# "Sad Trombone" origins? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482 "2012-03-01T20:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/1 "2012-03-01T20:31:29Z")
Everybody knows what the sad trombone is - _Wah Wah Waah Waaaahhhhh_ (and you can go to [sadtrombone.com](http://sadtrombone.com) if you don’t). My question is, what’s the earliest known instance of it? Can we trace back to sad-trombone-zero, as it were? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/2 "2012-03-01T21:20:29Z")
Will this Wikipedia article on “[wah-wah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_%28music%29)” suffice? It’s not specifically about trombones but it points to [sad-trumpet-zero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63EGEa8xqcM). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/3 "2012-03-01T21:34:46Z")
I suspect the OP wants to know who first used the “sad trombone” sound to punctuate a failure. I know I do. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/4 "2012-03-01T21:39:22Z")
Surely it predates [The Price Is Right](http://www.losinghorns.com/) variant, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/5 "2012-03-01T22:11:27Z")
Wouldn’t be complete [without this…](http://sadtrombone.com/) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/6 "2012-03-02T21:28:28Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Will this Wikipedia article on “[wah-wah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_%28music%29)” suffice? It’s not specifically about trombones but it points to [sad-trumpet-zero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63EGEa8xqcM). Well, if we can accept that article’s implication that early jazz created the “wah-wah” our earliest possible date for sad trombone is the 20th century. At some point, this had to become a “meme” - those 4 notes are understood to punctuate a failure. It became more than just 4 notes. \*Bozo \*and _The Price is Right_ both debuted about the same time, but I don’t know when either started using the sad trombone, and don’t know how to find out. I’m pretty sure I’m not inventing a memory that the \*Flintstones \*used the sound in their original run, so it’s at least that old. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/7 "2012-03-02T21:32:21Z")
Urban Dictionary claims it was around since the Vaudville days. ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/8 "2012-03-02T21:40:51Z")
It would be interesting to know if there is something innate about the sound that conveys sadness or failure, or whether it is a culturally ingrained perception. I suppose one would need to expose people from other cultures to the cadence and conduct a survey afterwards. Doubtful that any formal study has been done in this clearly important field of research, but who knows? ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/9 "2012-03-03T00:47:35Z")
Yes, yes, yes, a federal grant. Also date the use of the slurr for football kickoffs. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-trombone-origins/614482/10 "2012-03-03T15:37:18Z")
> [@Apex\_Rogers](#): > > It would be interesting to know if there is something innate about the sound that conveys sadness or failure, or whether it is a culturally ingrained perception. I suppose one would need to expose people from other cultures to the cadence and conduct a survey afterwards. Doubtful that any formal study has been done in this clearly important field of research, but who knows? Yes, that’s an interesting question too. I’m not much for scatalogical humor, but the flatulent sound of the wah-wah is undeniable. Also, the descending notes denoting a ‘letdown’ are also seen in the ‘sad slide-whistle’ noise. So I suspect it’s innate, at least partly. But it’s been so well codified - there are four notes exactly, the last one stretched out. The four notes are always the same. Where did that come from?