The Old Trombone - 50with50 No. 19

Making Music

My old trombone from my high school band days is the latest entry in the 50with50 series.

This old friend and I have been on quite a few interesting adventures together, and we have been to all sorts of places. We have been to Virginia, Alabama, St. Louis, Chicago, and even Valparaiso, Indiana. We have played in several All-West Tennessee Honor Band concerts, and even an All-State concert. This trombone and I have marched in football games, marching competitions, and Christmas parades. We have even played in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. And of course there were lots and lots of band concerts, too.

All of those were fun times, and I have great memories of those times. But all of that was in high school, and I have not seen all that much of this friend since then. There were a couple of summers not all that long after high school where we played in a community band, and then there was a high school band reunion over 15 years ago. But that has been about it.

New Things

However, my trombone and I have seen each other more this year than in the past few years put together. A couple of months ago, I had some time at home, so I thought I would get it out and see how bad things were. Interestingly, I was still able to get a pretty good sound, and I still remembered most of the notes. Of course, my lips were like jelly after just a few minutes from not having practiced for so long, but there was a little bit of hope.

And then last week, Laura and I filmed a short rendition of “Happy Birthday” for a friend. Laura played her clarinet and I played my trombone. It was just like old times. Almost. Except of course that there were only two of us instead of a whole band. But once again, it went rather well. That is one of those fun things that you do when you are quarantined at home due to COVID-19 and can’t go celebrate with someone in person.

It has been fun to pull out the old trombone to see what I can remember. Laura has done the same with her clarinet lately, and she even found some music online for clarinet and for trombone. I haven’t tried the trombone music yet, as I am just taking it slowly. But it has been nice to know that I haven’t entirely forgotten everything I ever learned.

Maybe I will even have more time to get out the old trombone in the future!

Bible Verse

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12

About the Photo

It probably goes without saying by this time, but as this photo is in the 50with50 series, it was taken with a 50mm prime lens. I had the aperture open pretty wide, as you might guess. In hindsight, I might should have used a different aperture setting to have a little more of the trombone in focus, but I don’t mind it like this.

Please don’t mind all the busy background items in the photo. Maybe I should have chosen a different location. But this was taken in our computer/sewing/whatever room, which is where I have spent a lot of days in my time at home recently.

And if you look closely, you can see my reflection in the bell of the trombone. I am at a weird angle because of the curve of the bell, but there I am. And you can also see that the silver finish has tarnished a bit over the years and could use a little polishing. I will add that to the list of things to do.

Also, if you are looking for a pattern to posts around here at the Burnsland website, you will notice that this one was posted a little sooner than a “normal” 50with50 post. That is because all of those travel photos are rather distant memories right now, while my trombone playing is nice and fresh. So I thought I would change things up and have a little more “fresh” content for today. That is another reality of all of this time at home. I am not complaining. That is just the way it is.

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: SonyFE 50mm f/1.8
Date: April 30, 2020
Location: Home, Williston, Tennessee