I mean I have NO brass instrument training before and I have played around with the trumpet just a quick few tries from my friend. I got the hang of blowing in. Now I want to join the intermediate level class at school, and catch up with the 1 year experience. Is the trombone fairly easy to play? Like not any change in blowing, except a steady stream of air?

I think it's quite hard. I've never played it but I THINK to hit the full range of notes you'd still need to blow with tenser lips to hit the top notes like the trumpet. Also you'd have to pull the slider into the exact position to get the note played in tune. Some people will say its hard, some people will say its easy. You can never tell unless you try it yourself because you could get someone boasting "oh it's eeeeaaaasy!".

from what i've seen and heard, its quite hard to play well, but very easy to play really badly.

You have to be accurate with the slide, so you have to have decent pitch. Or so I'm told.

Also, seeing Will (music writer lakey for band) re-write the trombone part, he was telling me that he doesn't get "why trombones have the high notes when its difficult to play the darn thing. Why not give them to baritones?" Or so I'm told.

If your thinking about picking it up, the only difficulty you would have is the basic postions (it would be a cram session to learn the positon per note is) also, if it is difficult for you, the theory behind music, and, if you never sucessfully played a note, your embourshure(sp?).

As for if it is an easy instrument to play, Well it is and isn't; primarily because of its unique design. As Sondagger said, you have to have a good ear as to determine if where you currently have the slide is *correct* or *out-of-tune*. But there are also mainstream cheats for those whom do not have *perfect-pitch* (ex if you extend your middle finger on the tuning slide and tap the bell of the instrument, you are, in theory, in a perfect fourth position). It is the only brass instrument that is composed in two parts, and somtimes has a trigger slide that comes in a varity of tones (F-tune, Ab-Tune, ex).

As for instrumentation, it is a wide and far as what a trumpet is. The lower parts mainly consits of sustain notes or it is a dupled(*doesn't think it's a word*) part with someone else. But the higher you go, it becomes a vivid as a trumpets part (also goes into the trumpet's range every once in a while).

What it all comes down to is how deducated you would be at practice. Unless your one of the Gifted people whom can play music with ease (which I cannot, I practice about 15 hours a week just to keep up with the others) you have, and will, need to practice.

*Speil #3 is done*

o_O Wow long length informative post, Mies. Well, my friend came over today with his trumpet, and since he also told me trombone was harder, I played trumpet for about 30 minutes. I learned to do the concert scale, I went from C D E F G A . I found it quite hard to have a clear note, and sometimes I cannot get the C right on first blow. The higher notes require more pitched lips and that's a bit hard to get it on first try. Although I can get it 1/4 of the time, I want to get it right on order, but then again I still have to practice a lot to get cought up.

I've played trombone for about two years in high school (they made me). For me it was easy because I could already read Bass Clef and I could relate euphonium fingerings to the trombone's slide positions. The trombone can be a great instrument with enough practice and determination. For a new person like you, it would require lots of practice and patience. The trombone is like one big tuning slide. Which means that you can easily tune to the rest of the band, but it also makes it easier to be out of tune. So you should adjust quickly. When playing trombone you need to be quick on the slide, especially on slower music. There are times when playing trombone will get difficult, like play the C or B Natural within the staff, which are 6th and 7th positions respectively. Well, I had a trigger so I could just do C at 1st and B Natural somewhere between 2nd and 3rd. Figuring out the positions of the notes on the trombone is just as easy as finding out the fingerings of any brass instrument (except French Horn maybe). Just like the trumpet, you can play different pitches of the same note in one position. It's not that hard to memorize. Eventually, you could know them so well that you could find the position on the trombone without looking.

I agree with Asrialys. Currently, I am playing the trombone and have played for over four years. I would have to say it's not a very easy instrument, it requires thought to get the correct pitches out, but once you get the slide positions memorized, you've done half the work. If you plan on playing, I suggest you get a tenor trombone (one with a trigger) and a 6 1/2 AL mouthpiece OR a 12 C mouthpiece. These are nice ones, and the 12 C is mostly for beginners. The trigger will help you play the notes in 6th and 7th position in tune better and with less stretching of the arm ^_^
Also, as mentioned above, you'll need to learn bass clef. This isn't that bad, it just takes some practice and thought.
Now, about range, yes, high notes are a pain and I really just don't like them on the trombone. Personally, I think the middle range is the best on this instrument. The lower range is sometimes stressful on the lips, as is the higher range. Since it has a slide, you will need to be able to react quickly, especially at fast tempos. Also, you can't truly 'slur' on a trombone. You need to legato tongue everything in a slur or else, you get a nice big gliss (which is fun, but is only used when for effect).
I hope this has helped alittle. Oh, and another tid-bet of information for you; yes, you can good enough to find positions without looking, if I didn't need to look where I was going on the football field, I'd actually be able to play our entire show blind. ^_^