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The background of the idea
I started to develop a trombone support device in the autumn of 1999 as a result of suffering from frequent, gradually growing pains in my left elbow whenever I played a little more than usual. Only an hour of practice a day was enough to cause pain in my hand. Previously, I had periodically been suffering not only from various symptoms caused by tension in the left shoulder and neck, but at times also from pain in the wrist. I looked for a solution on the trombonists' many homepages, where there was discussion about the problems of trombone playing and also occasionally some talk about the symptoms caused by the tension in the left hand. The only advice I was able to find was about how to minimize stress by pressing the fingers of the left hand against the body of the instrument. I finally realized that it was completely useless to wonder how to cope with physically supporting the instrument's weight when the solution would naturally be that a trombone needn't be supported only by hand in the first place! Neither saxophones, bassoons nor violoncellos are supported merely by hand. Even many clarinetists and oboists nowadays prefer to support the few hundred grams of their instruments with their body rather than with their hands only. I also noticed that the floortube provides essential help for young trombone learners in finding a correct playing position, which is often difficult for them. The first version was a simple wooden stick which I tied to the instrument's center of gravity. After having tried it out for a week at home I became convinced of its advantages and started making different prototypes. In the autumn of 2000 I presented the idea to the Foundation for Finnish Inventions which subsequently awarded me a grant to proceed with the project. The staff of the Foundation's own workshop made several new prototypes based on my ideas. It was most essential to find the best possible mechanism for fastening the support device. The device should be quick to attach and loosen but at the same time should allow movement in all directions. The last version which we took in production was designed by my brother Panu Antere. Stainless steel, chromed aluminum, plastic, leather and nylon were chosen
as materials. What determined this choice was not only how practical and
workable these materials would be, but also how they would look. It was
considered important to create a support device that would look presentable
since it would obviously often be used on special occasions, when not
only the instruments and clothing, but also anything that is used and
seen on stage should be matching and in good taste. |
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