The trombone has three basic pieces:

• The mouthpiece;
  
• The hand slide;
  
• The bell.
  

Assembly

• First let’s spend a moment talking about the hand slide. It comes in two pieces, the inner slide and the outer slide. As you might guess, the inner slide fits mostly inside the outer slide. The hand slide is the heart of the trombone and is very easy to damage, so we have to be careful with it at all times. A small dent anywhere in the outer slide can make the trombone harder to play.
• You’ll notice that on one side of the outer slide there is a water key, commonly called a spit valve, near the bottom. The tube on this side of the outer slide is called the lower outside slide tube. The other side, with no water key, is called the upper outside slide tube.
• These two tubes, the lower and upper outside slide tubes, are joined at the bottom by the curved piece of tubing called the hand slide crook. The water key is attached to the hand slide crook on the corner where the crook connects to the lower outside slide tube.
• The outer slide tubes are joined near the top of the tubes by the outer hand slide brace.
• At the top of the upper outside slide tube, very near the outer hand slide brace, is a little strip of metal attached to the tube called the slide lock lug. It’s shaped a little bit like a comma, lying on its side. This is part of a system on the hand slide that keeps the inner and outer slides safely locked together when we don’t want them to move. The other part is on the inner slide.
• Just like the outer slide, there is an upper inside slide tube and a lower inside slide tube. Each tube fits inside one side of the inner hand slide brace, one on the upper and one on the lower.
• Notice that the top of one of the inner slide tubes is taller than the other and ends in a taper. This is the lower inside slide tube. The tapered portion above the inner hand slide brace is the part that connects the hand slide to the bell.
• The other tube then is obviously the upper inside slide tube. The top of this tube is where the mouthpiece goes. A little further down, just below the cross bar of the inner hand slide brace, is the other half of the slide lock assembly. The bottom of the inner hand slide brace on this side has a circular, cylindrical piece that is threaded and can be turned clockwise or counter-clockwise. Quite often there is a little piece of metal shaped like an upside down comma attached to the bottom of this piece.
• Therefore, the lower inside slide tube, the one that’s longer at the top, goes in the lower outside slide tube, the one with the water key at the bottom.
• The upper inside slide tube, the one that takes the mouthpiece and has the slide lock, goes in the upper outside slide tube, the one with the slide lock lug near the top and no water key at the bottom.
• When you place the inner hand slide inside the outer hand slide be sure to have the slide lock “on” whenever you’re not playing by turning or spinning the slide lock counter-clockwise until it slips over the slide lock lug to hold the outer slide in place.

Now we’re ready to assemble the trombone!

• The bell section starts with the bell, goes up and around and part way back down toward the bell, where it ends in the slide receiver and is secured to the long, straight part of the bell with the bell brace. At this end of the bell we can see a circular, cylindrical piece called a lock nut over the slide receiver that can be turned clockwise or counter-clockwise. The lock nut is used to secure the bell to the hand slide.
• To assemble the trombone we need to hold the bell in our left hand right by the lock nut. Hold the bell so it is facing toward the floor.
• Pick up the hand slide in your right hand and hold the lower outside slide tube just below the outer hand slide brace. Hold the hand slide straight up and down so that the end with the water key is close to the floor.
• Bring the bell and the hand slide together and insert the tapered top of the lower inside slide tube into the slide receiver. Although you are holding the trombone vertically at this point, the bell should be on the far side of your left hand, straight in front of you, and the hand slide should be at a right angle, with the upper inside slide tube where the mouthpiece goes directly to the right of the lower inner slide tube where it connects to the bell. When you have it positioned correctly you can then turn the lock nut on the slide receiver clockwise until it’s snug and tight.
• Finally, gently place the mouthpiece into the mouthpiece receiver and you’re ready to play!

Cleaning the Trombone

• Like it or not, sooner or later there will be some debris that builds up inside your trombone that needs to be cleaned out. Unlike the flute, clarinet or saxophone, you can’t pull a swab through the trombone once you’re through playing and clean everything all out. With regular playing you should give your trombone a bath about once a month. Once you get used to doing it the whole process will only take about fifteen minutes.
• In order to clean the trombone thoroughly you have to give it a bath. This can be done most easily in the bath tub or a large wash basin. It’s important to have a flat surface nearby where you can lay a towel out flat. You’ll use this towel to set the different parts of the trombone on when you take it apart to clean it.
• Here’s what you’ll need to have to clean the trombone:
  
  Mouthpiece brush
  Flexible bore brush (snake)
  Hand slide swab rod
  Slide oil or cream
  Slide grease
  Paper towels
  Hand towels (2)
  Cotton cloth (no synthetic) tight weave, details below
  Mild soap like Ivory® dish soap
• The first step is to disassemble the horn. Set the mouthpiece to one side on the towel you’ve laid out flat. Then place the bell on the towel bell down so it’s standing up.
• The curved part of the bell section is called the tuning slide and it needs to be removed for cleaning. Notice that there is a cross brace connecting both sides of the tuning slide and another cross brace just below it. The third cross brace on the bell is further down, where the mouthpiece receiver is connected to the bell.
• Grasp each side of the bell in-between these two braces and then position your thumbs so they can push up against the upper cross brace, the one that is part of the tuning slide. Push the tuning slide upward so that it extends further out than before.
• Change your hand positions so that your left hand is holding the bell by the middle of the cross brace just below the tuning slide and the right hand is holding the tuning slide in the middle of the curved portion. Carefully pull up on the tuning slide with your right hand, being very careful to pull the slide straight up. If you happen to pull the tuning slide to the right or the left when you are removing it you can bend the tubes and make it difficult to put back on or remove in the future.
• When the tuning slide comes free you can lay the bell on its side and the tuning slide beside it, then remove the inner slide from the outer slide on the hand slide and lay them side by side along side the bell.
• Take a paper towel and wipe any grease off the inner tubes of the tuning slide, then use the towel to remove any lubrication from the inner hand slide by drawing each side of the slide through the towel while it’s held your other hand.
• Now you need a big piece of cotton cloth to clean the inside of the outer hand slide. Muslin works very well; so does an old bed sheet; the important thing is that it must be cotton; a synthetic material will not work. Tear a strip of cloth about eight inches wide and at least as long as the swab rod and preferably longer. Fold the cloth in half lengthwise and thread the folded corner through the eyelet of the swab rod and pull a small amount of cloth through. Holding the rod in your right hand with the end pointing up, hold the cloth out to the left like a flag. Twirl the rod one half turn counter-clockwise so the cloth starts to wrap around the rod. Then pull the cloth up and over the top of the rod and pull it down the other side. This should leave the end of the rod covered in cloth and the cloth should have a slight bulge to it at the tip of the rod. Pull the fabric down the side of the rod and with the round bottom of the rod planted firmly in the palm of your right hand, grasp the rod with your thumb and fingers so that the cloth is taut.
• Holding the swab rod in your right hand, grasp one side the hand slide at the cross brace. Insert the swab rod while making sure that you are keeping the fabric taut on the rod so it doesn’t bunch up. The cloth on the rod should fit snugly into the slide tube; snug enough so you have to push a little to fit it in, but not so tight you have to fight it or so loose it doesn’t grab the inside of the slide tube. If the swab is too loose, lift the cloth back over the top and twirl the rod around a little more than half a turn and that will make the head of the swab bigger. If it’s too tight then lift the cloth up and un-twirl it just a bit and that should make it fit easier.
• When you have the right “fit”, push the rod slowly all the way into the slide. Be careful when pushing the rod in that you don’t hit the palm of your right hand against the top of the slide tube at the bottom of the stroke.
• Once you’ve done one full stroke down and back do several more in rapid succession. Then change your grasp on the hand slide to the other side of the cross brace and swab the opposite slide tube in the same manner. When the end of the cloth gets dirty you can fold it in half the opposite way, and when that gets dirty as well you can tear off the end of the cloth and start with a fresh piece of fabric. (If your piece of cloth is longer than the rod, then you’ll be able to keep tearing off the end when it gets dirty and still have enough cloth to do a lot more swabbing).
• After all the old lubricant has been removed from the tuning slide and the hand slide, we can wash the trombone. Fill the tub up with lukewarm water (not hot), deep enough so that the body of the trombone can be submerged under water. Mix in some soap, just like you were going to do the dishes. First, take the mouthpiece brush and clean out the mouthpiece in the water, running the brush up the bottom, or shank end, of the mouthpiece. Rinse and set aside to dry.
• Next, immerse the body of the trombone in the water and run the flexible bore brush through the mouthpipe (sometimes called the gooseneck), the narrow tubing that leads from the mouthpiece receiver to the tuning slide on the bell. Then rinse the bell and stand it up on the flat towel so it can drain.
• Then you can immerse the outer hand slide in the tub and push the brush all the way down each slide tube. The end of the brush should actually be able to work its way around the curved hand slide crook at the bottom and start back up the other side. The hand slide crook is an important part to clean; a lot of debris can accumulate here because it’s at the bottom of the hand slide when the instrument is being played. When you’re through running the brush through the hand slide, rinse it with clear water and prop it up on the towel upside down so it can drain in a place where it’s safe and can’t be knocked over.
• Last is the inner hand slide. Submerge it in the water and run the brush all the way through each tube, rinse, and stand it up where it can safely drain.
• With everything clean, take the second towel and dry everything off. Then swab the outer hand slide out once more, making sure to use a clean piece of cloth. If the cloth comes out dirty, swab it again, until it comes out clean.
• Now we can start reassembly. Pick up the tuning slide and rub a thin coat of slide grease on each of the inner slide tubes. In some cases, one of these tubes may be on the bell part and not the slide itself. Holding the tuning slide by the curved crook, insert each tube separately and work it around to distribute the grease, then carefully put both tubes in at once. Do this slowly so you can be sure it’s going in straight and do not force it if it doesn’t go together easily. When it’s difficult to put together it’s usually because you’re not pushing the tuning slide on straight, so if this is happening look at it carefully from the side and see if all the tubes look like they are straight up and down. When the slide is in all the way take the paper towel and wipe off any excess slide grease you might see.
• There are several ways to lubricate the hand slide. This is also called dressing the slide. If you’re using oil, put the inner slide in outer slide half way and then place a few drops of oil on each inner slide tube right where it enters the outer slide. Work the hand slide back and forth a few times and you’re ready to play.
• If you’re using slide cream and a water spray bottle, coat each stocking of the inner slide with a light coat of cream. The stocking is the last six inches or so of the inner slide at the bottom; the part that is slightly larger in diameter. Then place each inner tube in its corresponding outer tube and work the inner hand slide back and forth to help distribute the cream inside the outer slide. Remove the inner hand slide and spray up and down the tubes with water from the spray bottle and then put the inner slide in the outer slide and work it back and forth again a number of times. If it feels great you’re ready to play, but it will probably feel slow and gummy. Take a paper towel and wipe both inner slides clean, then spray with water once more and try again. Repeat this process as needed until the slide feels good to you. On some trombones you have to do this once or twice and on some others you have to do it four or five times. Once you start playing, the slide might start to feel slow again after a while; just spray some more water on the inner slide tubes and it should be fine again.
• Generally speaking, oil works okay on a slide and cream works great. Yamaha recently came out with a new hand slide lubricant that is as easy to apply as oil that works even better than the best cream. You just need to squirt a small amount on each stocking, work it back and forth some, squirt some water on it, and your slide feels wonderful!

Cleaning and Polishing the Outside

• Just use a clean dry cloth to keep the outside of the instrument clean. There are lacquer polish cloths available that are okay to use which are treated with a wax that cleans and shines and won’t hurt the finish of the trombone. If you are careful, you can also spray a polish such as Pledge® lightly on a cloth and then use the cloth to polish and remove any stubborn stains on the body of the horn.
• If the instrument is silver-plated instead of brass-lacquered, you can use a silver polish cloth to keep the outside shiny. Before you polish a silver horn, especially if you haven’t given it a bath recently, take the time to wipe the outside off with a cloth lightly dampened with rubbing alcohol. This removes the oils of the perspiration from your hands and any dirt that might be on the surface and makes the actual polishing go a lot quicker.

Helpful Hints and Reminders

• Pliers and trombones don’t go together – ever! If your mouthpiece happens to get stuck for any reason, DO NOT use pliers to try to get it loose, and just as important, DO NOT let your dad try it either. Depending on how stuck it is, using the pliers can scratch and damage the mouthpiece at the very least, and in worse cases the hand slide can also be damaged.
• It happens very rarely, but if when you’re through playing you can’t separate the bell from the hand slide, if they’re stuck, under NO circumstances should you try and force them apart.
• If and when the mouthpiece gets stuck, first ask your band director for help. Most band directors have a tool called a mouthpiece puller that can remove a stuck mouthpiece quickly and easily without damaging the mouthpiece or the trombone. If the band director cannot help you, then take your trombone to your local band instrument store and ask for their help.
• When you are placing the horn back in the case do not store your band method book on top of the instrument. Most trombones and trombone cases are designed these days so that padded inside of the lid comes right down on top of the trombone, leaving no room for a book. Forcing a book to fit by pushing down on the lid to close it can damage the instrument.
• Keep your trombone safe. It should only be “on your face or in the case!” Do not leave it on your chair, the sofa, the table, the floor, or the piano. If a trombone is dropped it can cause extensive damage and expensive repair.
• Always carry your case with the lid or top side of the case toward your body. This way, if the case were to unexpectedly open for any reason, you would have the chance to pull the case against your body to prevent the instrument from falling out. If the lid is facing away from you and the case opens there is no way for you to keep the instrument from falling out.

• Whether the information is on a card inside the case, a label or an ID tag, make sure your instrument has identification on it showing that it belongs to you. Almost all band instruments have their own unique serial number on the body of the instrument so you shouldn’t mark the instrument itself, but do have proof of ownership somewhere inside or on the case.