Brass Glissando

What it is: Three different physical effects share the name "brass glissando":

Trombone slide glissando — true continuous pitch slide via slide motion. Limited to the range within a single partial (about a tritone, max). The signature trombone effect.
Valve (half-valve) glissando — depressing valves halfway disrupts the air column, producing a gritty, smeary slide. Common on trumpet; less defined in pitch than a slide gliss.
Lip glissando — bending pitch with the lips alone, usually as a short ornament. Limited range (~M2 up or down).

What it sounds like: Trombone slide gliss is the cleanest — a smooth, continuous pitch change like a trombone caricature ("wah-wah" sound effect). Valve gliss is grittier, more like a yelp. Lip gliss is subtle — a flick.

When to use it:

Trombone slide gliss — comic effects (Henry Fillmore, Lassus Trombone), dramatic effects (Mahler 3rd Symphony trombone solo), big-band tail-end slurs.
Valve half-valve gliss — jazz solos, contemporary classical, anywhere you want a "smeared" effect on trumpet/horn/tuba.
Lip gliss — short ornaments at the end of notes; rarely a structural element.

Tip: A trombone slide gliss must stay within one partial. Writing a "slide gliss from C to high G" is a contradiction — those notes aren't in the same harmonic-series partial. Either the player breaks the gliss with a partial-change (which kills the effect) or it becomes a valve-style smear (which trombone doesn't do). Stay within a tritone, slide direction confirmed by physical reality (longer slide = lower pitch).

Notation: Wavy or straight line between the two pitches, with gliss. written above. For trombone slide gliss specifically, it's understood that the slide moves continuously.

Watch — One Demo Per Glissando Type

1. Trombone slide glissando

Sad Trombone — slide gliss demonstration

The simplest possible slide-gliss demo. Hear what staying within one partial sounds like — the "wah-wahhhh" sound effect is just a real slide gliss within a tritone or so.

Trombone slide technique — minimize movement, maximize efficiency

Tutorial on the physics of the slide. Useful background for understanding why a slide gliss is constrained to one partial — the slide selects pitch within a single harmonic series, valves change which series.

2. Valve / half-valve glissando

Trumpet Sound Effects — Half-Valve Technique

Direct demo of half-valving on trumpet. Listen for the gritty, smeared, slightly choked sound — the air column is intentionally disrupted by partial valve depression.

Special Effects — Charlie Porter (half-valving + growl + shake)

Catch-all overview of trumpet special effects from a working trumpet player. Half-valve glissandi shown in context with related "smeared" effects.

3. Lip glissando (lip bend)

The lip gliss / lip bend — bending pitch with the lips alone, no valves moving. Listen for the ~half-step or whole-step bend down and back up; this is the small ornament trumpet players use at the end of phrases.

Developing Trumpet Fundamentals — Lip Bends

Pedagogical context: lip bends are a fundamentals exercise as much as a special effect. Watching the player work the bend slowly explains why the technique only spans ~M2 in either direction — the lips can only flex the air column so far before the partial collapses.