Basic Routines FOR Trombone BY Robert L. Marsteller (aut) pad B-268 $20.00 SOUTHERN MUSIC COMPANY SAN ANT TONIO, TEXAS 72292PREFACE ‘These exercises are not intended to be played in progressive order. They are divided into four categories and should be used in conjunction with a daily routine, combining several from each section, rather than playing them in order. While they can be used as warmups, their principal funetion is that of calisthenic exercises for the various muscles used in playing the trom- bone, with the objective of improving coordination, strength and control. They may be used by beginners, but only in the register whieh is suited to their abilities. The more difficult exercises should be omitted until the player develops sufficiently to play them without strain, A proper routine should be selected from the various areas of this book with emphasis on overcoming weaknesses which are apparent in the individual player. It should ordinarily be followed from 10-15 minutes per day. In general all “false positions” should be tuned carefully, unless in rapid playing of the flexibility exercises it occasionally becomes more desirable to have an undisturbed air column than perfect intonation. Each set of exercises is sequential and may be started, cut or ended at whatever point in the register the player or his teacher desires. The best procedure is to begin in the middle register and work towards both extremes, avoiding strain which is always harmful, The bass trombone player can reduce the upper limit to fit his register and similarly extend the sequences downward, In the exercises for attack and tone placement, it is advisable to make all adjustments of muscle and slide well before releasing the air. The two factors involved in locating a tone (the purely mechanical kinesthesis and the prior hearing of the pitch) should be practiced separately and then reunited so that they focus simultaneously on the proper note. This dual approuch can give an extraordinary assurance in performance. In cases where students have not developed an adequate tonal memory or a completely reflexive control of the entire pitch mechanism, the sequences begin either at the top or bottom of the slide positions, and are to be continued without written notes until the suggested terminus is reached or until the register becomes a problem, This playing by ear becomes absolutely necessary in the scale and arpeggio section, and is actually the application of solfeggio to the instrument. It is vital to the