Top 5 Must-Have Accessories for Trombone Players

If you’re a trombone player who wants to add useful tools and products to your working arsenal, but feel overwhelmed with options available, use our list of the top five must-have accessories to know where to begin. Our guide may also be helpful for those who are searching for gifts for trombonists for various occasions. Let’s start!

5. Mute

One of the greatest pioneers in using a plunger mute with a trombone was Joe Nanton, also known as Tricky Sam, who was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the late 1920s and mid 1940s. He was responsible for creating the distinctive wah-wah effect, which became a key ingredient in the band’s early sound. Using a mute, Nanton created a trombone sound that resembled a human voice. 

If you want to alter the sound by impacting its pitch and tone, mutes are awesome accessories to begin with. One of the most commonly used mutes is the regular toilet plunger. Musicians insert them into the bell with their left hand, providing noticeable changes in tone and volume. 

Mutes are popular among trombonists playing in orchestras, concert, and jazz bands. The mute technique helps trombones blend with other instruments much better. Within the classical repertoire you may even come across the notation “con sordino”, which stands for playing with a mute. 

Although toilet plungers remain popular mute devices, you can select beautifully-crafted leather mutes with a cup shape, smooth texture, and vivid colors as alternatives. Unlike plungers, leather mutes are lightweight, unbreakable and extremely comfortable to hold in a hand. For instance, leather mutes from KGUmusic are equipped with a strategically placed loop for a finger, allowing for a comfortable hold of the accessory during practice or performance. Additionally, these mutes also feature built-in magnets, allowing musicians to stick their accessories to music stands to keep them within quick reach.

4. Flannel Storage Bag

Flannel bags offer reliable storage and protection of all your instrument’s parts during everyday travels within the home city, and on tours. Flannel is a soft, durable, and non-abrasive material, gently contacting the instrument without leaving any marks or dents. Thanks to the cushioning effect, flannel bags are perfect to store lacquered instruments. Additionally, this material is known for its ability to wick away moisture. It can absorb the condensation on the instrument, keeping it dry and making it less exposed to corrosion. 

When not used, the instruments require a reliable place to keep them free from dust, and flannel bags serve their best for this purpose. Although they may not provide the same level of protection as leather bags or padded cases, they still can shield your instrument’s finish and its parts. You can find flannel bags in various sizes, including the models with separate covers for the slide. At KGUmusic website, you can buy a trombone storage bag with comfortable drawstring closure, helping your trombone remain safely enclosed during the transportation. Its lightweight and easy to handle construction makes this bag ideal for everyday use.

3. Cleaning Tools   

It’s a well-known fact that dirty instruments produce poor sound and negatively affect a musician’s reputation. Although it’s important to regularly clean your trombone, you should also consider using high-quality devices, allowing you to remove dirt from both the inside and outside of your trombone in a short time. 

While you can use a soft cloth or a microfiber towel to maintain the shiny surface of the instrument and remove any fingerprints, the way you can clean it from dirt from the inside can be rather challenging. On one hand, you want your trombone to be perfect in all terms, on the other hand, you don’t want to damage its parts. 

One of the helpful tools we can recommend you to pay attention to is the Aqua Nozzle, created for effortless and safe cleaning of brass instruments. It’s designed to be used at home and doesn’t require any specific skills. Its functioning is straightforward: you should replace the shower head with the nozzle, insert it into the lead pipe of your trombone instead of the mouthpiece, and turn on the water. With this device, you can always enjoy the cleaning routine as it consumes less time while offering great results.

2. Mouthpiece Pouch 

Mouthpieces are essential components of your instrument, affecting the sound, which makes it crucial to handle them with care and provide proper storage for them in your everyday practice. Made of metal, such as brass or silver, they are extremely exposed to dents and scratches, which can affect their aesthetic appearance by destroying their once beautiful finish. 

Mouthpiece pouches act as effective barriers against external impacts, cushioning the mouthpiece and preventing damage. When you store and transport your mouthpieces in specially designed holders, you reduce the risk of scratches, as well as keep your tools free from dirt and dust, which is important for hygiene and your health. Also, when keeping your mouthpieces in pouches, you don’t need to search for your tools through the entire bag during gigs or rehearsals, which can be rather time-consuming.

You can select pouches for any number of items you typically use. For instance, at KGUmusic website you can find single, double and triple mouthpiece pouches, equipped with individual slots for each item. They are available in different colors, allowing you to select the options that resonate with your style. Leather pouches offer multiple benefits, including pleasant-to-touch texture, lightweight design, and small dimensions, making them easy to fit into your case or pocket.

1. Lip Buzzing Tool 

The proper embouchure strength is essential for producing consistent tones with a rich range and perfect endurance. Musicians with poor embouchure struggle with sloppy sound and fatigue as they put more effort to compensate for the lack of strength in facial muscles. 

As embouchure is all about how trombonists use their facial muscles, it can be trained and improved by using specially designed devices. To build strength and consistency, it's recommended for trombonists to use lip buzzing tools. Since brass players produce sound by vibrating their lips inside the mouthpiece, which is actually called "buzzing.", such tools help musicians isolate this action and focus on lip shape, strength, and airflow. The embouchure trainers provide resistance to the air blown, simulating the resistance experienced by trombonists when playing the instrument.

With this controlled resistance, trombonists can develop the necessary muscle strength and endurance. Thus, by regularly practicing with lip buzzing tools, it’s possible to make overall performance effortless.  

Typically, lip buzzing tools are compact and portable, allowing musicians to take them on tours or while traveling. For instance, trombone embouchure trainers from KGUmusic are made from aluminum, which makes it a long-lasting device of a lightweight construction, perfect for warm-ups. By mimicking the buzzing motion, the device refines your playing technique wherever you practice at home or in hotel rooms. Since it allows using it together with the mouthpiece, you can gradually switch between training sessions and actual playing.

Conclusion 

This was our list of helpful accessories every trombone player needs to improve style, playing technique and make cleaning routine easier. Your instrument deserves the best handling and care, and our team is working on delivering exclusive products to enhance your experience as a musician. We’re constantly adding more offerings to our categories. You can find all our current products in our trombone accessories section.