This article is a transcription of notes used by Carsten Svanberg in his Alto Trombone Clinic given at the Colloque International des Cuivres, Chatenay, Malabry, France in 1989. The notes do not form part of any book or published method of alto trombone playing.

The alto trombone - tenor and bass too - was used in the past primarily to double the voices in choral pieces by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, etc. and later became a member of the symphony orchestra in the works of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms. In the 20th century, it has been used by composers such as Berg, Schoenberg and Britten, who have revived interest in the alto as a solo instrument, which has led to the repertoire being expanded, especially in the last ten years.

After a long period of not being a member of the symphony orchestra, the alto has become popular among players as well as conductors, who now often ask for the alto. There could be several reasons for this and I will offer some of my opinions.

The modern alto trombone is most usually pitched in Eb, but it has also been manufactured in F, E, D, and Db. The quality of the instruments today is very high, and as I see it, the biggest problem is to find that "sound" and brand which makes it easiest to change between alto and tenor - something we all have to do, or be ready to do. I do not believe that the same mouthpiece should be used for both instruments, and this is the first problem to solve.

Since some of the music for alto (and lots for tenor) includes trills, which are always difficult and a matter of taste, some instruments are built with one or two triggers to make half or whole tone steps in order to do the trills more musically "correctly". Personally, I would rather leave out the trills since the sound on the alto, using triggers, is not good and too different from the regular sound. It has a tendency to sound like the alto horn (English tenor horn) which I feel is wrong. The alto should always sound like a trombone, not a horn or bass trumpet.

The alto is not a magic remedy to play the high register. Nowadays, players must be able to play in this range on the tenor as well, but the alto should sound more free, clear and brilliant, while requiring less pressure.

The choice of mouthpiece and instrument capable of giving the volume needed in the orchestra when the part descends into the lower register is yet another matter for consideration.

For the first trombonist of a symphony orchestra, the question often arises: when should I use the alto trombone? We cannot always count on the composer's specification of alto/tenor/bass since it is often his way of indicating 1st/2nd/3rd on the score and trombone parts, so we have to look into the music, style and traditions, etc. Today, I don't believe that anyone would play Bruckner's 4th Symphony on the alto, as printed on the first trombone part, and there are many cases like that.

It is one of the most difficult questions to decide and agree amongst the brass section, so let me give some of my ideas about solving it. The choice of playing the alto should not be a question of making some more money, nor of refusing to play it if the manager won't pay an extra fee!

In Vienna these days, the trumpets often use rotary valve instruments for performances of Classical and Romantic music, and in some orchestras, the horn players use the Vienna horn, which means that the trombones should always make a different sound to balance with these two groups. The alto should be the perfect solution, bridging between the horns and trumpets.

But having an alto on the first part is not the end of the matter, since the bridge between it and the tenor and bass trombones is too wide, considering the bore of these instruments today. The solution is for the tenor to play on a medium bore instrument, and the bass on the smallest bass trombone, or at least on a smaller mouthpiece to balance with the rest of the section.

Different considerations apply to composers of this century where the alto is used for colour or effect. The instrument must be able to play very loudly to fill out the upper end of the section, for example in Schoenberg's Pelléas and Mélisande.

The alto trombone has become very popular as a solo instrument lately thanks to some great players, composers, workshops, recordings, etc. I believe the time has come when it is no longer an extra instrument to be played from time to time, but a regular member of the brass section like the piccolo Bb and D trumpets.

To feel comfortable with the alto trombone means working and practising it on the same level as your regular instrument. There is no easy way to handle this and I would remind you that it is very important to work at the alto all the time - not just when the repertoire calls for it. Be aware that the sound must be that of the alto because we all naturally have the sound of the tenor trombone in our minds, also that from time to time it is necessary to make mouthpiece adjustments as with the tenor. Of course, this is a very individual matter.