Sackbut Sackbut A sackbut is a type of trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, characterised by a telescopic slide that is used to vary the length of the tube to change pitch. Unlike the earlier slide trumpet from which it evolved, the sackbut possesses a U-shaped slide, with two parallel sliding tubes, which allows for playing scales in a lower range. Records of the term "trombone" predates the term "sackbut" by two decades, and evidence for the German term "Posaune" is even older. "Sackbut", originally a French term, was used in England until the instrument fell into disuse in the
Sackbut the sources: it is either derived from the Middle French "sacquer" (to pull) and "bouter" (to push) or from the Spanish "sacar" (to draw or pull) and "bucha" (a tube or pipe). The term survives in numerous English spelling variations including sacbut, sackbutte, sagbut, shagbolt, sacabushe, shakbusse and shakbusshe. Closely related to "sackbut" was the name used in France: "sacqueboute" and in Spain, where it was "sacabuche". These terms were used in England and France until the 18th century. In Scotland in 1538 the slide instrument is referred to as "draucht trumpet" (drawn trumpet) as opposed to a "weir trumpet"