do u have to be a certain age to play trombone my bro is nine and wants to play trombone

i started when i was eight... it really depends on how big your brother is for his age and it wouldn`t hurt if he had long arms.

it doesn`t matter, as long as he doesn`t do any physical damage to the horn (putting dents in it, mainly the slide) he`ll be all right. Heigth doesn`t matter at all, if you can`t reach out far enough, twist yourself, or be lazy and get a F attachment with the horn, but i wouldn`t recommend it right off the bat, just start with a normal horn. But no, it doesn`t matter on age or size

Although I am a flute:

I know of trombones who started at age nine-ish. At my old school we could start in fourth grade (so about nine) although I didn`t start until fifth grade.

I think your brother will get used to it, though.

actually, i would say that size does matter in this case.. not necessarily for reaching seventh position (most music in the first year or so doesn`t use b natural anyway), but the student must first of all have hands big enough to hold the horn properly, and let`s face it.. to an eight year old, the trombone is pretty heavy (another argument against f attachments).
also, twisting the body for sixth and seventh really does not lend itself to proper breathing... there is a manipulation of the collar bone where the shoulder comes forward that is taught that does allow for more reach but this does not require a twist of the torso , nor should it.
so yes, unfortunately, if the child is small for his age, he should probably wait.
as for age in general, it is up to the parent or whoever is going to be responsible for the instrument to decide.. trombone slides are very easily dented, knocked out of alignment, and often severely mistreated by younger players. if you`re gonna go for it, rent the horn, and for goodness sake, get the damage insurance!!!

you don`t have to have a certain size hand, yah, as long as you can reach and hold it, but i`ve seen 4 year olds play the trombone and they can hold it, unless he has extreemly small hands, i mean so small you can barely read across 4 inches, than go ahead. twisting the body doesn`t do anything to the air, sit up staight and try it, as long as you don`t twist to the point your doing a marching band slide with your chest then your alright. Otherwise there isn`t any reasons not to go ahead and let him try it

if it was too heavy then either drop it, or get used to it, after a few weeks or a month, just depends on the work ethic, he would get used to it, and its not the parents or whoever`s choice, its the person playing it, its like tell you "ok, you can`t handle that...im taking it back" when you first got whatever it was. dont` give up

thanks guys contine to chat

well musicman, i guess I stand corrected.. what do i know???
i`m just curious what your music background is that you have such infinite wisdom on these things? i mean seriously, you just negated everything i said simply by saying that i was wrong without backing anything up, except with an example of some four year old playing a horn.
there are exceptions to every rule, of course, but a lot of factors need to be considered before starting someone so young on a brass instrument.
as for the work ethic/weight of the horn issue... yeah, i guess you could beat the kid into submission like that.. but music is supposed to be fun. it`s no wonder the majority of kids quit after the first year or so.
it`s obvious you have strong opinions on the subject and so do i. but if you`re gonna tell me i`m wrong sir, at least give me the respect of backing it up.

i tell you this because i have either seen it before or have experenced it first hand. this is my 2ed year playing the horn, i know some about it, but then other things i learn from mas and erik when they post.But as in the twisting and all that, i`ve seen it done by people that are under 5 feet tall before and they play trombone, i`ve never tried it before just because i`ve never had that problem...im 6"1` with an arm spand of about 4 or more feet. But before i replyed about the twisting thing i tried. and i came up with the conclusion that it did nothing. Plus, when i got my horn, before i did at least, i could and still tell you about everything about it, i would get on here and ask questions and read what experenced people have to say, learned from them. i`ve learned from band directors, more experenced people, etc. I do research on the trombone. And normally they tell about sitting posture, and all that. So, im not trying to prove you wrong, im jsut simply telling you and more important, the persone who may get and play the horn, altertunives they might want to tryout and see if it helps, if not then they don`t have to do it. So im just throwing out ideas, stuff i`ve learned first and second hand, and from what i`ve seen and heard. So im sorry if you think im trying to outsmart you, im certainly not trying but what im saying is that it is possible, you just need to fool around and try it out,

second year eh?
how could my twelve years and the fact that I play for a living ever compete with that? maybe if you`e ever in virginia, or we come to your town , we could hook up and you could give me a lesson?

if you think about what i said a little, then it makes since...other shut up. I proved you wrong, ok get over it. Don`t start something big over it

look man, you believe what you believe , that`s cool.
but having seen sooooo many young players with horrible technique, and knowing that many of these bad habits start early, I just get really worried about some of the advice given on public forums.
you haven`t proven anything, only reasserted your opinion. and that`s fine,you are welcome to it.
some things are true whether you believe them or not, and to put it another way, just because you believe something doesnt` make it true.
i assure you , that in another few years, when you really start digging into brass mechanics, breathing study , and embouchure study, you will probably look back on this and think very differently. i am well aware that you feel like you have a good handle on things, being in your second year and all. but let me tell you.. i still come to new revelations about brass playing every day.. many, many years later. things that can only come not only through extensive research, but from having had a horn on your face for many hours a day for many years.
maybe you can at least respect that much?
good luck in your studies..at the end of the day, it`s all about the music, right?