Sackbut

Related Category: Music: Theory, Forms, and Instruments

(săk´bət), Renaissance name for the slide trombone, probably derived from the old French word sacqueboute, which means “pull-push.” The instrument achieved its present form in the 15th cent., the only differences being a narrower bore and a smaller bell. These differences lent the sackbut, sometimes called a posuane, a less mellow tone than its modern counterpart.