1529—Wittenberg, Germany

Martin Agricola publishes Musica instrumentalis deudsch, a treatise on musical instruments. Most of the information, including that about trombone, is derived from Sebastian Virdung’s Musica getutscht (Basel, 1511). He includes a woodcut of a trombone, labeled Busaun, that is almost identical to Virdung’s print(see facing image; public domain). Agricola also admits that he has little understanding of the instrument (“I shall not say much about them at this time, for I do not yet possess the proper fundamentals”) (Agricola 16-17, 145).