Renaissance Slide Trumpet Replica by Brad Close
I've always wanted a renaissance slide trumpet to go along with my other historical instruments. There is quite a lot of excellent repertoire suitable for this instrument and frankly, its one of the coolest looking (and most visually impressive) instruments with which you can perform. No period slide trumpets survive but a few makers have been able to create reconstructions using historical paintings and writings from the renaissance. This instrument is in D465 (our modern Eb) and is built from seamed red brass. The bell is made in the traditional hand hammered method and the instrument is finished in the historical scrapped method. This creates a beautiful finish, the seamed tubes are visible and the inside of the bell shows the hammered markings. A period two piece mouthpiece was made to match, like a very small trombone mouthpiece size with a flat rim and sharp throat.The instrument has nearly 4 positions, with the extendable "leadpipe" slide used to change pitch, the full body of the bell and crooks is extended on the leadpipe. This creates some inertia issues for the player as well as being a bit clunky since the length of the single tube is a challenge to find notes and play in tune, there is a learning curve. Of course, someone got wise and realized that by added another tube with a U crook you would get a fully chromatic instrument and slide positions would be cut in half… and thus the trombone/sackbut was born!
I've always wanted a renaissance slide trumpet to go along with my other historical instruments. There is quite a lot of excellent repertoire suitable for this instrument and frankly, its one of the coolest looking (and most visually impressive) instruments with which you can perform. No period slide trumpets survive but a few makers have been able to create reconstructions using historical paintings and writings from the renaissance. This instrument is in D465 (our modern Eb) and is built from seamed red brass. The bell is made in the traditional hand hammered method and the instrument is finished in the historical scrapped method. This creates a beautiful finish, the seamed tubes are visible and the inside of the bell shows the hammered markings. A period two piece mouthpiece was made to match, like a very small trombone mouthpiece size with a flat rim and sharp throat.The instrument has nearly 4 positions, with the extendable "leadpipe" slide used to change pitch, the full body of the bell and crooks is extended on the leadpipe. This creates some inertia issues for the player as well as being a bit clunky since the length of the single tube is a challenge to find notes and play in tune, there is a learning curve. Of course, someone got wise and realized that by added another tube with a U crook you would get a fully chromatic instrument and slide positions would be cut in half… and thus the trombone/sackbut was born!
