I don’t mean to approximate a straight line – I mean literally trace a straight line – like a straight-edge. The pattern your right hand traces is dictated by the slide and the slide is a straight line. 4 – Bob McChesney – Master Class. To produce low notes, vibrate your lips slowly; the higher the note you want to play, the quicker you will need to vibrate your lips. David Vining on Trombone Slide Technique. 7. Press J to jump to the feed. Therefore, basic concepts of holding the instrument will be examined. 3. On trombone alternate positions are, by definition, methods of playing the same note using more tube and a higher buzzed pitch. In fact, imposing the natural pattern of the right arm is what many trombonists do and this may be the source of some frustration. In other words, keep the ½ steps together. In order to trace the straight line of the slide, it is necessary to use all the jointed areas of the right hand and arm: The SC joint is where the collarbone connects to the sternum and it’s an important joint for moving the trombone slide. I feel the most effective method is to put the first two fingers of the right hand below the slide brace and the thumb above it. Holding the Slide: 1. I could fill page after page with information about breathing but for now, I'll summarize the most common student mistakes: 1. Video: Practice Advanced Trombone Techniques Identifying Techniques and Expressions If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below. This is such a simple yet effective suggestion because it works for everybody. 10. For example, when I move between first and second position, I don’t use the SC joint but I most certainly use it to reach beyond fourth position. To reach the lower slide positions, use all the joints of the arm together including the SC joint. There may be a steering wheel, but it’s not connected to anything so the kid can turn the wheel all he wants and the boat just stays right on track. 12. Sadly, no technique is as misunderstood as breathing. The player grips the valve section with the left hand, which supports the weight of the instrument while the right arm operates the slide. Navigating complex bebop and post-bop figures requires the use of alternate positions. Article from Instrumentalist: NEGLECTED SLIDE TECHNIQUE; FEBRUARY 1994. Superbone technique. 0 views. The Superbone can be played as a slide trombone, a valve trombone, or in combination. Think about those little boat rides at theme parks; the ones for little kids that float down tracks so they can’t bump into anything. Move the slide with the entire arm – not just the wrist. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED Slide-arm technique. Lock your slide and put your horn up to your chops. Having a non-existent or improper vibrato! This position gives the greatest flexibility, allowing the wrist to stay loose and controlling the slide … 8. Sorry about the lack of updates here lately. 0 0. The trombone changes the length by moving the slide. As you move your right hand along the tube, imagine guiding the slide on its predetermined track. Here is a video I call “Trombone Incongruities” that puts together some of these slide technique ideas with some other techniques: Here is a handout highlighting some important slide technique points: Here are some resources to practice slide technique: Purchase Flow Studies for Tenor Trombone. 4. Do not puff the air with each motion of the slide. There is much more to be said about slide technique; I’m going to address one more very common issue: to stop the slide or not to stop the slide. RULE(#2:((ProtecngtheTrombone. Trombone Lesson on Slide Technique Alternate Positions Tutorial. Place your right thumb at the intersection of the slide brace and the lower slide tube, and do not let go as you extend the slide (except to reach seventh position). User account menu • Tips For Trombone Slide Technique - How to Minimize Movement & Maximize Efficiency. Avoiding long positions on the trombone slide! Technique Edwards – Tuning Drone Melodies Marsteller – Advanced Slide Technique Marsteller – Basic Routines Remington (Hunsberger) – The Remington Warm-up Studies Schlossberg – Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trombone Vernon – The Singing Trombone Vining – Breathing Book Vining – Daily Routines for Trombone Clef Studies Move the slide quickly and precisely at the moment when the note changes – not before and not after. Now, without moving the slide or playing, trace along the bottom slide tube with your right hand. For smooth slide motion, travel as far as possible in one direction before changing directions – use alternate positions to accomplish this. To view instructional videos from The Chops Shop, visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKqWLR-mihxFfACuK7WN8uoUin66cJ53Website: https://www.TheChops-Shop.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChops.ShopLLCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechops.shop/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thechops-shop/Youtube: @The Chops Shop Excerpt from the book on contemporary trombone playing techniques (in collaboration with Mike Svoboda). Hold the entire weight of the instrument up with the left hand and arm; do not transfer the weight to the right hand... 2. Having poor slide holding and control habits! No technique is more important to good trombone playing than proper breathing. Become familiar with the entire slide. As I see it, slide technique has two primary facets—how you hold the slide, and how you move it. A must have method book for any student of the trombone regardless of the level. Here are some reminders and additional tips about slide technique: 1. The third and fourth fingers sit under, not over the bottom slide tube – something like a Vulcan salute. As you trace down the slide to the lower slide positions, you will use the jointed areas in different proportions but only if you are aware of all the jointed areas and allowing them to move in cooperation with one anther to create that all-important straight line. For more information on this joint, watch the video above. 5. Date: August 11, 2020 Actors: Paul The Trombonist. Everything is a fourth above the tenor. A good concept to remember is that the collection of notes made by putting the slide in a different position is the same just shifted down. Because there are no valves or keys, the trombonist must articulate differently than other wind players (i.e. (Interactive Digital E-Book) Trombone exercises that will make you a well rounded trombonist. As sometimes happens, I’ve been caught under an avalanche of grading, rehearsing, performances, and other busy work so that blogging has taken a back seat. Slide technique is one of the most important aspects of trombone playing. Samuel Scheidt (1587-1684) Dario Castello (1590-1658) Giovanni Gabrielli (1554-1612) Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) - Magnificat - Vespers of ... slide movements •Fluid slide technique, economy of movement in short slide positions I suggest that the slide should stop (or notch) for each note when playing slow notes but you should “pick it up as you go by” for faster notes. College-educated trombone player who has guided many young players to musical excellence. 0%. These are usually expressive techniques used alongside legato tonguing. Be specific and carefully assess whether or not your pattern of movement is genuinely straight. You can turn the wheel all you want and the boat still follows its predetermined path; you can try all you want to establish a different slide path and it’s still going to be a straight line. Ian Bousfield, former Principal Trombone of the Vienna Philharmonic, discusses using glissandi to develop smooth airflow through the instrument. Topics discussed include practice tips, how to develop your sound, articulation, low and high range, vibrato, trills, flexibility, slide technique and more. If the coin falls to the floor as the slide is extended, the student must do a better job of holding on with the thumb. Uwe Dierksen, trombonist of the Ensemble Modern, demonstrates an extended technique 21. Understand that this has nothing to do with whether or not you are relaxed – don’t let that issue enter the conversation at this point – very simply, trace a straight line. Mastery of both these areas of trombone playing is essential to a smooth, accurate style of playing. and arm in the manipulation of the trombone slide. Discuss proper speed and amplitude. 6. Develop independence between the arm and the air flow. Slide Technique Development of proper slide technique is necessary for trombone players to play with clarity of articulation and correct intonation. For a quick post, here’s a nice video discussion by David Vining on trombone slide technique. 11. In this video I share several tips to help your slide technique, like how to use your wrist to move the slide while leaving the elbow in place; and I also play a few examples of how the use of alternate positions can create a more fluid motion for the arm, making your more difficult passages a lot easier to play. On the slide trombone, such deviations from intonation are corrected for by slightly adjusting the slide or by using an alternate position. My first articles covered several approaches to slide technique as well as short flexibilities as they combine with slide motion. For slower passages, stop the slide for each note; for faster passages, pick up the note as you go by without stopping the slide. Trombone Lessons: Slide Technique – Bone Masters: Ep. Many young players assume they have to notch the fast passages which really slows them down. Accuracy and efficiency of movement with the slide can drastically improve your technique as a trombonist. 3. The slide should be held with the thumb, index and middle fingers only, so that the thumb is on the slide cross brace, and the fingers rest on the lower slide tube below the cross brace. During the course of study, the beginning player will establish all of the basics of tuning, sight reading, theory, slide navigation, technique, and musical performance. For practice, place a coin between the student’s thumb and the slide brace. Here is a very simple idea which should help alleviate some confusion and is not likely to be controversial: For good slide technique, trace a straight line with your right hand. The slide arm does not support the instrument. This is because moving the slide to second position moves the fundamental down by a half-step. To move the slide, trace a straight line with your right hand. tongue every single note, or use a combination of tonguing and slurring to … Here are some reminders and additional tips about slide technique: 1. 13.4k members in the Trombone community. Although much of Western music has adopted the even-tempered scale, it has been the practice in Germany and Austria to play these notes in position, where they will have just intonation (see harmonic seventh as well for A ♭ 4 ). (• Holdingit – Try(notto(forgetyou(are(holding(it(pretend(it’s(ababy);(ESPECIALLY(the(slide! About Share. Slide technique is one of the most important aspects of trombone playing. Avoid traveling a long distance with the slide to play a small interval such as a minor second – use alternate positions to accomplish this. Extending the slide in order to transpose pitches downward causes tuning problems with the valves. Jazz trombone players have been practicing these techniques for a long time. The slide is used to change between notes on the instrument, and many trombone techniques relate to its use. SLIDE TECHNIQUE trombone choir history/pedagogy artists comparisons. 23. It works if you have a long arm or a short arm; it works if you are a jazz or classical player; it works if you play tenor or bass; it works in fast or slow passages; it works for staccato or legato styles. Vibrato is similar but involves smaller fluctuations around one note. A password reset link will be sent to you by email. as well as concepts about the manipulation of the slide. Reset Password. To move the slide, trace a straight line with your right hand. As a result, I have chosen that … Trills are one example of a sliding technique, which is a rapid alteration between two notes. II. Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. Purchase What Every Trombonist Needs to Know About the Body, Tools to help you achieve peak performance, What Every Trombonist Needs to Know About the Body. Just like you can’t dictate the path of the boat, you can’t change the path of the slide. purpose of this paper is to compare slide techniques for the trombone. This approach is a little different from pushing and pulling the slide; the effort of moving the slide is more of a cooperation with the slide track than an imposition of an arbitrary pattern more suitable to the one your right arm naturally wants to take. A central concept of slide technique is that the slide must be in position before the air and tongue initiate a note, regardless of the tempo of the music being played (Whitener, 2007). The trombone should be supported with the left arm, leaving the slide arm free to move easily. Develop ease of negotiating long slide shifts. Trombone Lessons: Slide Technique – Bone Masters: Ep. This month I will present an approach to rapid tonguing specifically designed for trombone players. Here's a three octave slide position chart and a first position (fundamental) overtone chart for the alto trombone. The message here: don’t fight the horn – the path is a straight line and you need to accommodate that straight line with your body. The use of the hand, wrist. When playing a trombone you can change the sound it produces just by how your lips vibrate when blowing-no fingers required. Like. No one ever seems to talk much about slide technique, yet good slide technique is among the most important aspects of playing the trombone, and indeed is the only aspect of playing the trombone that is not shared with any other horn. For more on this, watch the video. Accuracy and efficiency of movement with the slide can drastically improve your technique as a trombonist. 22. Slide technique is one of the most important aspects of trombone playing. 2. Don’t think of pushing and pulling the slide; instead, think of guiding the slide on its track. The best way to hold the slide brace is a matter of some debate among trombone players. 4 – Bob McChesney – Master Class. Part of the Bärenreiter Verlag's well-known series on contemporary playing techniques and awarded with the German Music Edition Prize as In this analogy, the inner slide tube is the track and the outer slide is the boat. Trombone trombone lesson. Don't do breathing exercises away from the horn and then do something different when… When it comes to holding the slide, I generally like to have two fingers on the inside of the left tube on the brace and two fingers on the outside of the left tube, with my thumb behind the two fingers that are on the inside. 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