ baileyman & harrisonreed... Amen.
Current instruments:
Olds Studio trombone, 3 trumpets, 1 flugelhorn, 1 cornet, 1 shofar, 1 keyboard

Previous trombones:
Selmer Bundy, Marceau
Gary
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by Gary »

Thanks, folks.
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AuntieAmanda
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Re: Trombone playing hurts!

Post by AuntieAmanda »

Does your trombone have a counterweight? It sounds like maybe it doesn’t, so it’s front-heavy, throwing lots of weight on the side of your middle finger or ring finger, and onto the slide - right?

Some think it’s fashionable, or maybe macho, to remove counterweights. Or that it improves the sound. But it does make trombones very front-heavy. You can add a counterweight, and it may help.

Even with a counterweight, though, my experience was that, for the first ten years or so, prolonged playing really hurt the side of my left-hand middle finger. Then a callus developed and it stopped hurting.
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