1003 – BrassWorkBook for Trombone Section

by Roger Harvey

Price: £20.00

Contents:

Preface
The Trombone Section
Chapter 1 – Tuning Exercises
Chapter 2 – Balance
Chapter 3 – Articulation

The Trombone Section:

The trombonist in the orchestra:

The ability to play well in a section is an essential part of a trombonist’s technique. Unless you are in the unlikely position of becoming a full-time soloist or recitalist, the majority of your playing life will be spent not showing off your carefully toned ability to play the sonatas and concertos, whipping around the instrument from top to bottom, but playing parts that are generally well within the technical capability of all decent players. This role requires a whole range of complimentary skills and subtleties that are perhaps not so easily learned as pure technical ability, in order to produce a musically apt contribution to an orchestral or band performance. That is not to say that fluent technical ability is of no use; on the contrary, the more command you have over your instrument, the better you will be able to adjust to the demands of the music, the manner of performance of your colleagues or the whims of the conductor and the more stimulating and fulfilling will be your playing experiences.

In addition to technique ability, interest in a knowledge of the music that you play should help you to a more informed approach to your playing and a greater enjoyment in your participation. Apart from the genuine benefits to musicianship of knowing the musical style, a keen interest in the music in its own right can often be an essential tool for the prevention of terminal boredom for the trombonist who may be only marginally involved in the performance due to the lack of notes.

Section playing:

The standard grouping of three trombones, usually 2 tenors and a bass, is a glorious tool for composers. It can provide a uniquely wide range of timbre, texture, volume and tessitura. In the hands of an imaginative composer it can give voice to almost any aspect of the expressive pallette. It then depends, of course, on the skill, musicianship and understanding of the players to deliver the intended message. Since trombones are almost always written for as a family group, it is essential that the players perform in a unified and corporately supportive manner. Although trombonists, naturally gregarious folk, often get together to play through repertoire informally, important aspects of the continual process of training and assessing section playing are sometimes neglected: a good section concentrates on unity of articulation, note lengths, note shapes an phrasing, balance tuning and general awareness, radar and teamwork that develop with the confidence in each other.

Some of these aspects are addressed in this book but simply plating through the exercises will achieve little: they should be approached with an understanding of what the objectives are and rehearsed critically to gradually work towards these goals. The supervision of a teacher or colleague may help but the main idea of this training is to develop a keen sense of awareness between players and an ability to adjust and match though the players’ own critical faculties so that they can largely do away with ‘spoon-fed’ instructions.  Not only will this make the section so much more successful but music-making activity much more rewarding.

This book does not contain orchestral excerpts, as there is a great deal of material already available. However, these exercises should be supplemented by attention to appropriate orchestral repertoire.