#Sackbut March 11

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March 2026 marks the 75th consecutive month that Jeff Neelon, Jaclyn Donovan, and I have completed a 30-Day Coach4aday Challenge. For this milestone month, we’ve chosen to focus on teaching. Each day for 30 days, we will share one lesson, principle, or insight gained from the previous 74 challenges—calling it the 30-Day Coach4aday Teach It Challenge. For each of us we believe that our own personal growth increases when we share it. Today it is sharing about a musical instrument that got its start by being called a SACKBUT.

In February 2023 I participated in the 30-Day Musical Instrument Challenge. Each day we had to learn about a different instrument. My choice was the trombone which was called Sackbut many centuries ago.

“Teach It” 30 Day Challenge Guidelines

In past challenges, we invited others to join us, though participation has been limited. This month, the three of us will return to January 2020—the very beginning—and move forward to the present, reflecting along the way and sharing a life lesson or insight from any month with one another.

Here is how we will do it.

1. Identify the principle, insight, or lesson from a previous 30-Day Challenge-identify the Challenge also.
2. Teach that lesson to each of us.
3. Share the conversation by posting on social media with the hashtag #Coach4adayChallenge

Day 12-Sackbut to Trombone

There is a great deal of uniqueness about the brass instrument we know as the trombone. One interesting aspect is that it was originally called a “sackbut.” Variations of sackbut-like words appear in the Bible, which once led to a faulty translation from the Latin Bible suggesting that trombones dated back as far as 600 BC. However, there is no historical evidence that instruments with slides existed at that time.

Not for Lefties

Trombone is not lefty friendly. One of the greatest jazz trombonists in history, Slide Hampton, defied all of these obstacles and had a successful career playing the sackbut left-handed. 

To read about other peculiarities of this instrument check out this site.

Flight of the Bumblebee

Lots of solos that can be played on the trombone but wanted to share “Flight of the Bumblebee”