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Reminders to myself:

when you are wondering if something will work, and it’s reasonable to try it, just try it! (especially in CAD/software!). On the other hand, for things that are hard to test/figure out if they will work, break it down to smaller tests to find info (like hammering the scrap oak rod broke it 😟)
look to other industries/fields when I can’t figure out how to do something, there’s probably already a solution (like flat pattern making for curves…maybe in sewing?)

⭐ My Goals ⭐

My main goals for this project are to:

make a soprano trombone that I can play & make sound with (even if it sounds bad)
learn some cool new fabrication/prototyping techniques (especially metalworking, even if it’s not the exact masterful processes used in industry)
not 3D print any parts (this feels like a fabrication ‘cop-out’ as the machine does all the work for me, takes longer to fail/test, and probably doesn’t sound that much better than anything I could make another way)

Why this tiny trombone?

I’m a tenor sax and clarinet player by trade, but really, the instrument I’ve been itching to play for a long time is the soprano trombone. Sounds bright and punchy like a trumpet, plays smoothly like a standard trombone, and most importantly, is the highlight of one of my all-time favorite songs to play and listen to.

If you’ve never watched Wycliffe Gordon pick up his relatively-miniature soprano trombone and play Swing That Music, please do. This video alone is like an avalanche of serotonin on my brain, and those few minutes in March of 2019 when my high school jazz band and I got to perform this song with Wycliffe Gordon himself were probably some of the most fun I’ve had in my life.

The original video that inspired me:

Wycliffe Gordon plays with the University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band, a well-regarded college jazz band

Me and my high school jazz band:

Sans Wycliffe Gordon…recording wasn’t allowed at that performance

So naturally, with the amazing opportunity to build an acoustic instrument this semester, I figured, why not make my own soprano trombone? I’m not going to drop $375+ just to buy one and play it, but designing and building it myself, all while learning cool new fabrication techniques, then getting to play it? Heck yeah, let’s do it.

<aside> 🎵 Note: I don’t really know how to play the trombone, but I figure it’ll be fun to learn as I build it — I programmed a LEGO trombone (with Anna Quiros, Julia Zelevinsky, and Fletcher Boyd) in Chris’ lab during summer 2022, so I got a little practice playing on that one, though we’ll see how those skills translate 😂.

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What is this soprano trombone?