In more recent times the trombone has shed its religious associations and been used both in Western classical music and jazz. It has also been used as a comic instrument because of its ability to play slow and rapid glissandos (these are slides between one note and the next).
In Western classical music the trombone is seldom heard as a soloist in concertos, but there are a number of important orchestral solos given to the instrument. It's as a prominent member of the brass section of an orchestra that the trombone is most often seen, and more obviously, heard. It can be a very loud instrument, but need not be.
Few trombone players began their musical lives playing the trombone because it’s such a big instrument. Some come to it through playing another instrument in either a brass band or a Salvation Army band. Band music has helped provide a good deal of trombone repertoire, and has even helped develop its technique.
Simon Gunton talks about how he started playing the trombone.
