I’ll write it as the pedal B-flat all the way up to the B-flat three octaves higher: Orchestration books tend to assume a “euphonium” has 4 valves, when this isn’t always the case. This is frustrating for the players and unnecessary on behalf of the composer/arranger. I recall several rehearsals in high school where I had to explain to someone next to me that their instrument couldn’t make the notes written on the page. Many of these instruments can’t actually produce a proper low E without significant adjustments due to the 1-2-3 valve combination producing a significantly sharper E than if it were done with 2-4.įor this reason, I would never write a note below the low F in high school level music and below. To play below a low E, the instrument requires an F-trigger on trombone or a 4th valve on euphonium. The important thing to note here is that the low E is the lowest note that can be produced on many student models of these instruments.

Intermediate players will be able to play low E to high F above middle C: Euphonium and Tenor Trombone Rangeīeginners will be able to play comfortably in the range low G to middle C: Remember, this is going to vary quite a bit based on the precise skill level of a given player.įor information on the basics of trombone, check out my article on trombone slide positions. Here’s my take on the ranges of common low brass instruments. Now that I’ve played every low brass instrument in quite a few situations, I have a much better feel for what can be expected. The highest note is actually only a suggestion.There’s usually no mention that the lowest note is an absolute.

What’s expected of a high school player?.Sure, I was required to buy an orchestration book that gave ranges, but these are often not useful.įor example, orchestration books often don’t address the following: So, it was a bit embarrassing when I started writing music and didn’t know the answers to basic low brass range questions like: what is the range of a bass trombone? I had played euphonium and trombone primarily.

Back when I started college, I was a music composition major.

Pedal c bass trombone position chart