1895—Paris, France

Albert Lavignac, professor at the Paris Conservatory, writes his treatise, La Musique et les Musiciens. About the trombone family he says, “There are three varieties of slide trombone: the alto trombone, the tenor trombone, and the bass trombone, which are each written in the clef suitable for the voice of which they bear the name…” He then offers the range for each, showing an alto trombone apparently in E-flat (he later confirms this, saying the alto is pitched a fourth higher than the tenor), the lowest note being the lowest pitch attainable on an E-flat instrument (excepting pedal notes), and the highest being the 8th partial in first position (compare the tenor trombone range offered, which shows comparable notes in B-flat) (see below image; public domain) (Lavignac 142).