A trombone’s range is from the E below the bass clef to the B flat above middle C. The tenor trombone’s range can be extended to F above B flat more experienced players. A trigger mechanism on some tenor trombones extends the instrument’s range down to the C note below the bass clef. An additional trigger on the bass trombone sometimes lowers the range to the second F below the bass clef. Because alto trombones are higher pitched, they can play up to the G note, which even the most experienced tenor trombonists can’t always reach.
The tenor trombone is the most common trombone, and an orchestra has two of them. As a result, the range of a trombone is usually referred to as the range of a tenor trombone. On a standard 88-key piano, this range extends from the E note below the bass clef, or E2, to the B flat above middle C, or Bb5. The E note in the second octave of an 88-key piano is one ledger line below the bass clef and one ledger line below the staff. Experienced trombone players can reach a note of F5, which is higher than the B flat at the top of an average player’s range.
Additional tubing is built into some trombones and can be activated with a trigger. This extra tubing reduces the range of a trombone, lowering it below that of a standard tenor trombone. An F-trigger is a trombone attachment that extends the range of a trombone down to C2, or the C below the previous low E. On an 88-key piano, this is on the second ledger line below the staff of the bass clef, or the second octave.
The ranges of different trombones, such as the bass trombone, are different. If the trombone is a bass trombone with two triggers, the range of the instrument can be as low as F1. The instrument’s second trigger engages even more tubing, allowing it to produce even lower notes. The F1 note is found in the first octave of a piano and is below the C2 note played with an F-trigger on a tenor trombone.
While not commonly used in modern music, alto trombones have a slightly higher range. An alto trombone’s range extends to G5, one step higher than a tenor trombone’s range. The only difference between alto and tenor trombones is their pitch. Experienced alto trombone players could theoretically achieve even higher notes.