Brass Clinic at Neglected Slide Technique by Millon Stevens. he trombone slide has always been the ob- | ject of both fascination and frustration Brass teachers spend considerable time neiping trombone students fo correct embouchure and breathing problems and rarely bject of slide technique Even many advanced sidered how to move their right arms up and dow the parallel cubing of the slide. Stand in front of large mirror and pat the chest wich the right hand while holding both elbows out from the torso. This isa good po ing the trombone, With the trombone in playing poxition and the slide closed, keep the elbows at a 35° angle to the body. Your feet and shoulders should be squarely in front ofthe mirror, and the head and neck should be straight. With the slide scked in first position, move the right arm be tween the parallel slide cubes as though moving he side, This exercise demonstrates that the arm Can move smoothly with elbows out from the abonists have not con sition for both elbows when play ‘When the arm is brought up to first position, che elbow should be away from the right side, but many trombonists keep the right elbow so closet the body that the arm motion looks more like an are than a smooth flow. Trombonists should avoid the motion of a carpenter sawing a board or the fod ofa steam engine driving the wheels. The bet ris to hold the elbow away from the ody $0 the slide does not create an are wher Many players a ly. the palm of the sli grab the slide brace incorrect e hand is pointed toward 24, syenermnetauerremuasy vs thumb on should rassive beneath tl mre toh of the middle satact the bar naturally. Too many d the bod an barely allows wide, fluid modi the opposit ind the thy be and ide b re fingers on the brace with the ace on the firs joint thumb and other players hold the slide only with fingertips, which Teads to slow or late slide action or a tight 8 off the end. Ie is be ide with the flesh of the fingers, to hold rot the fingernails. The fingers should The thumb and fingers s brace a tended a f all times, except when the le. Only 1d touch the slide hen should the thumb come off the brace and the slide rest on the first joint and accuracy, think of the ling. When the fingers ide toward first lide back o op the lide finger. To incre the thumb acts Hike a Let the thumb push the nt on time. Many players seem to rely n gravity to move to lowe f producingdisagree with the theory that the wrist should be somewhat stiff. Proper slide technique combines movement by the wrist and forearm. The caveat is. that, like most things, a loose wrist can be taken to extremes. To demonstrate a sloppy, floppy wrist action, hold the slide correctly but change pitches by using only the wrist, while keeping the forearm still. Even when changing ftom first to second po- sition, I recommend using the forearm while the wrist cushions the slide action like a shock ab- sorber. A tense wrist will cause the arm and shoulder to become stiff as well. Muscular arms are the goal of the body-builder, not the trombone player. Oper- ating the slide with tight biceps and triceps prevents efficent movement. The wrist should be supple and relaxed, as when playing @ trombone smear. Trombonists performing the ragtime solo, Lassus Trombone, will often use a hinge-like wrist ‘motion; this is a perfect prelude to learning slide vibrato. Although vibrato produced by the lips and jaw {s usually the method preferred by concert and re- cital artists, slide vibrato is often appropriate. The entire tradition of jazz contains a cornucopia of slide-vibrato styles and speeds. Tommy Dorsey could not have produced his sweet, shimmering playing without carefully considering how he moved the slide. Once when rehearsing Bolero, a ‘guest conductor was not satisfied with my vibrato until I used a pronounced, wide, slide vibrato. Even for professional trombonist, cultivating a smooth vibrato requires work. To’ practice this technique, inexperienced players should hold the slide properly and let the wrist make a gentle hhinge-like motion up and down the slide. Attain ing the proper speed and amplitude of the slide vibrato involves drill and repetition. At clinics and workshops I sometimes assemble my slide on the opposite side of the bell and strug- ale to play with a good, left-hand slide vibrato on a simple etude. This exercise vividly demonstrates how difficule itis to use slide vibrato without dedi- cated practice. To start, try oscillating the slide three or four cycles per second on any notes. Ac- ceptable American-style vibrato falls between four and six cycles per second. Five cycles at metro- nome marking 60 sounds good but can be dupli cated by playing four cycles at 75, ifit is easier for a student to think in groups of four. Deciding how to move the slide fora legato, can- tabile style perplexes many students. In legato playing there should be no gap between notes of yy duration. Try playing a scale while tonguing four legato sixteenth notes on each scale degree, and then perform the same scale in quarter notes. The slide should move equally quickly and at the last possible moment. Icis a myth that the slide oughe to glide or move continuously through a musical line. An excep- tion to the rule occurs in passages with double or triple tonguing in scalar patterns or rapidly articu- lated chromatic scales. In these cases it would be absurd to halt the slide for each tone in a flurry of notes. When playing the storm scene from Rossi- nifs William Tell overture, the trombonist propels. a blast of air just as the slide passes briefly through each position. In almost all other situations the slide stops for a split second in each position. The brief pauses in each position should not ex- cuse a disjointed legato or slow slide movement. Students can learn rapid slide movement with « steady air flow by smearing legato etudes. Select a piece from the Rochut, Concone, or Fink books and have students play without tonguing. The re- sulting smears can be exaggerated to illustrate one extreme of slide speed. Then students should smear the passage with a quick, abrupt slide speed that causes a jolting action. The last step is to find the optimum, efficient speed at which the slide ‘moves quickly ftom position to position at the last possible instant, but with a carefully controlled, smooth action. In legato playing the tongue action should coor- dinate with the slide movement to the new posi- tion. Figuring out when to move the slide baffles some students so much that they tongue first and then change positions, causing a smear. Most co- ordination problems occur when students wait un- til they reach the new position before tonguing. Similarly, calculating the half-way points between positions while performing usually leads to sloppy, slow technique. There is no magic here, ust simple coordination of the slide, tongue, and lips. I tell students to imagine tonguing legato at the end of the previous note rather than ar the beginning of a new note. The tongue and slide should move multaneously to improve accuracy, coordinatio and efficiency. Another key to smooth slide technique is using alternate posi Milion Stevens has been. principal trombonist of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. since 1978. He previously played with the Denver Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, the Boston ‘Opera, and the Boston Ballet. He earned his degrees {from Oberlin Conseruatory, the University of Ilinois, and Boston Univesity, where he was awarded a Doc: tor of Musical Arts degree reamvanr 19 racemes 25