I`m having a hard time getting 6th position down everytime when I play a song in my school band. I either go too far, too little or I hit it perfect. (I don`t hit it perfect often) My instructor put a spot with a marker where 6th position is but it`s very hard to see and I can`t concentrate that much while playing the music and looking down for that mark on the slide. Any tips on how I can nail that 6th position down? Also 5th too but that`s not much of a problem as 6th is.

I presume that you are trying to hit a C in sixth position. To find where sixth position is, try playing the F in sixth position. If it is in tune with the F in first position, then you know you have it right. It will change slightly between partials, but not enough to matter at this stage in your practice. Otherwisse, you just need to learn to be able to hear the note and place the slide in about the right place and move it a bit if it isn`t right when you play. With practice, sixth position should no longer be a problem.

dude,u need to listen for the note.its possible chance u will get the note.my teacher told me this suggestion.u should stand in front of a tuner and tune ur 6th position.then close ur eyes and turn away from the tuner and play the note.turn to the tuner and see if ur right.keep doing this till u get it ok.

I`m in 9th grade now and have been playing for 6 years. I just got a Bach 42B today. What i recomend doing is playing the normal F in 1st position then play it is 6th position when they sound the same that should be you are in 6th position.

Get a trombone with the F-attachment. This attachment allows you to play lower notes then a low E and you don`t have to reach all the way out to the 6th and 7th positions,but if you want to play lower notes below an E you will have to go to 6th and 7th position.

get on a piano. Play the note you are trying to get, play it a couple of times. Then sing the note, do it until its perfectly in tune. Finally get your horn play the note on the piano and then play the note on your horn. When your in tune your in tune. Dont try to put the note on the slide somewhere. Because every single note on the slide will not be in the same place every time. Just the way it works. Lastly, be patient, pitch is something that you will be working on for the rest of your life. I know i still am. Good luck

Or break out a tuner. I took lessons from this one guy (he has a phd in boneology) start in 1st and play (at 60 beats a minit)8 counts on an f and tune it so it is in tune. then snap the slide down to second position E 8 counts then snap to 3 Eflat ecctra all through all 7 positions. then back up using the tuner for each position. Eventually you will acquire a muscell memory for the positions. Another thing to remember is "we all play out of tune some of us just ajust faster than others."

Also try to hear the note before you play it. As you acquire the muscell memoty you will fell how it feels befor you play it and that will help you here it befor you play it.

im going to disagree notshort. Because we cant all expect a position to be in the same place. What if there is a temp difference dramatically and we cant adjust the tuning slide? You cant force it with your chops or your going to feel immediate fatigue. You have to rely on your ear for the note because your body knows EXACTLY what to do with it. So if you can sing a in tune note then you can play. Your body is a lot smarter than most of us give credit to

Well here is the thing. If you have a muscell (I just cant spell) memory of the location then your going to hit it and then if you have trained your ear to hear it first then youll play it right. If your more than an inch off it becomes really difficult to play it in tune. Know where it is and what it sounds like and bame youll get it.

SO Yes Mas is right but so am i. LOL

I agree with Mas. Muscle memory is great for knowing the area a position is in, but after that, after you know that 6th is further than 5th which is further than 4th which is usually just outside the bell, you can forget about muscle memory as a conscience application for intonation. Simply becuase no possition is in the same exact place twice. Ever. There are way to many things that make all that different. So, the best way to find 6th consistantly is by ear. The best way to train that ear is either with a piano, playing F and then matching pitch on the horn and repeating with C, and then all the intervals, with a tuner for all the intervals, or even playing F in 1st listenning for the pitch, and then matching it in 6th.

When you get more advanced, you start to know the relative possition and pitch of every single note, especially the touchy picky ones. (high G partial, F above tuning Bb partial, and on and on.) You will never be able to stop using your ear, but you do know more of exactly where you want them to lie on the horn and you can adjust faster. Plus, there are so many other factors involved; weather, tempurature, humidity, altitude, inside/outside, equipment change, physical condition, chop condition, volume, where you are in the greater chord, who you are playing with.... Way too many issues to just say, "Yay! I`m in 6th, all is well".

I Love it you should make a bumber sticker!!!

Hey just keep practicing getting to six. But there is also another way. Does your tombone have a triger? Go to first position and push down on your triger, use a low buzz. If you don`t have a triger then well get a trombone with a triger or just try your best and work. You can also strech of your risk to get there that is how I did it until I got a triger trombone. Got to go, I have got to catch my flight to France for my consert. Good Luck

6th position isn`t really that bad....just you gotta tune it. and hear the note before playing it. (or at least know if it is wrong after playing it)