e place = ¢ lip formatior im saying “Veet © Nould undoubteany, fe exception to Co imera’s suggesticar, Bayne higher agree blowing the ‘higher tones, "°° lips muse Be Be litle: ye lips muse the Be tact os On smile pperelond tones tf akes fortunate choice "°° crash tones to Rotations among Ree ht ange have, been ed, the loud or SIS “HES OF notes’ in allTrombone: Beyond Legato, Vibrato, and Slide Technique aving passed the 50-year mile stone a few years ago, I find it fitting to be reviewing the trombone articles in The Instrumentalist over the same period. What Jarosliv Cimera wrote about starting trombone students in 1948 seems naive and overly rag the song-and-wind concepts espoused by Amold Jacobs. It would be interest ing, however, to start a beginner using Cimera's unpedagogical language to ce if his naiveté isin fact a successful method to avoid overloading a new student with too many concepts The instructor will then have the student put the assembled instru ment to the naturally. closed lips where the mouthpiece feels the best and “spit” some air into it. One atic when compared to by Jay Friedman should not confuse him with litt! details, In most cases, the students have the correct lip formation and find the best mouthpiece placement from the start. The lip formation is like that used in saying " Many teachers would undoubtedly take exception to Cimera’s suggestion on playing higher notes: “In blowing the higher tones, the lips must be tightened a little; the comers of the lips are contracted as in a faint smil For playing loud tones he makes an un- fortunate choice of terms because crash tones today have negative con. notations among brass players. Afcer the vibrato and. soft scales have been mastered, the loud or “crash” tones are introduced, using the overtone series of notes in all Urbie Green positions . .. . After this, the scale for the particular assignment should be played in full tone at a fast speed, but being careful to play every note Trombonists would do well to heed his advice on slide movement and grip because too many hold the slide in an iron fist. When playing rapid passages, the student must be watched to see that hhe moves the slide to the correct, position on time without jaring the horn and without tensing the grip of the slide. The slide action comes naturally through both the arm and the wrist, provided the student doesn't grip the slide too hard or tense his arm. The slide must be moved quickly, without jerking, so that it is at the proper position for the whole dura tion of the tone. In fast passages of 16th notes and staccato passages of 8th notes, the slide should not stop for the notes, but glide smoothh ppast the positions, timed with the ulation of the tongue. In such s, the notes are short enough so thae they will not be blurred when the slide is set in motion.! Legato Playing Of the many trombone legato, this quote sums up a problem that plagues trombonists everywhere 1 see that most junior high and high school trombonists over-articulate when slurring to produce a tenuto style rather than a true legato. Listening to recordings by Tommy Dorsey, Bill Watrous, or Henry Charles Smith will demonstrate how truly beautiful the trombone legato ean be. (1985)? A 1951 article demonstrates how lit tle ideas have changed on legato play ing. The most apparent change is in how often people write about the sub- ject these days. We still have not learned the lesson from generations of ballad players that the trombone can play a smoother legato than any other instrument. L feel sure that everyone will recog: the value of learning to move the slide as fast as possible just be fore the next tone must begin when playing legato. By this means, each tone can be sustained to the last 148. we mistmunentauist /AUCUST 1995possible moment and a legato can softly. Others go flat when playing be obtained without glisando, This foudly and. sharp. when playing is not the place to discuss the softly. Still other trombonists who tongue and breath action that must play with relatively good intonation be coordinated with the slide move at medium dynamic level go flat or ment. Let it suffice here to remind sharp at both dynamic extremes you again that the slide must never These characteristics of intonation move slowly in legato regardless of are the result of the method or hhow slowly the music is moving. I methods of tone production em: am continually appalled at. the ployed and are highly individual. number of pupils who have been Again, let it be said that the first moving the slide too slowly in pas and immediate remedy isto listen — sages marked with slurs. Some of and compensate accordingly. (1952) them play such passages with glis sando, others make a definite break between tones; but both are equally wrong? Astonishingly few teachers even dis- cuss vibrato with students, but Donald ‘Wittekind introduces the subject well. The mistaken theory still survives _Yibsuo should enhance the tone i that a smooth legato results from hold- sound or questionable intonation. ing each note as long as possible with a There are two basic types of quick shift to the next tone. This only trombone vibrato; one is the jaw or results in tenuto. A true legato is pro- embouchure vibrato, and the other duced by moving off a note slightly is the slide vibrato. Embouchute vi- early and by making the sound be- brato results from a slight up and eens Get down movement of the lower jaw. Do not start this motion until you Another good explanation of legato have first firmly attacked the note; playing is from Richard Fote. otherwise you may get a tremolo ef- ‘Smooth slide action can best be ac ae : complished by keeping the wrist demonstrate this technique, play the following exercises in three dif- ferent ways: (1) by moving the en: tire forearm and keeping a stiff wrist (2) by moving the side with the wrist alone but not moving the forearm; and (3) by combining the movements of the wrist and elbow — the correct and obviously most effi TE te aoe an tba el jal cone sn eee with the music. A player needs to be ea) able to turn off his vibrato at any Stewart L. Ross offers some excellent Henk.’ asneiex the: Gent ‘40 to develop legato playing. ndment: Use thy vibrato discretion! (1987)? On the subject of vibrato, Harold Brasch shares a classic comment from Arthur Pryor. Trombonists can be recommended paul Tanner, 1965 either of the evo methods. In our Paul Tanner, 126 school bands we notice many users of the hand (slide) vibrato. This trend can be traced to its universal use by trombonists in modern dance bands; a young player can be ex- pected to mimic those whom he sees in action, Certainly this system eae cannot be criticized when we con (1976) sider the tone quality of the late Tommy Dorsey. On the other hand, ew articles discuss intonation bet Rewspaper reporter interviewing Fe selene east h the late Arthur Pryor asked him to ter than the one by Thomas Bevers- what single tem he attributed is dorf. Here is one example that applies eauifl sound. The famous soloist ‘equally to all brass instruments: and composer answered without Many trombonists find that, accord- hesitation, “the jaw vibrato.” (1958)8 ing to their method of tone produc tion, the pitch will vary consider- Tonguing ably at different dynamic: levels Although I do not advocate that Some trombonists go sharp when _ students use particular syllables on ar- playing loudly and lat when playing _—_ticulations, all brass players do use Harold T. Brasch, 1957 Listen to various artists to dis- cover what kind of vibrato they use in different playing situations. Plen- ty of recordings are available that demonstrate the use of vibrato in solo, ensemble, and orchestral play- ing. The Urbie Green and early Tommy Dorsey recordings are a goad guide to slide vibrato. Don't forget chat vibrato is a pul- Arthur Pryor Intonation and Vibrato AUOUST 1995 /THEINSTRUMENTAUST. 149Emory Remin on, known asthe Chief, was Professor of trombone at them. Paul Tanner gives the best ex planation I have ever read. First let me mention the syllables used for starting notes; in the past there have been several suggested that have become fairly standard, “tu,” “tah,” “tee,” ete. Today, the ‘most acceptable sound on the trom- bone is a more full and more open sound than ever hefore. We seem to bbe headed toward a French horn sound but with the clarity and bril- liance of a cylindrical instrument. | find that [ use, as much as possible, the syllable “teau” (sounding rather like or “tow” — but with a French accent). My good friend, Clarence Sawhill of UCLA. has been recommending this for years. This sound has its corresponding approaches - “deau” and “leau.” The advantage of this syllable over previous concepts is that it keeps the throat, the mouth, the entire 150 tue wsrauweratisr AvUST 1995 resonance chamber as open as possi ble. It tends to keep the tongue down out of the way too s0 that there will be no restriction to a free flow of air. One item that may seem revolutionary to some people is that many of us are attempting to use that same syllable all over the horn; we try to avoid the older “ah-ee” ap proach to upward skips. In the past, many players even intentionally thinned out their sounds in the upper register. It made them sound higher and control was a litle eas ier. Today, we attempt to play the upper register with just as big a sound as the lower and to match our tone all over the hom. The prices we pay for this are twofold: flexibil- ity seems a trifle harder with a full sound, and listeners do not realize that we are playing as high as we ac tually are, so often we are working harder than we are getting credit for. (1965)? Section Playing Joe! Elias and LaMar Jones conti buted one of the few articles about the problems of playing in a trombone se tion, an issue worthy of future articles The second trombonist is the se tion’s messenger and mediator. Just as the bass rombonist welds the tuba to the trombone section, the second trombonist joins the fist part 0 the bass; and this role re Quires a blending type of sound fone that contains fewer highs than the lead player's and fewer lows than those from the bass. A good second player reacts quickly to what he hears, has a sound rich and fill fenough to blend with as well as hheighten the other part, and wes his musical skills to help the othess in the section. A section can be only as good as its second player his limitations quickly become the lim- itations of the section Players have to adjust their pitch to eliminate, as nearly as posible the beats (a clash in the sound when two or more people play out of tune; the faster the beats the more severe the problem). This is accomplished by moving the slide in the direction that first slows down, then finally eliminates the beat entirely. Having to tune every note by moving the slide in the same direction (always in or always out), is a sure sign that the main tuning slide should be adjusted ‘A word of caution: fa chord ora unison note is out of tune, try t0 change it immediately, but do not continue to fish around and call at- tention to the problem ifthe intial adjustment proves to be wrong. Instead, determine the proper a= justment and use it the next time you encounter the same chord or pitch. (1983)!° Phrasing Although many brass teachers preach the virtues of trying to match the singing voice on an instrument, few follow up with any exercises to de- velop the concept. I recommend using just the mouthpiece as a way to de- velop good phrasing, as does Derald DeYoung, The use of singing by the insur mental teacher, student, or both can be a valuable aid to brass per formance. Singing can_ improve breath support, tone quality, into ration, articulation, and phrasing. Te will also train the ear and relax tensions. Instrumentalists need to stay closer to the original and most natural of musical instruments: the hhuman voice. Beginning instrumen- talists often sound mechanical at least somewhat because they've been divorced from any concept of how playing a brass instrument relates to using the familiar instru- ment of the voice . .. . By singing a familiar cune, a beginner will under stand where the most natural places for breathing occur. The contour of the melodic line is also more easily experienced in singing. A class that sings its music will perform it with greater sensitivity to musical nu ances. (197)! Joseph Alessi of the New York Phil- harmonic relates good phrasing to the artistry of good singers. Thad a lesson with George Roberts at which I didn’t play a note; he just talked about Sinatra's phrasing Sinatra produced some of the most beautiful phrasing in the world be cause he focused on the message and meaning of the song. Instr mentalists should think of telling a musical story; there are many ac ceptable interpretations, so long as the player expresses a’ viewpoint Phrases are like chapters in a book; each has a different meaning. Good players have something to say about each phrase. (1993)! Bill Watrous says much the same thir Frank Sinatra credits Tommy Dor sey with teaching him how to phrase, and I learned by listening closely to Sinatra, who was my in spiration. Sinatra is the most impor- tant male vocalist of the century He isthe master of phrasing. To this day, if you hear him on the right night, he is as great as ever. (1994)!3 Besides developing a concept of phrasing, mouthpiece busting has Jay Friedman, 1993 Jay Friedman has been the principal trom bone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1964. He is music director of the River Cities Philharmonic, regularly con. ducts in Scandinavia, and gives orchestral seminars around the world 152. me wistuumentaust ALoUST 1995 many benefits for brass players, accord ing to Alessi Buzzing is another way to strengthen, the embouchure. Arnold Jacobs tells the story of being ill as a child and sitting in bed buzzing his mouthpiece, and he believes this gave him a good embouchure. I had a similar experience driving from Philadelphia to Saratoga Springs. I buzzed on my mouthpiece the whole way, playing along with songs on the ‘radio, By the time I got to Saratoga Springs I was a different player. (1993)!2 One of the few articles that ad- dresses the speed of the air, not just the volume of air, is by DeYoung, correctly stating that the secret of soft playing is in the air velocity He must focus the air column into a thin bead with his lips. Show the student how fast he is able to expel the focused air by asking him to try to move a sheet of paper as it is placed farther and farther away High velocity of the air must be maintained when less air is used for lower dynamics. (197)!4 A much-neglected subject that p tains to all wind players is the applica tion of bel canto pe Malcolm Beauchamp’s application of bel canto to trumpet teaching is equally valuable for trombonists Literally bel canto means beautiful singing. Invariably, the term is used in a description of the "Golden Age of Song” during the 17th and 18ch centuries... The bel canto masters required that singers be able to demonstrate these qualities: a beautiful tone at all times ‘agility and virtuosiy in. perfor- ‘*a smooth, pure legato tone and sustained, unbroken phrases * perfect intonation resulting from proper tone production and an unhindered deliverance of musical expression To achieve these performance objectives the masters developed the following pedagogical principles The bel canto conception of ear training involved more than sight singing and recognising musical in: tervals. The masters also developed the student's ability to preconceive the desired tone quality as well as the correct pitch. Once achieved, the teacher's discriminating ear guided the student through the exe- Cution of each exercise constantly evaluating tone, intonation, vowel purity, rhythmic accuracy, and ‘other sound properties teaching standard was a characteristic of the bel ca agogical system. The primary histor ical sources of bel canto offer evi we Als dence that no matter how much time each stage of development re quired, the student was not rushed Or pushed beyond his abilities A particular musical or technical problem was isolated and practiced to perfection before it was included in a musical context... The stu dene was taught the pedagogic process and its application 0 he Could. practice correctly and con tinue «© improve after formal study had ended. The bel canto master were explicit in deserbing what and how to practice, and why Te is obvious that bel canto con cepts and principles are in agree: ment and compatible with contem porary brass pedagogical thinking The basic bel canto principles ap plied to tumpet pedagogy ate those Of establishing and preserving a portamento when moving from one tone t0 another to maintain a con tinuous air flow and. vibration (1983)! len te Bi Jarsev Caner, “Teaching the Tombone” 98 (BA-19), 2Daval Mahl, "“Teachng Yung Fe, since of 450), Steward LR BABU), SHarald Brwch, "Pre ‘pen of Te Eis and LaMa towne, "Air Veoty” 12/19 coin Benny, “The Apeliceiattl Trumpet Pea,” 10/1983 (BA-67), Stoning ot $12500 WAVEprocice the odableh the WAVEpractice’* Wenge| practice room is, and how The revolutionary WAV Environment) System allo acoustical response of the ofa button. Now, behind musicians can study how t play across a wide variety WAVEpractce is one of Congratulations to}