BoneZone Oddblog

The Hopeful Shield

2011-12-01T20:30:00.007-05:00

It's the end of semester at many music schools and that means one thing: juries!

And so the subject of nerves comes up.

So, there you are, before your big performance. As you sit and wait, you try repeating to yourself, "I'm going to play great. I'm going to play great."

The problem is there is probably a little voice that responds to those affirmations with, "Bulls**t, Bulls**t, Bulls**t"

So here's a way to re-frame that situation that might help.

As you sit there, say to yourself, "It would feel so good to nail this." As you say this, imagine EXACTLY what it would be like to totally nail it.

How would you stand?
How would you breathe?
How would that first note sound?
How would it flow, musically?

Remember, you are not predicting that this will actually happen but, I really believe that imagining clearly it will make it more likely.

In other words, you take a HOPEFUL ATTITUDE.

"I don't know if I'll mess up or play great, but I can imagine what it would feel like to play great."

Each phrase presents you with another chance to have that wonderful experience of playing great. Once that phrase has ended, forget it (good or bad) and point your mental "headlights" to the next phrase. It's almost as if you have a little hopeful car shining headlights onto the next phrase as it comes up (and nothing else in the world!).

Fear and stage fright are the dragon standing between you and success. Think of this simple hopeful attitude as your shield against that fear.

Guacamole Tone

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Food has a lot to do with Thanksgiving so here's a food-related concept.

One of my students had a nice tone but not right at the start of the note. In the past, I once described this as Frisbee tone.

So I asked him, "What's your favorite food?"

Answer: chocolate cake.

"What's your least favorite food?"
Answer: Guacamole

"Imagine being offered a big, delicious slice of chocolate cake with a thin outer layer of guacamole. You want to get to that cake but you have to pass through that layer first."

"When you don't start notes with your best tone right away that's what it's like listening to your sound."

So let's thin out that guacamole layer. Or, better yet, get straight to the chocolate cake!

Yum.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Figure Skating and You

2011-11-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

As I look back on players I've known (on all instruments) I seem to have run across a sort of duality. Maybe you can call it a musical "two-party" system.

Party A: very expressive but not super consistent

Party B: very consistent but not super expressive

As players we must all work to maintain that foundation of good sound but always strive make our music compelling as well.

In some lessons I grill students about ...

accuracy of the slide in runs
starting the note with an immediate solid tone
steady time and accurate subdivisions

As I watch them focus on these things, I often see the phrasing go out the window.

In other lessons, I am more focused on...

clear arrival points in the phrase
compelling dynamic contrasts
more connection in long phrases

As I watch them focus on *these* things, you guessed it, some of those technical consistency things go out the window.

Anybody who's read this blog for a while knows that I often draw parallels with the world of sports. I especially like the Olympics.

Take figure skating for example. I'm largely ignorant on the sport so, when I watch, I can only get a rudimentary sense of how the routine is flowing. Are they wobbly? Did he drop her?..etc.

You know, the obvious stuff. The commentators are often talking about the expressive qualities of their skating and how there is (or isn't) so much joy in what they do. I can sort of see this.

Yet I have a sense of the long grueling hours of repetition, the stretching, the weight-lifting to arrive at that point of apparent spontaneous joy.

Below, watch a beautiful performance of Ferro's Daybreak performed by Joe Alessi. I've used this many times in lessons to point out such things as relaxed posture, great slide technique and solid embouchure.

And yet, I doubt he was consciously thinking of those things at that moment. He had built that solid foundation so that the music could flow forth.

Just like those spectacular lifts in figure skating where the one partner must provide a solid foundation for the artistic radiance of the other.

Of course it's all about balance...(in more ways than one!)

Here I Come to Save the Day!!

2011-11-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

For years, I've taught students to aid their high range by pulling in the gut as they leap up to a high note. I believe this works because it serves to compress the air in the lung, generating higher air pressure.

Try this: blow out with a steady stream of air against your hand. Then, suck in your gut. Notice how the air stream accelerates?

This past week, I ran across a corollary to this: lifting the chest. As you tuck in that gut, think of slightly elevating the chest. For me, the two seem to go together. I believe this is something singers do.

And so I search my mind for a visual image of that chest lift and arrive at our old friend, Mighty Mouse!

I'll bet that little dude had a killer high range.

Operation Tuner

2011-11-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

SmartMusic's tuner has a clever feature: it plays back the note it thinks you are trying to play.

If you want a laugh, turn it on and try speaking to it. It will try to detect pitches in your voice. (a distant cousin to auto-tuning I guess).

How about a tuner playback that remains silent as long as you are within certain parameters?

You can set how "narrow the goalposts" should be...5 cents, 15 cents, 20 cents, etc.

One of my students pointed out that this could be turned into a game sort of like that old classic, Operation. As long as you're in tune, the patient doesn't suffer!

No pressure.

Yes, I posted something similar in 2005.

Windy Pitch

2011-11-03T12:51:00.004-04:00

I'm returning to a topic I've hit before...distance and pitch. Here's my older post, Speaking of the Devil.

There seems to be this misconception out there that, the farther away the instrument, the flatter the pitch.

Not true.

I've even debunked years ago by going outside with a trombone, two tuners and some observers. At one spot, the trombonist played an in-tune B-flat while watching a tuner.

About 20 yards away, some observers also held a tuner and guess what, IN TUNE!

OK, let me address some of the comments in advance:

Neither party is moving so there is no Doppler effect.
Some have pointed out that maybe the higher overtones of the note don't project as far, causing the perception of a lower pitch. Hmm, maybe but it seems like a stretch to me.
What about the wind?

Ah, now that last one is interesting.

Let's say a trombonist plays an in-tune A=22o. That means 220 vibrations per second are leaving the bell and travelling out for all the world to hear.

What if there is a strong wind blowing from behind the player. Does the wind accelerate those sound waves, creating a higher pitch?

What if the opposite is true: wind blowing in the player's face, lowering the pitch from a distance.

After all, that wave is using air as its medium and now the air is moving.

So, the next time we have an intrepid reporter talking about all the winds and rain and storm surge, hand 'em a trombone and let's check some pitch!

The Evil Fuse

2011-10-31T13:00:00.000-04:00

There is an insidious evil that lurks within the hearts of all trombonists.

When we were young and innocent (and beginners), we were lured into that friendliest of scales: B-flat major.

It seemed so simple that we never paused to see the trap lurking within...the A natural in 2nd position and the E-flat in 3rd.

We merrily practiced away allowing the two positions to MORPH into the ....

EVIL FUUUUUUSE!!!

The little voice in our heads may have tried to warn us. The over-worked band director never took the time to catch the problem. Mom and dad just said they were proud (and please use newspaper for the spit).

Nobody warned us of the impending doom.

Instead of a pristine separation of 2nd and 3rd, the evil fuse has practiced its sinister mind control dragging our second positions down and forcing our 3rd positions up.

The result:

a mutant position that was never meant to exist in nature.

Stay safe out there.

Candidate A, Candidate B..and my Time Travel Mind-Reading Machine

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

Now approaches the season when high school players contact me about trombone lessons. Usually at the top of their agenda is the upcoming all-state audition.

Often the audition solo starts out with a soft passage..that's the case this year.

Imagine two people auditioning against each other.

Candidate A - plays a good soft dynamic but doesn't get a good sound

Candidate B - gets a good sound but doesn't play soft enough.

Yes, I know you all want to be Candidate C who plays both with a good soft dynamic AND with good sound. Suppose you can't quite do that...yet.

You have two approaches.

Always sound good and player softer and softer

Always play soft and sound gooder and gooder

(ok, grammer purists..."better and better"...whatever)

So, that student is in the lesson with me and I have to give advice. I can either say:

"No matter what, get a good sound even if you have to play a little too loud."

"No matter what, follow those dynamics even if your sound is a little weak."

What's the right advice?

Well, I only need to hop into my new-fangled contraption the...

TIME TRAVEL MIND-READING MACHINE!

(early prototype shown below...patent pending)

I simply jump into the machine, travel forward in time and read the judge's mind as to which is the higher priority. Then I zip back and let the student know which way to go.

Easy.

Until the final product is available, I recommend that you spend more time learning to play soft with a good sound. I've heard it's possible....theoretically.

Yes, it actually works!

2011-10-20T09:37:00.000-04:00

I just finished a performance of the David Concertino with the South Carolina Philharmonic. This was a pretty big deal for me since I don't often get to play a concerto with a professional orchestra.

Here's a review of the concert.

So now it's time to look forward to my next main challenges (besides the usual concerts). In December I plan to spend my first shift in the recording studio laying down Clarence Barber's Impulsions for Trombone and Marimba and Karl Kroger's Tres Psalmi Davidis for Trombone and Soprano.

I'm also doing my first practicing of the Kassatti Sonatine for solo trombone and brass quintet, which I will be performing twice in April.

I'll admit that I sometimes don't practice what I preach. However, this time I'm trying to be a good boy and learn this new piece more methodically.

So, like a singer, I am actually trying to sing the tricky parts (using fixed-do solfege) before I ever play them. Trombone in left hand, right hand on the piano keyboard next to me, I work my way through it, lick by lick (the solo part is over 10 pages long).

And yes, it actually works!!

Singing, that is. Only when I get the intervals clear enough in my head to sing them accurately do I pick up my trombone to play. And, guess what, that first run through on the instrument is *much* easier and sounds a lot better, too. In fact, it doesn't sound like a first run at all (which I guess it isn't).

So thank you, Jim Ackley and all those advocates for singing that I've encountered through the years. You guys have got it right.

Here's one page from the Kassatti. Try it out. Get yourself to a piano and sing it through until you can actually sing the intervals correctly. Then pick up your horn to play it (no cheating).

I also have a pdf file of this page of you want to go that route.

Icebergs, Dentists and ....Ramjack?

2011-10-19T16:30:00.007-04:00

As I work with a student, I often find some little problem on the surface.

Sometimes that "little problem" is like the tip of the iceberg.

It's like finding a something on the surface of a tooth. As you drill down, you may find that the problem goes deeper than expected.

Maybe the attacks aren't very clean on Hungarian March.

Then you drill deeper...

and you find that the slide movement is sloppy
and there isn't really much air behind the attacks

And you drill deeper...

and you find that even major scales don't have an accurate slide
and there is a lot of tension inhibiting the breathing.

Cancel all my appointments, Mildred, this one's going to take a while.

It reminds me of new students who come in all ready to move on to the next super advanced piece. In their minds, they've built this wonderful 5-story "trombone building" and they think we will be moving on the add on the 6th and 7th stories.

Fundamentals? BORING

Instead, I'm more like the building inspector, heading down into the basement with my trusty flashlight. "Well, lookey here at this foundation. I'm afraid this isn't up to code. We could throw on that 6th story but the whole structure is becoming unstable."

Hmmm, maybe long tones are like the RamJack of trombone.

Seeing and Hearing..McGurk and Bad Lip Reading

2011-10-19T11:15:00.000-04:00

Warning: this post meanders quite a bit but does eventually get to a point.

A while back I posted about the "golden bah" of articulation.

A former student sent me this fascinating video about something called the McGurk Effect...

This reminded me of a gag video someone had done wherein the video was of Allison Balsom playing the trumpet but someone had overdubbed the audio of a bad trumpet player. Not surprisingly, that video has been pulled down from YouTube.

Soon, I ran across the term "shred" which is apparently based on the same idea: same video, different audio. Not surprisingly, these links got pulled pretty quickly.

I'll try one such link (didn't know that Kiss was into country and western).

Now I've run across the hilarious web site Bad Lip Reading.

Here's one example from Republican candidate, Mitt Romney.

BUT WAIT...

There is a point to all this.

The point is....

POSTURE

and

STAGE PRESENCE

This is something I've written about before in the post "Hearing with Your Eyes."

No matter what we want to believe, the manner in which you carry yourself on stage does affect people's perception of your sound.

Look confident / Be confident.

Happy 6th Birthday

2011-10-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

I just noticed that my first blog post was on Oct. 5th, 2005.

Since then I've posted semi-regularly ...over 300 in all.

Over that time I've gone over a number of things while trying to remain true to the original intent of this blog.

Here are some past posts that come to mind...

How to keep focused after you've made a mistake?

Think of weebles and Randall Cunningham

You think auditions are a lot of pressure? Try Olympic diving.

Trouble with tension automatically going up..think ding slurp.

Speaking of tension, how about that moaning grandfather?

How about pursuing a resonant tone. Think about tuning, squacking and singer stuff.

Anyway, I've gone through and added labels to most of the older posts. You can search the blog on any of these labels.

air

all-state

articulation

bah

berio

bolero

boneweek fanfares

books

bordogni

breathing

buzzing

careers

cases

composers

concentration

conductors

dissertation

double-tonguing

ear training

embouchure

equipment

etw

excerpts

expression

fun

frogger

habits

high range

history

inspiration

intonation

interpretation

itf

jacobs

kleinhammer

learning

lip slurs

memorizing

metronome

motivation

musicality

nerves

new york philharmonic

notation

note shape

patience

performing

philosophy

poise

posture

practicing

preparation

psychology

relaxation

repertoire

resonance

rhythm

scales

self discipline

sight reading

singing

slide technique

smart music

sports

teaching

technique

technology

tension

time management

tone

triple tonguing

tuner

vibrato

wah

warming up

So, sometimes I take a look at the traffic this blog receives. Steady but nothing spectacular. Ironically, the number one post by far comes from a Google search term: "Big Bad Wolf"

Here's that image...

Hmm, maybe he's blowing out candles.

National Brass Symposium: an archeological dig of notes

2011-10-18T08:15:00.001-04:00

This past summer I attended the National Brass Symposium. It was great; I'm glad I went.

I took some notes (not very diligently) and then didn't do anything with them. Now they sit in a pile of papers on my desk.

Funny thing is...I'm not always sure what I meant. So I'm going to treat these notes as a dig site...

==============

The merciless sun beats down on their backs, urging their fingers to move more quickly but there are stronger things than the sun. Will power, for one. They know they must not hurry that precise sequence of small movements needed to uncover these precious artifacts. It has been a slow morning; little of importance has been found: some candy wrappers, an early iPhone model, not much else.

Suddenly an excited cry goes up: paper with human writing on it. The dig robot is called in with its many highly sensitive servo-motors and nano-detectors. Soon the paper is extracted and dated....2010, possibly during the summer months. We will never know for sure.

The first sheet reads:

=========================

Mulcahy w/up Day 1

long torso
Mt. Edwards - don't bring the mountain to you
Don't play higher than you can play with ease and purity. Pride gets in the way.
Why do low range?
You can't hurt yourself playing low.
Requires you to rely on air.
Breathing
Less internal focus - more on sucking air.
British "O", "Julia Roberts" mouth (air in through corners)
When you watch great players, it looks like they aren't doing anything.

======================

The second sheet sheds more light on the mystery. It appears that these ancient runes have something to do with music. It reads:

======================

BSO Brass 5tet

Bach Fugue

M.R.

10 positive to 1 negative
Learn quickly how to give true, meaningful comments.
Find something good about your colleagues.

(Grainger Songs)

T.O.

People work hard to maintain good relationships.

J.S.

(with a pitch problem) No matter how right you think you are, you probably aren't as perfect as you think.

(Quintet Victoria)

====================

"Sadly we may never fully understand the meaning of these symbols." the lead researcher said as he rubbed his tired eyes. I guess we can turn it over to the music historians...those guys get all the big funding.

P.S. It was later revealed that this ancient note-taker did leave behind a more thorough digital archive of notes from the something called the "Alessi Seminar"

The (evil) Tuning Slide Game

2011-10-17T10:44:00.001-04:00

Have you ever heard that nasty viola joke?

The teacher walks in for the string quartet coaching and finds the violist in tears. "What's wrong?" asks the teacher.

The violist cries, "The violinists turned one of my tuning pegs and won't tell me which one!"

Here's a game I played in a recent lesson. I had a student play the tune, Barbara Allen, on trombone while I played the chords on the piano. Then, while they couldn't look, I moved the tuning slide but didn't tell them whether I had moved it in or out. I even handed it to them from behind so they couldn't see the position of the tuning slide. We played through the song again and they had to tell me which way it had been moved.

We did this several times (once I handed it back but actually didn't move the tuning slide at all..muhaha).

This speaks to a larger issue: situational awareness. I'm talking about many factors: pitch, rhythm, blend, interpreting the conductor's beat, etc. Under pressure, we need to focus in and concentrate but not develop tunnel vision, losing situational awareness.

Typically, it's harder to do this under pressure.

Try this game with your students/friends and let me know what you think. Here's an odd effect I've seen: sometimes people can hear and correct more easily when it's relatively close. When it's wildly out, I've seen people get confused and hear the opposite. Don't know why...

(shameless plug: the tune "Barbara Allen" is in my book Simply Singing for Winds)

Treadmills and Detours

2011-10-12T08:50:00.000-04:00

I find that most lessons fall into one of two categories.

Type #1:

Typically, I assign most of my students material to work on for the next lesson. For older students, this might be as simple as "work something up for next week, maybe some excerpts.."

For younger students it is usually much more structured.

In that following week, my initial game plan is to go over what they've prepared and then prep for the following week.

This kind of lesson I would call the "Happy Treadmill Lesson"

Type #2:

But in other lessons something important comes up and we need to step off the treadmill to focus in on something. With luck, this results in some sort of minor breakthrough, replacing an older bad habit with a newer good habit.

Most common detour: making discoveries in the arena of air/relaxation.

This kind of lesson I would call the "Detour Lesson."

I often find it necessary to nudge students onto that happy treadmill. I believe there is tremendous value in the simple act of learning new pieces on a regular basis.

Generally, I find that students make less progress overall when they get stuck in a rut, either pounding away at the same piece week after week or constantly having new "revelations" about their playing.

Every now and then, I have seen a "revelations" student who was a strong self-guided learner. In those cases I try to get out of the way and let them run with it. However, other students get stuck, fretting constantly about certain details of their playing, possibly avoiding the challenges of simply having to learn new material.

Hey, in the real world, you've got deadlines. Reflection and detours can be useful but there's also something to be learned in forging ahead to meet that deadline.

In the end, you need some of both.

Of Three-Legged Races and Drum Lines...

2011-10-11T17:09:00.001-04:00

So, obviously, this is a post about double tonguing. When we use that ta-ka combo, we are combining the "tah" which we've used for years and the "kah" which is probably a new technique.

As we strive for an even sound, this combination of a strong technique with a weak one has sometimes felt to me like a three-legged race in which the team-mates are these two people...

The odds of success? ...maybe not so good.

So, we all need to do some work to build up that weaker "kah" tongue. Maybe playing tunes using all "kah" articulation.

How about something like this?

Now that my son is doing marching band, I'm more aware of those drum line warm-ups and, for some reason, this exercise reminds me of that.

So, you see, three-legged races and drum lines.

Obvious.

The SPCNBB Needs Your Help! Act Now!!

2011-10-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

This is a theme I've hit before but now with a new twist...

Those poor notes before the breath. They really suffer. The selfish player is merely thinking of trivial things like the next breath
(survival...definitely over-rated).

So often that note before the breath is cruelly mistreated..no sense of phrasing. No beauty of tone. Often chopped short.
We must band together to protect these poor notes. Only you can help.

Call now: 1-800-NO-CHOP.

A defenseless note needs your love. Can you please help us?

(OK, this last photo is truly shameless...)

This ad brought to you by the SPCNBB.

Gravity, Dark Matter and ...Staccato

2011-10-05T13:13:00.000-04:00

I just heard about the winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

If I understand correctly (and why wouldn't a trombone player have an outstanding knowledge of physics?) they independently arrived at the observation that, not only is our universe expanding, it is doing so at an increasing rate. That means there must be some "dark force" that is counter-acting gravity.

I can tell you that I don't think this force exists in music. When it comes to staccato passages, gravity is still king!

People rush during staccato. If we think of each staccato note as having its own kind of gravitational pull on the notes around it, we can see how those short notes naturally draw closer to one another.

Thus, rushing.
Maybe we could use a bit of that dark energy to keep the notes evenly spaced. Until then, be strong and resist that gravitational pull.

YouTube as a practice tool?

2011-10-03T09:36:00.000-04:00

I don't think anyone expected YouTube to become as big as it is. All of that video..I just read a 2010 report of an upload rate of 35 hours per minute!

Within that video torrent of kittens and babies quite a few orchestra videos have been posted.

So here's an idea for a handy practice tool:

videos of the big orchestral pieces
that keep the camera focused on the conductor from
the player's vantage point.

Imagine being able to play through a Mahler symphony using the part and following Alan Gilbert on the screen.

Sure lots of people have played along with recordings over the years but one always had to guess the tempo fluctuations because you couldn't see the conductor!

What a training tool!

Now maybe somebody has already done this. I've heard of some older conductor videos for horn excerpts. Does anyone know of such a collection of videos? If it were made into a YouTube channel, it would be great.

One possible problem: sometimes the audio and video aren't well synced. This should have a simple fix.

There are an increasing number of high-quality web broadcasts of orchestra performances. Most of these are multi-camera affairs with at least one camera always trained on the conductor. Wouldn't it be great to get at that original conductor footage? Does it sit in some archive somewhere?

My search of Youtube didn't reveal much. As part of there Youtube symphony project I found this example of the conductor for that Tan Dun piece. You can even find videos targeted to specific instrument groups.

I also found this example by Teodor Currentzis, a conductor I haven't heard of before (and probably won't hear of again). Here's his bio.

Anyway, is there someone out there with the time and know-how could create something of huge value for the rest of us.

Doctoral dissertation, perhaps?

The "Night Guy / Morning Guy" Bank Account

2011-09-30T14:25:00.000-04:00

I remember this great comedy sketch by Jerry Seinfeld about how "night guy" was always screwing over "morning guy."

So take a (not so) hypothetical student who meant to practice more in the mornings but stayed up late doing something fun with friends.

College should be fun but it's also about balance.

So, I came up with this concept: treat those fun nights like withdrawals on a bank account.

Perhaps use this formula:

One morning of virtuous practicing adds

one dollar to your account.

One night of staying out and having fun subtracts

three dollars from your account.

(This should work great as long as your competition isn't pulling five dollars from his/her account for those fun nights).

It's all about choices.

Here's that sketch, which was Jerry's opening monologue to Episode #67, "The Glasses"

I never get enough sleep. I stay up late at night, cause I'm Night Guy. Night Guy wants to stay up late. 'What about getting up after five hours sleep?', oh that's Morning Guy's problem. That's not my problem, I'm Night Guy. I stay up as late as I want. So you get up in the morning, you're alarm, you're exhausted, groggy, oooh you hate that Night Guy! See, Night Guy always screws Morning Guy. There's nothing Morning Guy can do. The only thing Morning Guy can do is try and oversleep often enough so that Day Guy looses his job and Night Guy has no money to go out anymore.

Mouthpiece Buzzing: "Buzzy" v. "Windy"

2011-09-28T07:26:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't some obscure supreme court decision.
But, like some of those decisions, this might stir up some controversy...

Play a middle F on your trombone with your best sound.
As you continue to attempt to play the note, gently pull the mouthpiece out of the trombone.
What happens/should happen to the note when the mouthpiece is removed?

For me, the note stops pretty quickly.

Why?

When I play on the trombone, there is a slightly larger gap between upper and lower lip. The resistance of the instrument sets the lips buzzing.

Conversely, try this:

Buzz a nice-sounding middle F.
As you continue to buzz the note, gently insert the mouthpiece into the trombone.
What does the note sound like?

For me, the answer is, "pinched...memories of middle school"
(actually junior high school in my case but that's beside the point).

Why?

When I buzz on the mouthpiece, there is a somewhat smaller gap between the upper and lower lip. This gives me a nice, full buzz on the mouthpiece but a pinched sound on the trombone.

In fact, I can slightly alter that gap to get different kinds of buzzes, ranging from what I call a "windy" buzz to what might be called a "tight" buzz.

So, we can think of a continuum like this:

I often hear advice like, "Get more buzz in the buzz." or "Strive for a buzzy buzz." To me, these can usually be translated to, "Lips closer together."

True, this kind of buzz generates a clearer tone on the mouthpiece.

But will that translate to a clearer tone on the instrument? Maybe, maybe not.

Some observations:

Buzzing isn't physically the same as playing but, for most people, it helps.
A tighter buzz may be useful to build embouchure muscles.
A tighter buzz generates a clearer pitch to hear.
A looser buzz, however, requires more air and is closer to the setting used on the trombone.

I suspect a lot of band directors out there are dutifully telling their brass players to buzz and then assuming that ...the louder the buzz, the better the tone will be on the instrument.

Maybe, maybe not.

Personally, I've been leaning towards the "windy" buzz lately. I like the volume of air it requires and, although it isn't the same as actually playing, it's closer.

Here's the tricky part: a good buzz does need a core to the sound. There is a fine and very subtle line between a good "windy" buzz and a buzz without any definition or core to the sound.

I sometimes demonstrate this in lessons by recording my buzz with the microphone to the side of my head. When we play it back over good stereo speakers, the mid-range and low-range speakers really vibrate as they play back the sound of that buzz.

For a weak buzz lacking in core...not so much.

It's subtle difference but one worth thinking about.

Sad Mickey and slide technique

2011-09-26T16:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a common slide technique problem...reaching out towards 6th or 7th but never really reaching the position before you turn around and come back.

Sometimes I compare this to taking a trip in your car. I live in Columbia, South Carolina so, for us, Disney World is only about a 7 1/2 hour drive. We've taken the kids many times.

Imagine we're driving along in the car on that first magical trip to Disney and along about Jacksonville, I stop and announce, "OK, kids we're here!" Then I turn around and head home.

(nothing against Jacksonville, of course)

'Twould not be a happy time in that car.

So, whenever you turn around before truly experiencing the "Disney Magic" of 6th or 7th position, think of the kids.

Don't break their little hearts.

More hardware store fun!

2011-09-22T14:56:00.001-04:00

A former colleague, Carol Krueger, used to generously help students who were having trouble with pitch.

They would come in to work with her on sight-singing. One trick singers often use to help themselves with pitch accuracy is to cover one ear so they can hear themselves. Carol had a better system, a bent piece of tubing that pipes the sound from mouth to ear...

Of course, this doesn't quite work for buzzing the mouthpiece so, it's off to the hardware story I go to invent this variation..

(thanks to Colt Campbell for modeling)

Mac Guy vs PC Guy

2011-09-19T16:03:00.000-04:00

I guess this ad campaign has ended. Too bad.

Like most of my posts, I'll use these guys to illustrate a point.

In a recent lesson, I was working on two basic goals with a students. One was to relax, the other was be more accurate with his slide.

When I worked with him on relaxing more, we saw nice progress except his slide positions got sloppy.
When I worked with him on placing the slide more carefully, we also saw nice progress except his sound lost resonance.

Ahh, to do both...

Mac Guy = relaxed, breathing well, etc.

PC Guy = very picky about precise slide positions.

Sadly my Google image search for a morphed image that was a blend of both guys failed. I though you could find *anything* on the web!

The Tuner Flip (and a deep metronome question)

2011-09-14T15:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a photo from my studio. Basically, it's my Korg CA tuner attached to a filing cabinet using 3M Dual Lock.

The picture isn't wrong, it's on its side.

Why?

In return, I might ask, "Who decided that Right=Sharp and Left=Flat?" When you stop to think about it, doesn't, "Up=Sharp and Down=Flat" make more sense?

It does to me.

The *initial* reason I did this was twofold:

These tuners have a rounded edge and, when placed on a music stand, tend to slip.
On the opposite wall of my studio, I have a mirror which I often look at while practicing. I can see the tuner in the reflection. The whole left/right thing was messing with my head but, even in a mirror, up it still up.

So, those were the initial reasons but it got me to thinking...up and down really do make more sense.

OK, while I talking about these little electronic "truth boxes" I have another question.

This actually came up years ago while I was working on my dissertation.

I noticed that all these different metronomes, used the same tempo markings for the same Italian terms. Once upon a time, somebody out there decided that "Larghetto" would range from 60-66 bpm....but who?

At least at that time, I found that every metronome was the same.

But, I couldn't find the source...who decided this? How is that everyone seemed to be conforming to this standard.

Deep questions....I shall lay awake at night.

(I hope the answer isn't long and dull. Can we blame it on aliens? Dibs on the movie rights)

NYPO Mahler 2 ..one spot to see AND hear

2011-09-13T15:38:00.000-04:00

As part of the 9/11 decade commemoration, the New York Philharmonic performed Mahler's 2nd symphony. I missed the live broadcast because of a performance of my own but, fortunately, the whole thing is available in high definition on YouTube (which, we should remember, started in 2005 - four years after that terrible day...so much has changed).

Besides being moved by this great performance of one of my favorite symphonies, I found that actually watching the performers was quite instructive. In fact, I've cued up the video and used it in 3 lessons thus far.

In the following video, I've been cueing it up to roughly the 7-minute mark...the powerful chorale that starts with the trombones and bassoons. I've been using it to point out two things:

Relaxation: Watch, as the music gets louder, how relaxed the performers are. Such efficiency!
Embouchures: You get a lot of close-up shots. What do you notice? Not everyone is the same but there clearly are some general trends....very little movement, firm corners, etc.

Enjoy..watch, listen, learn.

The Golden Bah

2011-09-06T12:33:00.000-04:00

Simple post. There is that magic moment that is neither a splinter nor a wah.

We will call it the "Golden Bah" and the people shall see that it is good.

We seek it all our lives. For some, it may feel like the Higgs-Boson particle of brass playing.

I prefer the syllable "bah" to "tah" because it focuses our attention on the lips rather than the tongue.

Go seek.

What is musical? Start with what isn't.

2011-09-06T08:01:00.000-04:00

What is a musical performance?

Now there's a deep question. Recently I thought of a novel answer.

Start with what isn't a musical performance.

Most of us have encountered those robot voices on the phone. Especially when they are reading us a phone number. Funny how hard it is to comprehend that string of numbers when there is no inflection.

Imagine one of those voices reading a novel. [Read the following in a monotone:]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Actually, the computers are getting better at inflection and, frankly, this makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to see a machine win a vocal Turing test.

For example, paste that above text into this website. Inflection yes, but a dramatic reading...well no Oscars yet (and hopefully not ever).

Of course, now we can now make our own animated movies like this one about a misguided trombone audition. At least there's a little inflection here...the robot voices almost make it funnier.

OK, I'm getting off my point, which is this: it is clear that an UNMUSICAL performance is one lacking in variety/inflection.

Therefore, using the counter-example, couldn't we say that a musical performance is one with variety?

Not a spastic bombardment of variety unless that's what the composer wants..you never know these days. But rather variety of dynamics, speed, articulation, tone color in a way that makes sense.

So maybe I can cobble together a definition ...

Musical (adj.): Having sensible variety.

Yes, I know musicality can't really be defined. But, when I say to a student, "How can you play that with more variety?" as opposed to , "How can you play that more musically?" it sometimes gets them thinking in a more creative and positive way.

Dear conductors...(watch the bouncing ball)

2011-09-03T23:53:00.001-04:00

When I was working on my master's degree I took a conducting class with Teri Murai (no 'Hajime' at that point).

He did a great demo with us: he asked us all to clap right with the ictus of his downbeat. The baton went up, fell, and we all clapped together. Here's the catch: NO ICTUS! He just let the baton fall.

Beautiful!

We all clapped together because the drop of the stick was so easy to predict...like watching a ping pong ball bouncing.

Over the years, I've worked with many conductors. This post is not meant to be directed towards any current or recent conductors but rather to the sum total of conductors I've worked with over the years.

It isn't the downbeat....it's the prep.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen conductors react to ensemble 'time' issues by snapping the downbeat.

The problem? Simple: bad preps.

At least for brass players, that natural fall of the stick is so vital. So often, the prep isn't in time and, right away, we're all scrambling to once again bail out another conductor.

Maybe this is less crucial in an ensemble that plays together all the time and can internally sense where the beat will be. Well, I'm not in one of those ensembles.

Want us to sound good? Let that stick fall naturally so we can set up properly.

Want us to sound bad? Make us guess.

Your choice....(boing)

Dear composers...

2011-09-02T23:15:00.001-04:00

...you've gone to all that trouble to write a piece. I'm going to assume that you want it performed. I'm also going to assume that you want it performed well.

Look at that first example above. OK, it shows promise. Pretty sophisticated composer, right? Maybe this person is going to win a composition contest with this entry...

But, woah nelly, check out this second example:

Now here's a really sophisticated composer. So intelligent, so advanced...

SO MUCH HARDER TO READ!!

Of course, most of you already see it...the two examples will sound the same. Hmm, I wonder which version will lead to most errors by the performers. (Sadly, I also wonder which version is more likely to win the contest.)

Yes, I know you composer types want your scores to look sophisticated. You want everyone to respect your great genius.

But please take a moment to think about the poor saps who have to actually read your music. Believe it or not, we also want to make your music sound great.

Don't make our jobs harder than they have to be!

That Gandalf Attitude

2011-09-01T14:38:00.001-04:00

Practicing can be hard, lonely work. Sometimes we all need a little inspiration.

In my teaching, I often find myself helping students to discover those bad habits that are holding them back. Of course, once discovered, it's not as if these habits are just going to go away!

To be honest, we all let little things slide in our playing. Perhaps we're on a deadline. Perhaps we're tired. Perhaps we're lazy.

Still, I think there is that point in your development where you have to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, and say,

"I'm not going to allow those uncentered attacks.
I'll slow it down until I can REALLY play every note so it sounds great."

Of course this isn't much fun. It take loads of patience and a dash of inspiration to keep on going.

Enter Gandalf.

If you've seen "The Fellowship of the Ring," you'll probably remember that scene near the end where, in the mines of Moria, Gandalf faces down this gigantic fire monster with the dramatic words:

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!

Maybe we all could stand to have that "Gandalf" attititude when confronting those really stubborn bad habits that hold us back.

For purists, here's the full quote (and a little more artwork):

I am a servant of the Secret Fire,

Wielder of the flame of Anor.

Dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udûn.

Go back to the shadow!

You shall not pass!

You shall not pass!

Out There

2011-08-29T11:33:00.000-04:00

"Trombones, you're late!"

These words have been spoken by many a conductor. Here's another:

"Trombones, sustain those notes, not so separated."

So, there you are sitting back in the section thinking, "Is this guy crazy? I'm starting right with him and sustaining everything!"

Time for our old friend, note shape, to make an appearance.

Look at this drawing:

"Inaudible" refers to any sound you make that can't be heard out there. Meaning, when you factor in the sounds of the other instruments and the distance from you to the conductor, or out into the auditorium, your sound isn't being heard.

If you start a note with a little "wah" there will be a split second when you are playing but they can't hear you out there.

So, to you, the note starts on time. To them, it's late.

You're both right, at least technically.

However, they are more right because, ultimately, the only thing that matters is what it sounds like out there.

This also explains why your lovely sostenuto doesn't sound so sustained out there.

So, look at that drawing. Notice the two horizontal lines. The top line is what you think you are playing (and may, in fact, be playing roughly one foot in front of the bell). The lower line is what they are hearing out there....a less sustained note that starts late.

In the end, out there is the one place that really counts.

Ironic, really, that you'll never actually hear your own sound out there.

Yo-Yo Tempos

2011-08-22T21:12:00.000-04:00

We all know the usual adage when learning a tricky lick..

Start slowly and speed up gradually.

Here's a variation I've bumped into. I really like it...

Start at full speed and, with each repetition, slow down gradually. Eventually start speeding up again.

Like a yo-yo, the tempo goes down and back up again.

Try it out

(then throw down and walk the dog .. such a sleeper)!

Geez, how many books is this guy going to write?

2011-08-14T11:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in some time. I have a few things I want to hit but haven't posted for two reasons:

1. I'm allowing some passage of time to avoid offending (just in case I launch into a diatribe).

2. I've been in "all hands on deck" mode to finish two new books.

If you're curious, I have put up a description and some free sample pages.

Finishing this book has been very satisfying because some of these materials go back over ten years. Never have I had so many failed attempts to write a book. Basically, I would think I had it figured out, plunge in and then, after way too much time and effort, realize I was on the wrong path. Painful to see it all go down the tubes.

But it doesn't really "go down the tubes." I don't delete any of it away and, so far, I've been good/lucky with data back-ups. So I have one folder one my hard drive which holds all of that source material.

How much?

I just looked: almost 62 megabytes and 558 files in 27 sub-folders.

That's just Finale files leading up to this project and doesn't count *any* finished books. Ouch.

Anyway, this time I hope I've got it (especially since I've already forked over my money to the printing company). By the way, I'm flirting with offering a reduced-price e-version of the book but haven't had the time to look into file security, water-marking, etc.

Some people may wonder, "Geez, how many books is this guy going to write?"

Well, the Trombone Craft series is the last BIG thing but properly finishing it will take roughly two more years (yes, I want to write a "Bass Trombone Craft" set).

Also, I've been meaning to add a feature to the Simply Singing Books: free duet parts for (almost) everything. This is not as easy as it may sound. Because these tunes are for different instruments with different ranges I can't write a one-size-fits-all duet voice because it won't fit in the range for some instruments.

My basic strategy is going to be this: for each tune write an "under" voice and an "over" voice. Then I should be able to cover a variety of ranges. I want to make the voices fit, harmonically so that it may turn out that I'm turning these tunes into little trios.

Also, I want to line up the different instruments so that a trombone player can provide the "under" voice in the keys given to the trumpet player, etc.

I figure that, somewhere, a tuba player with a crush on a cute horn player will rejoice ("hey, let's play duets sometime"). If anything develops, I expect wedding pictures!

All of this is going to take some time because I have a job, a family, gigs and a house in which stuff likes to break (this summer it was, among other things, a sewer line jamming, causing a toilet to overflow....into the air conditioning vent....you get the idea).

There are other creative ideas circling in my head like flights over O'Hare airport waiting for permission to land. Some of them have been waiting for a lonnnnng time.

Some of the ideas are projects I plan to put up on the web for free. Others will be published. Most of them are good enough that I'm keeping my lips sealed.

Now, if some rich Bill Gates type wants to float into my life and say, "Son, I believe in what you're doing. I'll set you up with a lifetime endowment so you can just live in a beautiful house by a lake and fulfill your true vision. And here is your personal assistant.." (and then I wake up)

The thing is, even if that offer arrived (about as likely as a Power Ball win, especially since I almost never buy a ticket), it would hard to walk away from teaching. I really love teaching...

...at least when the student is willing to prepare....

Anybody remember DOS?

2011-06-16T08:30:00.000-04:00

Does anybody remember DOS?

The computer I first interacted with looked like an electric typewriter. It was wired into a mainframe elsewhere. You typed in the commands (I was learning to program in BASIC), waited, and the results typed out magically in front of you. For me, it was pretty addictive stuff.

I remember writing a simple program to calculate how long it would take to cut the grass in my back yard. The program's result was correct within 30 seconds. Exciting stuff! It also made cutting my grass that time a lot more interesting.

Even though DOS was slower and more work, there was a joy of understanding in having the power to control that little machine in front of you.

Eventually, along came Macs, Windows, bulletin boards, html, Netscape, Firefox, Chrome, Facebook, Netflix, iPhones, android, iPads...

I wonder what names I'll need to add to that list in ten years.

Would anybody seriously suggest going back to DOS? (or punched cards before that?)

That brings me to my point (I usually have one): trombones have to deal with tenor and alto clef. I'm not ready to dump tenor, but alto? Have you ever played Prokofiev with some of the crazy changes between bass and alto clef...usually right in the middle of an exposed passage? Why doesn't somebody just re-write the parts to make them easier to read?

How about the offstage parts in Pine of Rome? Bass clef transposed?

Jumping over to French Horn and Trumpet: why do they continue to learn all those transpositions? They're not using tuning crooks anymore.

Or to really annoy everyone: Why are the musical instructions in a foreign language (just playing Devil's Advocate here)?

My point is this: in technology, even though we may feel proud about mastering the intricacies of an earlier system (such as DOS) we don't cling to it. Yet in music, we do. We don't move on, upgrade or innovate in the world of music notation. 50 years from now, trombonists will still be slogging through studies in alto clef. Hmm, why not learn mezzo soprano clef or baritone clef?

I can almost hear someone saying, "If I had to learn transposition, you're going to have to learn it as well. It builds character!!"

Is that person still entering commands

at the DOS prompt?

=============

Post blog comments:

1. Actually, I think tenor clef is the most natural clef for tenor trombone. What if we just started beginners in tenor clef?

2. If music were a more profitable business, innovations would have appeared long ago. I suspect music publishers can't afford to rework all those transposed parts.

BoneWeek 7

2011-03-16T18:40:00.000-04:00

After a few false starts and dead ends, I managed to knock out another BoneWeek Fanfare. I started writing these in celebration of International Trombone Week. You can find the previous fanfares both on my website and the ITA website.

A few notes about this one.

There are no "quotes" of well-known trombone pieces
I tried to avoid falling back into any clichés (not easy sometimes)
I wanted it to have some rhythmic energy and no obvious presentation of a melody (see above)

With any of these fanfares, I use an odd test: would I want to play it. When I'm at a convention (like the Eastern Trombone Workshop which I'm missing...sigh) and looking through music I might purchase, I often look at the score and say, "Yuck, I wouldn't to play that part." The most common cardinal sin of composers and arrangers:

putting all the interest into the first part and thus generating boring parts for everyone else
making the first part so tiring that it becomes difficult to program such a chop-buster

These goals aren't difficult, so why do so many arrangements fail these tests. Lazy arrangers?

Anyway, here's the fanfare from my website. If you put it on a program, please let me know. It's always nice to get a concert program for my files.

You may ask, "How many of these things are you going to write?"

I have no idea.

Here's the link: BoneWeek Fanfare #7

Free Duets!

2011-03-10T17:38:00.000-05:00

My computer hard drive sometimes feels like a museum of old ideas. I don't get rid of much (and, yes, I use redundant back-ups), so there's a lot of old stuff sitting around in there.

I'm hard at work on my latest series of books and, as I looked through this digital museum, I came across these duets. I'm not sure why I wrote them...probably just to have some nice lyrical stuff to play in lessons.

I don't think they've ever been printed out or played.

So, have at 'em. I don't make claims to great music but they probably won't cause damage ...

Six Lyrical Duets

Now, if you're racked with guilt about downloading free music, I *do* have a PayPal account....

(hey, you never know, there might be some eccentric millionaire out there!)

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

2011-03-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big fan of breathing exercises. Breathing, I like. Exercises, not so much.

I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because time is always limited. Maybe because I'm not patient enough. The buzzing exercises I start with usually require some pretty deep breathing so maybe my cause isn't totally hopeless.

Last Fall, I tried this little exercise in a few lessons and, from time to time, I've used it in my practicing.

Take three really deep breaths and, each time, blow out like crazy.

I blow out mostly (but not completely) through my horn. I let some air escape around the sides of the mouthpiece.

I think of this quick exercise as a "lethargy buster." When I (or my students) get a little sluggish, this is a quick way to wake up and get going.

I remember trying it in three lessons in a row last Fall. Not at the beginning but somewhere in the middle when my "sluggish radar" began beeping. Each time, I was surprised and please with the improvement in their sound.

(I did warn them not emulate that wild, almost psycho manner of blowing out when they actually played.)

This is not my invention. From the Alessi Seminar, I remember Weston Sprott doing similar crazy breaths from time to time. In fact, checking a handout on his website, I see that he refers to it as the "vigorous breath."

Somehow, "big bad wolf" just seems more memorable...

The Most Significant Development in Music Education

2011-03-08T07:29:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about this the other day.

There is a new development in the field of music education. The more I think about it, the more I realize how profound it is.

That development: YouTube

OK, it's now time for my "you young whippersnappers" moment...

When I was in college and had to learn a new piece or be inspired by a new player, what did I do?

How many professional trombone recordings were available?
Who was performing within driving distance?
Could I afford the time and money needed to see them perform?

Imitation is enormously powerful. Young players need to see and hear top players in order to set the bar.

YouTube does that.

Yes, there can be laughably bad videos. That guy trying to explain triplets was a screamer.

But (I hope) everyone saw through that.

I type "mozart tuba mirum" into the search box and I get 519 results instantly.

I'm a trombone professor and yet, in one morning, any of my students can gather more information about performances of this excerpt than I could in all of my studies throughout the pre-YouTube era.

For instance, if one of my students said, "You know, Solti once had the trombone player stand for the Mozart Requiem solo." I would probably reply with, "No way. Where did you hear that nonsense?"

How about this search: "joseph alessi trombone"

291 results

"arthur pryor trombone"

103 results

"ravel bolero orchestra"

652 results

Of course, youtube also gives us...

"justin bieber"

1,380,000

Stop and reflect for a moment on just how profoundly this is changing the world of teaching and learning music

Before or After?

2011-03-03T16:46:00.000-05:00

A colleague of mine mentioned an experimental approach he was planning to try this semester.

Basically, he would devote the lesson to coaching a student on new pieces before the student had time to practice them. You might call this doing "intro work."

I think the most common teaching/learning sequence goes like this..

teacher assigns it
student works on it
student plays it in a lesson and teacher works on it

This new model (if I understood correctly) would be..

teacher coaches student on it in a lesson
student works on it
in the next lesson, teacher coaches student on new pieces

Now, I know what you're thinking: where's the accountability? Well, I believe that comes in the form of playing tests a few times each semester in which the student must be able to play the pieces for a grade.

Bear in mind that these are college students I'm talking about. I realize that presenting a piece to a middle school band with regular rehearsals is a completely different animal.

It is an interesting idea. After all, it is harder to re-learn something after having learned it incorrectly. Why not get students off to a good start?

Of course, in some ideal world, we would have unlimited time for lessons and could devote quality time to both ends of the equation.

But usually, the clock is the enemy and another student will be waiting outside your door in one hour.

No big conclusions here because there is no one right way to always do it.

Still, I think it's something worth thinking about...

How much time do we, as teachers,
devote to the "before" side of teaching and how much to the "after" side?

Tips from Tim

2011-02-27T01:04:00.000-05:00

Tim Anderson recently visited USC and gave a master class. I had the presence of mind to take notes. Here they are...

Make sure they can write down what you just played.
Don't allow ' turd tapers' (Norman Bolter's term) - allowing a note to fade unintentionally
Make sure you demonstrate Basic common sense musical skills
On the accented notes in the Ride: don't think of it as accenting a note. Think of accenting the bar line.
The most important criteria: how you sound.
Concerning the Mozart Tuba Mirum: legato trombone is not a style of music. Make phrases. "I want to hear what your phrase is. I want to be able to write it down."
"Don't sort of do it. Do it."
Make music on the first note. Then you'll play well.
They want a simple good musician.
People have no patience for bad intonation.
I think music ed is a better degree. You have to be able to teach yourself.
If somebody asks you how fast you're going, you should have a number (metronome marking).
What is air support? Support is simply counteracting the natural decrescendo that occurs as your air runs out. As you sustain a note, you have to blow more as the note goes on (and the air runs out). How do you manage the blowing of the air?
It's better if you can be schizophrenic when you play music. (variety of styles/personalities)
"I said play on your mouthpiece not buzz on your mouthpiece" (don't stop making music when you are buzzing).
"Give me some phrase there"
Watch out for those decays. Your lips get tired, your air doesn't.
We always make fun of singers. We all became trombonists because we didn't want to sing in public.
There is only one fundamental: how you blow the air. Everything else is just a skill.
It doesn't matter how many times you've played it. You either can do it or you can't. If you can't play it, you haven't played it enough.
Make sure your resume doesn't make it look like an accident that you're applying for a job.

Of Schubert and Futsal (Talent Code Post #1)

2011-02-25T23:41:00.000-05:00

This is the first of what I suspect will be many posts related to a great book, The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. I recommend it highly.

I've had a pretty good run lately. In the span of three weeks, I've played bass trombone with Charlotte Symphony, tenor with both Symphony Orchestra Augusta and South Carolina Philharmonic and now alto with Charleston Symphony.

The alto gig came on two day's notice, Schubert's 9th Symphony. Normally I would like to spend more time making sure all those slide positions are secure. This has forced me to really stay on my toes, never let my guard down and be able to make quick adjustments.

According to Coyle, I've been building a lot of myelin. Myelin is the insulation around nerves. As you build a skill, the layers of myelin around the nerve 'circuit' for that activity increase so that the circuit works better...like broadband.

Here's one of Coyle's points: optimal learning takes place when you are struggling a bit (falling and down and getting up, so to speak). Play something that is way over your head or too comfortable and you are no longer in your optimal learning zone.

Well, I've been struggling a bit, so I guess I've been experiencing optimal learning.

In his book, Coyle studies 'talent hotbeds:' places that seem to produce a disproportionate number of highly talented individuals whether it be in music, sports, or something else.

One such hotbed is the well-known Brazil/soccer hotbed.

One of their secrets: futsal.

This is an indoor variation of soccer using a smaller ball that doesn't fly as far when kicked.

What does this mean?

Instead of spending so much time running up and down the field, the players spend a lot more time in tight situations requiring fancy footwork.

Regular soccer on a larger field is relatively easy in comparison.

This makes me wonder: have baseball players ever taken batting practice using a smaller ball?

Let's return to alto trombone. Because of the smaller slide, an error of, say, a 1/4 inch, produces a bigger pitch error than on a tenor. Thus, besides learning those new positions, you must also be more accurate.

See the connection?

Perhaps (with our lavish budget) I should have the school buy altos for all the music majors and then force them to play with exacting intonation.

Wouldn't this be a little like Brazilian futsal?

Check out this video, these guys are magicians...

The Gliss Finder (Ear v. Arm)

2011-02-20T18:43:00.001-05:00

OK, I may have blogged this one before but....

Sometimes, when working on intonation with my students, I find that they are unconsciously lipping notes up or down.
Recently, when a student struggled to lock in the high G-flat, I played the chord on the piano and asked him to gliss around before stopping on the note. Essentially, I wanted him to play with a very wide and slow slide vibrato before settling on the note.
Here's my thinking: when we gliss around, we are less likely to lip notes. Instead (hopefully) we focus on getting a full-centered sound. Then, when we try to lock in the correct pitch/position, we are truly tuning with the slide as opposed lipping the notes up and down.
The psychological power of muscle memory is quite amazing. Even in my own playing, I find my ear arguing with my arm.

EAR: Dude, you're sharp. Bring it down.
ARM: No way, man. Second position is never that low!

And thus perhaps the lip begins to take matters into his own hands (don't think about that concept too much, it's just an analogy) and bend the notes.

Maybe they bend into "tune" but they also bend out of resonance.

Hey, we're playing a big tuning slide here...might as well use it.

Maybe if the arm had an ear of its own...

Youtube: Riding with Ian

2011-02-16T06:57:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't seen it:

Of the Muse and Gas Tank... (Note to conductors)

2011-02-14T21:47:00.000-05:00

I got to play bass trombone in a very enjoyable concert this past weekend.

Suffice to say that it was a good orchestra, good hall, good conductor. However, this good (very musical) conductor made a mistake which I have seen many, many times.

At the end of one section, we landed on a nice, fortissimo octave in the low brass. This was our second performance of the piece.

As you arrive at such a big "forte fermata" moment, you have to make that judgement call...

My air isn't unlimited. How am I going to pace myself here?

Let's assume the following:

You want to start strong.
You want to finish strong (and avoid that anticlimactic fade out).
The note is long enough that you won't be able to to manage it in a single breath.

So you have choices:

Fade in the middle so you don't have to breathe.
Choose the least bad moment to grab a catch breath.

However, here's the giant unknown:

How long will the note last????

As a performer, my decisions hinge on that critical question.

However, highly musical conductors are sometimes moved by their muse to hold out that glorious chord a bit longer than in rehearsal. (or, in the case of this recent concert, longer than the previous night's concert). As a conductor, you may be basking in the glow of that magnificent chord but, if you hold it too long, you are putting your brass players in a difficult situation.

So, conductors, keep being inspired BUT please let us know how long you intend to hold out those big final fermatas.

Our lungs thank you.

I prefer gStrings

2011-02-10T19:53:00.000-05:00

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about the Android chromatic tuner app.

OK, so here's the story. This is a busy week I'm having:

Saturday - Verdi Requiem

Monday - Stravinsky Octet and Soldier's Tale

Tuesday - Kroeger Tres Psalmi Davidis for Trombone and Soprano (Tina Stallard rocked!)

Friday/Saturday - I'm playing bass trombone (yes, Russ, bass trombone) with Charlotte Symphony (the two Romeo and Juliette's ... Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky).

I'm also the happy new owner of a Droid X, which I love. So today I downloaded two tuner apps for my droid: Cleartune and gStrings.

Cleartune cost me $3.99 and gStrings was free (ad-supported). I tested both during the rehearsal break with my phone on the music stand and other people playing (but not right next to me).

Cleartune, which looked prettier had two significant drawbacks: the needle was too twitchy and it couldn't read low notes. Around low F (an octave and a 5th below middle C) the tuner couldn't read me.

gStrings, while not as slick-looking, had a steadier needle and, amazingly, was able to read my instrument down to a pedal F. And that was before I discovered that it has custom tessitura settings for instruments ranges (I've never seen that in a tuner before).

Both apps had customizable temperament settings (I suspect this isn't much of a programming challenge). With respect to just intonation, I was confused. I always think of just intonation as tempering notes with respect to a given tonic pitch. So..what pitch is it scaling to?

[OK, you can set it to tune to one specific pitch as opposed to auto chromatic tuning so maybe that's where the just tuning comes into play. Not clear, however.]

Oh yeah, gStrings doesn't appear to be available for iPhone. I'm sure you guys have a lot of great choices as well.

Just be careful about using the search term "gStrings."

The Bank Account of Good Will

2011-02-07T14:39:00.000-05:00

This is not strictly a 'trombone' posting but more of a life posting. In my interactions with my students, I sometimes envision a sort of 'good will' bank balance. Each new student starts out with a modest positive balance.

When they do things like show up prepared for lessons or actively participate in master class, their balance goes up.

When they do things like miss lessons or show up late/unprepared for ensemble rehearsals, their balance goes down.

Suppose someone calls me looking for a recommendation. Something like, "I need a trombonist to play this gig..."

To whom do I give that work? Well, I certainly want one of my better players to do it. But suppose that better player also has a low balance in their 'good will' bank account? Can I trust them to show up on time, be well-prepared, be professional in their behavior?

What about when students come to me asking for letters of recommendation?

Unlike a real bank account, I don't keep a specific written record. However, I (and I suspect most applied teachers) have a pretty sense of whose balance is up and whose balance is down.

Switch to Glide

2011-02-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

I think most of us agree on these two things..

At slow tempos, the slide clearly needs to stop on every note. Alessi once said, "I want to see the rhythm in your slide."
At very fast tempos, your slide can't really stop on every note. The classic example of this, I suppose, is the excerpt from William Tell.

I have heard of teachers advising students to practice the William Tell excerpt in an unusual way: even when you play it slowly, don't stop and start with the slide. Instead 'catch' the note as the slide goes by without stopping.

Even though I glide at fast tempos, I find this 'slow glide' practice technique to be awkward. (maybe I'm doing it wrong).

Lately, in my warm-up, I've been playing a lot more chromatic scales. I always start playing slowly over a limited range. Something like this:

Then I extend range and increase speed. I like to end up going full-speed with double tonguing.

Of course, at some point, I switch to the glide approach.

Anybody with a high speed camera? It would be interesting to film top players as they play fast then slow the film down to see what they are really doing with their slides.

Hmm, doctoral dissertation idea?

It will need a lofty title...

"The High-Speed Video Analysis of a Select Group of Professional Trombonists to Ascertain the Transition from the 'Stopped Slide' model of technique to the 'Steady Slide' model at Increasing Tempi"

zzzzzzz

When to Stop?

2011-01-30T22:26:00.001-05:00

Teaching is more art than science.

One of the things I love about my job is that I am constantly challenged to revise my craft. When I see former students, I sometimes feel the urge to apologize because I've learned so much about teaching since they were my students.

One of the fundamental questions I deal with is...

When to stop a student and when

to let them play through?

This semester, I feel as if I've made a bit of a breakthrough in the pacing of lessons. After beginning with the usual variety of 'fundamentals' things, I hand it over to the student (who has already laid out a basic plan for the semester) and ask, "OK, what do you want to play?"

Whatever they choose, I pop their SD card into my recorder and they essentially perform the piece without me stopping them.

When they're done, we both sit down at my desk with the music and listen back to the recording. Now I can stop as often as I need/want to and point out details. I often back up the recording to point out something. I also like to pause our listening and have them jump back up to play through a passage differently.

It is interesting to see their reaction when, after we've really worked on a phrase, we double back to the recording and listen again to how they played it that first time. Often, they have moved from being unaware of something to being keenly (and uncomfortably) aware of it.

Generally, this also means that I've slowed down the pace of the lesson, choosing to patiently address something that needs attention rather than feeling quite so compelled to move on to the next item.

This isn't the only thing I do or the only way I teach but, in general, I've been doing it a lot more and am liking the results.

The Air Obstacle Course

2011-01-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

Living in Columbia, SC means living near Ft. Jackson. Every fall, they host an event (sponsored by the marine corps) called the mud run.

This last fall roughly 14,000 people ran, swam, crawled and basically oozed their way through an obstacle course. (I even considered doing it but then I realized that I am sane).

Somehow I thought about this when listening to a student's overly noisy breath.

Noise = friction.

It's almost as if the air has to run an obstacle course to go in and come out. What we really need (low tongue, relaxed throat) is a new superhighway...

Gasp

2011-01-26T18:09:00.001-05:00

Consider this example...

How long do you have to take a breath?? Over two measures, right? Why do so many people try to breathe in the space of the eighth note?

Yes, it's good to be able to breathe quickly when you have to but lets not make things more gaspy than needed.

On a related note, I think everyone agrees about the value of a quiet breath. However, what about a cue breath in chamber music? I sometimes use a technique I call 'finishing with a kick.'

I start with that slower, relaxed breath. At the end of the breath, my 'kick' is a louder inhalation in time with the music in order to cue the others.

(yes this is a pseudo Ewazen quote)

Surfing on the breeze

2011-01-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

It seems I never have time for elaborate blog posts so here's a short one.

So many people pinch off the air as they buzz. There is a standard trick I like to use.

Blow silent air through the mouthpiece (against a pinwheel or something similar). If you're using a pinwheel, don't make it spin at full tilt. A nice steady breeze should do the trick.
Start blowing that same silent air and then gently bring the lips together. Hopefully they'll buzz.
Make sure the pinwheel doesn't stop spinning when the note starts. Many, many students start the buzz and instinctively pinch off the air when starting the note. I'm surprised how often, when they finally get it right and buzz with a nice full sound, they say to me, "Wow, that feels completely different."

Band directors, go get yourself a pinwheel and use it with those starting students!

The first habit is the one that sticks. If their first experience is a buzz with freely moving air, they are likely to avoid major trouble down the road.

Wagner at the Ballpark

2010-11-14T01:13:00.001-05:00

OK, bass trombones. Here's a little something I cooked up on the fly the other day. It's nothing fancy but may be useful.

It is the famous Rheingold excerpt played using an organ setting in general midi. The tempo is quarter note - 60.

Yeah, I know it uses equal temperament but you may find that french horn section isn't planning on just intonation. If you can lock in with this, it's a good start at any rate..

Here's the mp3 file.

If you want to tweak it, here's the midi file.

Hippos and Cheetahs

2010-11-11T03:00:00.000-05:00

When I'm working up challenging licks (such as those found in the Gottschalk Sonata which I'm premiering tomorrow) I can use a variety of strategies.

There's the old "notch by notch approach." You know, slow it down and then work it up bit by bit.

There's the variation "up three, down two." Start slow, move up three (old-fashioned) notches on the metronome and then down two."

The one I keep going back to might be called "hippos and cheetahs." Basically, I like to oscillate between hippo speed and cheetah speed.

In other words, play it nice and slow. Then, play it at the fast goal tempo.

Usually the best ratio is two cheetahs to one hippo.

Try it. Let me know if it works for you.

Best Bio Ever?

2010-11-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Thanks for Harold van Schaik for forwarding this to me. It is the online bio for William Barnewitz, Principal Horn of the Milwaukee Symphony.

http://www.mso.org/main.taf?p=9,8,2,2

Another brick in the wall

2010-11-05T10:07:00.001-04:00

OK, I'm not referring to the Pink Floyd song. I believe that phrase was around before they came along.

As we practice our instruments and hone our craft, it is sometimes useful to think of all that work as building something good. So each scale, each lip slur, each etude, each excerpt run is another brick in the wall of good playing.

But another image occurred to me. Perhaps there is another wall we are building...

"I didn't feel like doing fundamentals this morning."

"I forgot to bring in an extra copy of the score for you to look at"

"I don't have my recorder today."

"I went away with friends for the weekend and didn't practice."

"I didn't check my lesson notes and forgot that was assigned."

"I haven't fixed that dent in my slide."

Taken individually, each one of these things isn't a game-changer. But, oh, how they add up!

Each little "I didn't" or "I forgot" is like another brick in the wall of bad playing.

This is the wall that stands between you and what you thought you wanted to achieve.

Each of your actions is a brick.

Which wall are you building?

Bob McChesney - Unreal

2010-10-27T13:23:00.000-04:00

OK, so here's something that almost seems un-humanly fast and clean.

I think it's interesting that the video tacks on some audio of him improvising at the end almost as if to say, "Yeah, he can play that fast."

I noticed this in the comment section below the video:

This recording seemed a bit too fast and too perfect even for the doodle master, so I emailed him, and he graciously responded: "Obviously it's been tweaked, but not for speed. I tracked all the parts in real time (no slowing down or speeding up), punching in and out like crazy, of course, to get it really accurate with no errors. ..The result sounded really good without any tweaking, but I couldn't resist so I proceeded to line up notes timewise (when needed) to see how far I could take it."

What's the Big Idea? - Fall 2010

2010-10-24T15:45:00.000-04:00

Here's something new I've been trying in lessons this semester. All the students have a "big idea" journal (actually, they have two: one on paper and one online). While most of the entries come out of lessons, sometimes they do add in some of their revelations from practicing.

Now that we are at the halfway point of our semester, I thought it might be interesting to put together a random listing of "Big Ideas"

Think about dynamic interest; Play long notes with musical interest.
For technical licks: 1. Find the trouble spot (don’t always start from the beginning 2. For practice tempo, think hippos and cheetahs
Stop saying “I can’t” Yes, some things are hard - do you want to live without challenges?;
When you do long tones - start every note centered with confidence;
Stand tall, bring instrument to you. Don’t tuck under the stand.
To improve, you must remember;
Fundamentals are the key to everything
If it doesn’t sound good, break it down to something more simple. Get to the point where it sounds good (get creative with it) and then take baby steps back again;
Using drones helps with intonation, who would have thought?
Insert the wrong note on purpose to improve slide accuracy ;
Don’t give on your long notes - that’s your chance to sing;
In loud, dotted rhythms look out for the little guy; mentally connect it to the following note so they are one thing.

Enough for now. I hope some of this has been good food for thought.

Feel free to contribute any recent "big ideas" in your comments.

UHS for trombone history

2010-10-14T21:10:00.001-04:00

OK, it's confession time.

I'm a trombone professor so I'm supposed to be interested in the history of the trombone. Fascinated by it. Obsessed with it.

Except I'm not.

Don't get me wrong, I know of a lot of basics and keep learning as I go.

I'm really impressed by the online history posted by Will Kimball.

But, as I read it, or read Trevor Herbert's book, I can only process so much detail before numbness sets in.

A few years ago (and way past its shelf date) my kids and I get a copy of the original Myst game and played it together one summer.

We had a blast and, yes, sometimes we got stuck.

That's when we discovered the UHS website (Universal Hint System). What we liked about this site was the manner in which it gave progressively more obvious hints to help us through the game. So, if you're stuck, you start with the first one or two hints.

Something like this:

If you're you're still stuck, you can click on more hints until you are basically reading a walk-through.

Something like this:

All this makes me think about the sense of detail overload I get from reading trombone histories.

Maybe the information could be presented in a "UHS manner". It would start with something fairly basic and then give you the option to increase the level of detail.

It could look something like this:

The Trombone first appears around 1400

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAIL

Later on, if you sought more detail, it might proceed like this:

The Trombone first appears around 1400

Some scholars think they appear in

northern Italy and southern France (Eliason)

According to other scholars, it is more likely,

based on performer nationalities and manufacturing locations,

that the trombone originates in Germany

(Herbert, Susato 117; Polk, Archival Documents)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAIL

(Much of what you see in the example above

I pasted from Will Kimball's excellent history.)

I guess this basically boils down to an outline history. Still, I think there might be something appealing in the concept of presenting a tidbit of info and tempting the reader to move into deeper detail if they want.

Hmmmm, maybe an online application for this? I would say "an app for that" but I hear Apple is claiming that they own that phrase.

Still, I could see some enterprising DMA student running with this idea.....

any takers?

Yin and Yang for Slide Technique

2010-10-13T10:26:00.001-04:00

Slide technique should be so simple.....right?

Just move the slide to the right place at the right moment...right?

Well knowing it and actually doing it can be two different things. Here are two exercises that may be helpful. Neither one is original.

In legato, we want to stay on each note as long as possible. So, that means move the slide at the last instant (while staying relaxed...I like the verb "flick" as in "flick the slide at the last second")

Another trick I've seen pertains more to speeding up the slide in tongued passages. It involves moving the slide right after the note sounds:

It never occurred to me that these two exercises are so yin and yang. In the first, you move the slide at the last possible second. In the second, you want the slide in the next position at the earliest possible second.

Don't lose the sound as you add the sizzle

2010-10-05T14:55:00.000-04:00

A quick thought...

We all want to deliver a compelling performance.

We all want a good sound.

Sometimes that pursuit of musical excitement can get in the way of the good sound.

Sometimes that pursuit of good sound can get in the way of musical excitement.

Don't lose the sound as you add the sizzle.

(and don't lose the sizzle as you improve the sound)

This seems to be something I constantly struggle with. I have had too many performances where, in going for musical excitement I lose control of my sound. It's all about maintaining that beautiful balance.

Beware the 'Careful Valve'

2010-09-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

Here's something I see all the time in lessons. I work with a student away from the music. We get the air flowing well - tone production is nice and resonant. For this, I'm usually using glisses or flow patterns...something easy to play without music.

Then we turn to some printed music.

Once the student sees that notation on the page, it seems as if much of that wonderful free-blowing quality in their sound just stops.

They tighten up, almost as if they have a 'careful valve' built into their blowing habits. It goes something like this...

Uh oh, there are notes on the page. I sure don't want to play them wrong. Time to be really careful.

And so they close that valve, the sound tightens up and notes sometimes don't speak.

How ironic that the desire to make it 'right' ends up messing it up.

Keep that valve open...

Yes, Trombone Player's Lung

2010-09-08T20:51:00.000-04:00

Well, you probably didn't hear it here first but apparently that lovely green goo that comes out of your horn when you play might actually be bad for you!

Here's the NPR story.

beach heads

2010-08-31T16:28:00.001-04:00

slowing it down is like establishing a beach head

ITF Reflections #5: It isn't always snake oil

2010-08-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

Whenever I go to a trombone convention showroom, I carry with me a good dose of skepticism. I've seen some pretty ridiculous things.

However, I had a pretty mind-blowing experience at the Edwards booth when I spent some with Christian Griego and their new model, the "Alessi" model T396-A.

Now you might think that, given my last name, I play an Edwards. Wrong, I play a Shires and absolutely love it.

Here's the thing, though....

This new Edwards trombone is what they call an acoustically-tunable fixed instrument. Basically, if I understand correctly, this trombone doesn't have a removable lead pipe (I could be wrong about this, though). What it definitely does have, though, are these three threaded holes near the tuning slide (I think they call it an "harmonic bridge"). The horn comes with a variety of small bolt-like pieces made of different metals which can be screwed into these holes.

At the outset, I felt pretty confident that I was about to have another 'snake oil' experience. However, as Christian began to add or change these metal pieces I was amazed by the difference in the instrument.

He would make the smallest adjustment and it was as if he had handed me a different instrument. One time, the change was the same piece/same hole but he screwed it in from the opposite side. Even this caused a big difference in the way the instrument responded.

Am I ready to leave Shires?

No, but I'll admit that, if my horn were destroyed or stolen, I'd have to look closely at these new Edwards trombones before I automatically go back to Shires.

This time, it isn't snake oil. I think he's really onto something here.

ITF reflections #4: Advantage Eastman

2010-08-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

OK, so I had this blog post waiting around for me to finish. At the ITF in Austin I wanted to try playing some mid-priced trombones.

Back to back I played an Eastman and a Getzen. I've seen some good Getzen's before so I'm not trying to knock them but in this one comparison, I've got to say..

Clear advantage: Eastman.

What about quality? Well, I've heard people blast both brands at times. Others say they've had no trouble. YMMV

By the way, as far as I know, Andreas Eastman doesn't exist. Fictitious name.

If this is true, seems a little tacky.

Still I suppose it would sell more products than a name like, say, Ignaz Gooberfeltzer.

Kindling Wood vs Crutches

2010-08-23T07:57:00.000-04:00

Wood is useful stuff.

Consider two possible uses for wood: kindling wood or crutches.

Kindling starts a fire. Crutches help support you.

Teachers are useful people.

Consider two possible uses for teachers: kindling wood or crutches.

As teachers, should we lay back and let students figure it out for themselves or nuture them along?

Suppose I have a student who sometimes oversleeps for lessons. His/Her lesson is at 9:30 am and I suspect they won't make it. It is 9:00 am. What should I do? Should I call them to make sure they are awake??

If I think of myself as kindling wood, then I'm trying to get a fire to burn in this student. Thus I want to help them along. A "kindling wood" teacher makes the call (possibly waking them up).

If I realize that the more I do for a student, the more I become a crutch and they never develop the self-discipline to make it on the own. To not become a "crutch," a teacher doesn't make the call (possibly letting them oversleep).

So these two uses for wood are a symbol for the fundamental question faced by all teachers: is it "sink or swim" or is it "helping hands."

Of course, there is no one answer but it something worth considering.

ITF Reflections #3 Bonerama and the Stapedius reflex

2010-07-21T08:19:00.000-04:00

One of the groups I was looking forward to hearing at ITF was Bonerama. Well, I guess I'm an old fuddy-duddy because after one or two tunes I had to leave. Why?

TOO LOUD

Maybe loudness is simply the "terroir" of this musical style. It raises some interesting questions, though. I'm guessing that, on some level, these guys want to be edgy. Watching them, I got the impression that they were really committed to what they were doing. I wanted to enjoy what they were doing, musically but I had to bail because I was physically uncomfortable.

I'm not against loud music. Without the benefit of amplification, I've had moments where I've enjoyed generating quite a few decibels. BUT, these loud moments were just that: moments The loudness was in contrast to other moments.

It seems that, by making everything loud, you've removed dynamics from the musical equation.

The loudness becomes part of the ambiance, just like the clothing you choose to wear for the performance.

Here's another thought: I honestly believe that the music didn't sound as loud to them as it did to me. I'm not talking about the relative levels of the feedback monitors to the house speakers. I'm talking about our old friend, the stapedius reflex.

So here is a lovely, fascinating paragraph from Wikipedia:

When presented with a high-intensity sound stimulus, the stapedius and tensor tympani muscles of the ossicles contract. The stapedius pulls the stapes (stirrup) of the middle ear away from the oval window of the cochlea and the tensor tympani muscle pulls the malleus (hammer) away from ear drum. The reflex decreases the transmission of vibrational energy to the cochlea, where it is converted into electrical impulses to be processed by the brain. The acoustic reflex normally occurs only at relatively high intensities; activation for quieter sounds can indicate ear dysfunction and absence of acoustic reflex can indicate neural hearing loss.

Now here's something that has been hanging around in my memory: I seem to remember that when that stapedius muscle is tensed (to protect the ear), less blood gets to certain vital ear regions. Also, I seem to remember that is takes about 24 hours for the muscle to completely relax again. So, if I'm remembering correctly...

Frequent loud noise = stapedius is flexed most of the time = less blood flow = long term hearing loss.

Or, for the guys in Bonerama...

Lots of loud performances = stops sounding as loud = turn up the volume.

So we return to a twist on that basic irony: as we perform we can never truly hear ourselves as the audience hears us. The twist: I'm guessing they don't/can't know how loud the music was for me/many of us.

They seemed like a really cool group. I'm just sad I didn't feel I could stick around to hear them. Or to put it another way: I heard so much of them that I couldn't stick around to hear them.

Should have brought ear plugs....

ITF Reflections #2: Bousfield, volume and timbre

2010-07-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

Here's another interesting tidbit from Ian Bousfield's master class at the International Trombone Festival...

He described a 'typical' comment from an American player:

"I like this trombone. I can go from soft to loud without the timbre changing too much"

He contrasted this with a typical European player:

"I like this trombone. I can go from soft to loud and get a nice change in timbre"

So, in his view (if I understand correctly), Europeans want a greater variety of timbre in their playing.

Here's a corollary idea - as a trombone gets louder, the sound gets brighter. It would seem that, from Bousfield's perspective, Americans view this as a problem and Europeans view this as an advantage.

I could imagine an American complaining, "This trombone gets too bright when I play loud."

I could imagine a European complaining, "I have to play too loud to get the brightness I want."

A while back, I got called on short notice to fill on playing principal with the Charlotte Symphony. The main piece on the program was Symphonie Fantastique. The guest conductor (who was Swiss I think), kept egging me on to play louder and shorter. He also asked me to attack the notes with more and more accent. We were sitting right behind the trumpets and the first trumpet was none too pleased with my assault on the back of his head. Whenever I backed off, however, the conductor got on me to play out more. He even said, "First trombone, I want you to play those notes as loud and accented as possible." (not something you often hear in an orchestra rehearsal).

Finally, I opened up more and played in a style I would normally reserve for the loudest shout sections in a jazz band. This evoked a big smile and a 'thumbs-up' from the conductor while my trumpet colleague's ears turned red with anger. Tough spot to be in.

Looking back on it, I wonder if the conductor was wanting a more brilliant sound and I was just having to play that loud to give him the timbre he wanted.

Interesting.

ITF Reflections #1: Ian Bousfield and "Terroir"

2010-07-13T06:53:00.000-04:00

I recently returned from the International Trombone Festival in Austin, Texas.

During the masterclass sessions, I didn't take notes but still have some reflections worth sharing.

#1 Ian Bousfield and "Terroir"

Ian Bousfield, an Englishmen who is currently the principle trombonist of the Vienna Philharmonic gave two great masterclasses on consecutive days. During this time, he introduced the idea of terroir - a French term related to wine-making. Specifically, it means that one region (with its specific soil conditions, weather, sunlight, etc) will lend a sense of uniqueness to the wines produced there. More loosely, it can mean "a sense of place."

Ian's point, if I understood it correctly, is this: if you grow up in a region and are immersed in its culture, you have a more innate understanding of music from that region. Case in point: people who grow up in Vienna, immersed in the local musical culture, will have a deeper appreciation for Mahler. Unlike most Americans, they are in a better position to hear Mahler's music in the context of its roots and thus are better able to interpret it. In answering a question, he even went so far as to say that he preferred to avoid those concerts in which Vienna played music not from their own terroir - say, French music for example.

What impressed me was his description of the prevalence of 'art music' in common culture. Whereas, in the United States, orchestras are fighting to hold on to dwindling audiences, in Vienna [as he observed] it is not uncommon for children to receive tickets to an upcoming opera production. He pointed out that the Vienna State Opera performs almost daily to sold-out houses. Don't believe me? Check out their schedule.

He told a great story about a farmer passing by his house on a tractor. [remember I'm paraphrasing here] The farmer stopped and asked, "You're with the Philharmonic aren't you? The 'Giovanni' was sh*t!"

Point taken: how often in our country would a person on the street even know what opera was being performed much less have seen it and have an opinion?

I have a relative in Paris whom we visit on occasion. I do remember how many little central town intersections had electronic kiosks with a schedule of local cultural events.

All this makes me think about Jeremy Wilson. If I remember correctly, at an ETW a few years back Jeremy won both the jazz and classical solo competitions (I was one of the judges on the classical competition). What does that mean? Well, a lot of talent, obviously. But also .... GOOD EARS.

In preparation for the Vienna audition, I believe Jeremy really focused on internalizing the style of that ensemble. I'm guessing those great ears that he developed, partly through jazz playing, helped him to be flexible in adapting to a different musical style. You might even say "adopting" that style.

So let me go with a crazy idea here: musically, if the audience can't hear it, it doesn't exist. Whatever advantage 'terroir' provides, it is only relevant in audible musical choices.

No, Jeremy Wilson (or Bousfield for that matter) didn't have the Viennese "terroir" working for him but he had great ears and musical flexibility. In the end, what came out of the bell, even though it was more 'studied' than 'native' apparently was good enough to win the audition.

So, as you practice those excerpts, ask yourself...

What style am I using?

Do I articulate notes differently for Berlioz and Bruckner?

..or..

Am I just being a dumb trombone jock pounding everything out with basically the same sound and style.

I am hopeful that, the higher the level of audition, the more this matters.

Basic 6

2010-06-10T12:49:00.000-04:00

Out with the old. In with the new.

In preparation for my warm-up session at the International Trombone Festival, I have revised and expanded my warm-up routine.

The old: Basic 4 Warm-Up
The new: Basic 6 Warm-Up

As you might guess, the first four are basically the same (except this revised version gives more choices). The additional two are: long tones and simple tunes.

The routine takes 20-40 minutes.

I also have a version for younger players that takes about 12 minutes.

Don't have time? The routine is in "triage" order.
In other words, I might not get through all six if I'm warming up right before a rehearsal but I'll still start at the beginning and go as far as I can.

Happy practicing!

Of photons and phrases...the pithy pendulum

2010-05-25T08:02:00.000-04:00

I am slowly working my way through Walter Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein.
( and I mean sloooowly )

Anyway, I've reached that point of Einstein's "miracle year" when, from March through June of 1905, he produced four papers that helped to upend the world of physics.
The first paper presented the idea of 'light quanta' - that light should not only be described as a wave but as individual packets of quanta later to be known as photons.

In my mind this connects to one of the truisms I've hit upon in my playing. Over the past year or so I've had one of those revelations that, in retrospect, sounds obvious and dumb.

Music is made up of notes.
Make the notes sound good

OK, everyone all together now..."DUH"

Still, as I practice, this simple thought seems to have had a profound effect on my playing. Often I remind myself to simply make the notes sound good and it really helps.

"Ah, but what about phrases?" you ask.

We've all heard 'technical' players who seem to play passages as a succession of notes with no sense of musical direction. We've also hear 'musical' players who play phrases that move us even to the point of ignoring problems with some of the notes themselves.

The analogy, in case it isn't obvious:

waves - phrases
quanta - notes

Like light, music is best described as a combination of waves and quanta (phrases and notes).

Thus the pithy pendulum swings on...

Focus on the phrase
and the notes will take care of themselves.

Focus on the notes
and the phrase will take care of itself.

Part #2 Slippery Slopes

2010-05-18T12:30:00.000-04:00

OK, here's that other blog posting based on a recent coaching of the lyrical trombone solo in Appalachian Spring.

It's the old question of alternate positions. You have the choice of using B-flat in sharp 5th, D-flat in flat 5th, or even F in 6th. So why the 'slippery slope' title? It's the mental train of thought that starts after you've used one alternate position and the little voice in your head says,

"You know if you're going to use alternates,
you could also play that D-flat in 5th.
I'm just sayin'..."

By the way, you face a similar set of choices with the more common excerpt: St Saens 3. And while I'm sliding down that slope, what about starting Bolero in 3rd and using the A and G in 4th? Or how those arpeggios in Tuba Mirum? Or, also in Tuba Mirum, starting that pretty tune on the F in 4th??

(and down the slope I go..)

My undergrad and master's teachers were both great teachers but, when it came to the subject of alternate positions, I could not have chosen two more opposite viewpoints.

Ron's (paraphrased) idea:

You have seven positions; use them.

Tony's (paraphrased) idea, expressed when I used an alternate:

You should stick to the real positions.

Learning from these two opposite viewpoints was good for me. I can honestly say that I tried it both ways.

So where do I end up?

Do what sounds best.

Of course, that answer isn't quite so simple. Perhaps a fictional debate would help here.

Let's call these two schools of thought the "Use All 7" camp (UA7) and the "Closer is Better" camp (CIB).

Please note: This is in no way an attempt to 'quote' my former teachers. This is a fictional discussion representing the viewpoints of lots of people.

Here comes a fictional debate:
CIB: Don't use alternates. They don't sound as good.

UA7: That's because you avoid them. If you practiced them more, they would sound fine.

CIB: I don't think so. Notes farther out on the slide are inherently less stable because, the farther out you go, the the more out-of-proportion your instrument is.

UA7: The difference is too small to be noticeable.

CIB: Well, what about intonation, then? Playing those alternates is always more risky when it comes to pitch.

UA7: Only because you haven't practiced them enough.

CIB: Practice all you want but when you're sitting on the hot seat and pitch is a little funky, I bet you'll go running home to those original positions with your tail tucked between your legs.

(and we'll stop there before it gets nasty).

Alright so where does this leave us?

Practice both ways and strive to make them equally strong. Then, after you've devoted enough time to both: choose the option that sounds best.
Record yourself or play for others to make sure you aren't imagining things. Maybe record a large number of takes where you randomly switch between versions and, after playing the lick, call out to the recorder which version you just did.

I would like to think that, with a superior player, the sound concept is so powerful that it essentially overrides the limitations of either choice of positions.

In other words, be so good that...

...those alternates are in tune with a centered sound
or
...your slide is so fast that you can make the longer shifts sound good.

Part #1 Picket Fences

2010-05-17T21:25:00.000-04:00

Today I was coaching someone on excerpts for the upcoming Mississippi Symphony audition and two "blogworthy" ideas popped up in a single excerpt: Appalachian Spring. This excerpt has that melodic trombone solo in G-flat major, if you know it (basically, "Simple Gifts").

Idea #1: Picket Fences.
This key isn't the friendliest for trombone. Imagine how much easier the solo would be if it were in A-flat, for example. Ironic, really. How often in orchestral music does the trombone get an exposed legato tune sitting in the mid-range? And, of course, in one of those rare moments where we actually get a tune to play, it has to be in G-flat major.

OK, so here's the thing: nobody cares if it is an awkward key. They just know the tune and want to hear it played well.

So why 'picket fences'? For some reason this makes me think of the 1950's stereotypical neighborhood with all those nice houses and their white picket fences. Everything and everyone was expected to fit within a mold. Sort of like that old TV show, Father Knows Best...
We don't know what goes on behind the closed doors of those nice houses with those nice families. I imagine there was a lot of social pressure to not reveal problems.

(Perhaps little Jimmy is an ax murderer
but let's not let the neighbors know about it!)

It's like that trombone solo. The audience doesn't care about your troubles. They just want to hear a pretty tune played well. Any problems playing it are your problem and not to be shared with the audience.

So...play like it is easy. Label it not as something awkward but as just a nice tune.

See it through the eyes of your audience
(or hear it through their ears).

Instant-On Radar...and maybe a new kind of tuner

2010-05-09T22:00:00.000-04:00

As I listen to a student play, I'm listening to a variety of things and usually forming a strategy of how to proceed next.

Sometimes when the student finishes, they sometimes ask me about something other than the thing(s) I was focusing on. For example, maybe I'm really focused on their rhythm and they ask me about intonation.

For some reason, this makes me think of police speed traps. If I understand correctly, the radar gun can be in an "instant-on" mode where it sits there silently until some unlucky driver comes by going faster than some preset speed.

As I listen to a student play, I think I must have something analogous to that radar gun. Even if my attention is on phrasing or rhythm, a really out-of-tune note can come along and set off that radar gun in my mind.

That reminds me of a different tuner design that could be useful. The SmartMusic software has a feature in which the program listens to your note and plays it back ('in-tune' at least in the equal temperament world).

So, if we combine that SmartMusic feature with the notion of instant-on radar, we get a tuner that sits there silently as long as you are close enough to the desired pitch. If you stray beyond a certain amount (maybe 10 cents) the tuner starts playing the note.

I'd buy it.

Mahler 3 - Dudamel and La Scala

2010-05-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

This video was sent to me by my DMA student.

If you haven't seen it, I suggest this...

Listen first to the solo, then jump back and watch it.

any surprises??

I need a new door

2010-05-05T20:00:00.000-04:00

So, thinking back on this past year, I've come to a startling realization.

Apparently, I need a new door on my office. It seems that the current model is outfitted with some kind of "mind-wipe" module (possibly alien technology).

I try to drive home those big points for students to remember. I try to inspire them.

They seem to get it. They seem inspired.

Then they walk out through that door....

...and their minds are wiped!

A week later they return. I consult my notes before they come in so I'm ready to go. I say something like, "So, how's it going with that new relaxed way of blowing? [You know, the one that was such a breakthrough? You know, the one that made you say, "Wow, this is so much easier!"?]"

I watch their faces for some glimmer of recognition.

[pause]

"Oh yeah, about that...." [voice trails off guiltily]

It must be the door.

Maybe I can develop some kind of "Mind Wipe Defense System [MWDS]"
How about this?

Hmmm, I wonder how that would go over with the studio....

I'm going to have to think about this some more. The critical question is this:

How to bridge that gap between the end of the lesson
and the first practice session after?
Those wonderful flashes of recognition and inspiration...
how can they be in the forefront of the mind
as that first practice session begins?

Simply Singing Update

2010-05-04T16:31:00.000-04:00

Just a note to let everyone know that I now have in from the printers..
Simply Singing for Winds - medium treble clef.
Simply Singing for Winds - low bass clef

I've been doing some work on low treble clef and hope to have that ready sometime this summer.

Ensemble Publications is working on their version of medium bass clef. Chuck hopes to have it ready by ITF.

A new buzzing exercise

2010-05-02T02:30:00.000-04:00

Alright, I'm sure this isn't really new...not even original. Still, maybe it's new to you.

Warning: Don't injure your chops doing this. If you do it correctly, there will be very little stress on the lips. Please be careful.

Buzz a comfortable, mid-range note on your mouthpiece.
Now buzz it again but change two things: (a) separate your lips a bit more and (b) blow with much more wind than you would normally use. Basically, you are purposely over-blowing with a very loose setting. The lips should be separated enough that they won't vibrate if you blow with normal, more gentle air.
Repeat this four or five times.
Now with each new repetition, gradually decrease the air flow and bring the lips a tiny bit closer together.
Notice the feeling of blowing with a very generous amount of flowing air.

My office is on the third floor of the music school. I often climb the stairs from the basement and arrive at my office out of breath. I started trying to buzz but was breathing so hard from my climb that I had to loosen my embouchure just to let all the air through.

As my heart rate slowed and my blowing became a bit more normal, I thought, "Hmm, this is interesting."

It reminds me of one of the quotes found on the "Best Things a Teacher Ever Said to Me" section of the ITA website. It has been attributed to Jeff Reynolds...

Loud is Loose

You should check out some of those other quotes as well. Over the years, we've managed to put together some pretty good stuff.

Audition for cardboard cut-outs

2010-04-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

Ahh, jury time has arrived. That joyous time when nervous college students must get in front of a panel and prove their worth, musically.

When I hear stories about rampant cheating on college campuses I sometimes think, "Well the jury is one place where they can't cheat."

Whether it's a jury or an audition, I suspect many people have that feeling, upon walking out of the room, "Man, I want another shot at that. I just wasn't quite ready."

So here's a strange thought:

Set up a pre-jury "jury room" with cardboard cutouts of that scary panel frowning at you. Run through your program, then head into the real room.

Yeah, it probably wouldn't work (especially for those wimpy trumpets who can't seem to play more than about 6 minutes without their chops giving out!) but it's interesting to think about.

I guess, for now, we'll have to stick to mental run-throughs. You know: visualizing a great audition/jury.

Everybody does that regularly, right?

Hello??

(cue cricket sound)

Like lifting with a tourniquet

2010-04-23T15:00:00.000-04:00

Ah mouthpiece pressure. It so easily creeps into the playing.

For those of us who are light-skinned, we often see a white ring on the lips immediately after the mouthpiece is removed.

I like to call this the "white ring of death"

Notice how that white ring quickly turns into a red ring.

In case it isn't obvious, I'm guessing those changes of color might have something to do with blood. As in,
white=blood has been squeezed out by mouthpiece pressure
red=blood rushing back in

Now, I'm no expert but I seem to recall learning in school that blood does good things for muscles. Let's see....nutrients....OXYGEN.

Hmm, so what happens to those muscles (you know the ones we rely on to sound good) when we cut off the blood supply?????

Imaging going to the gym and seeing someone lifting weights with a tourniquet around their arms.

Ok, so as I often do, I ran a Google image search with the keywords "weightlifting" and "tourniquet" I didn't really expect to find anything. And then, boom, there it is: kaatsu training in which people actually lift while starving the muscles for blood.

I don't know but this REALLY sounds like a bad idea. Let's just safely say that it might not work for brass players.

(on the other hand, what are the odds that I'll go to one of these conventions and find some new miracle product designed to increase mouthpiece pressure. Maybe the Power Lung guys will the seize opportunity for a new product line here)

The blog's not dead yet

2010-04-23T11:53:00.000-04:00

OK, so my last post was on Feb. 4th and now it is April 23rd.

One former student declared my blog officially dead. In those great words of Monty Python, "I'm not dead yet"

Some explanation...
Much of my inspiration for this blog comes directly from teaching lessons. Often during a lesson I hit on an idea that is "blogworthy."

For 8 weeks in the middle of this semester, I was granted a half sabbatical to work on the Simply Singing Books. During that time, not only was I not teaching (fewer ideas popping up) but I also wanted to devote a lot of time/energy to the books. Like most projects, they take up more time and energy than I thought they would.

I also worked on some other projects including writing a new fanfare, not for trombone week but the UT Austin trombone choir for this summer's ITF. If they like, you'll hear them play it. As requested, it is basically a medley of Texas tunes. I wrote it for solo quartet over trombone octet.

I also invested quite a few afternoons and evenings in one of my non-musical pursuits/obsessions: coaching a FIRST LEGO League robotics team. The kids I worked with (ages 9-13 on our team) won the state championship and recently competed at the FIRST World Festival in Atlanta. Great experience but very consuming. Not much time left over for blogging.

However, I hope to get it moving again.

The Continuum of Outcomes

2010-02-04T20:51:00.000-05:00

OK time to get a little philosophical. Today the USC School of Music hosted Todd Kays, a sports psychologist. Here's his website, The Athletic Mind Institute.

One aspect of his presentation got me to thinking more about something...
Outcomes vs. Process

Now, I'm not sure I like that term, "process" but here's the basic point (using the upcoming Super Bowl as an example).

There are those things you can control and those things you can't. For example, Peyton Manning certainly wants to win but he can't control the outcome of the game. At a critical moment, one of his receivers may slip, leading to an interception. His stats get worse even though that was an outcome he couldn't control.

You go to an audition. You certainly want to win but you can't control the outcome. At a critical moment, the room may be too cold or the committee too distracted, or the committee may already have someone in mind, or you might come down with the flu, or......
(you get the idea)

What's an outcome? What is the process? In one of our sessions with Dr. Kays, I described one set of goals: improving my ability to play passages that were fast, loud and descending. To me, those are goals/outcomes. To him, they were the definition of "process" not "outcome." It seems we were saying the same words but with different meanings.

I often have thought of it this way:
You have internal goals and external goals.

For example:
External goal - win the audition/competition, etc.
Internal goal - play well

So here's my new idea...instead of thinking of a dichotomy, think of a continuum.

Let's take that Super Bowl example...

One on end of the continuum for Peyton Manning you have the most internal of goals...
"plant your feet"
"watch the positions and movement of the defensive players"
"adjust the play and call it out to your team"

These things he can control.

At the middle of the continuum you have these kinds of goals...
"time the pass well"
"throw a good spiral"
"thread it between the defenders"

On the other end of the continuum..
"throw a touchdown pass"
"win the game"
"be declared MVP"
"go down in the record books"

These things he can only partially control.

In an audition you have internal goals...
"know exactly what the excerpt should sound like"
"breathe well as you play"
"listen carefully to your sound/intonation/ etc."

You have those goals that are in-between internal and external
"sound great"
"don't miss any notes"

Finally you have external goals...
"play well enough to get through the list"
"advance to the second round"
"advance to the finals"
"win"

In any audition or competition...

Focus on the internals
Let the externals take care of themselves

PS The images I used were from a Google image search. I don't know anything about Jon Gorrie or his book but for some reason I like the photo...

Mahler 3 solo - Jorgen van Rijen

2010-01-11T09:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice one from youtube.

Interesting how much he moves around. Still, he sounds great. I wish the camera didn't spend so much time on the conductor. Oh well.

And heeere's another Mahler 3 (the slide position guide at shown at the beginning might provide a clue)...

What? We're Stylish Now?

2009-12-12T00:34:00.000-05:00

I just don't know what to make of this.

The real question is, which did you check out first, the woman (or the guy depending on your point of view) or the slide grip?

Hellboy 2 - goin' PRIMAL

2009-12-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

Jeff Budin, David Ridge on bass trombone and Peter Wahrhaftig on tuba

No explanation needed.

Thanks to Justin for sending me this link.

Happy Holiday Hardware Hunting

2009-12-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

Everybody loves scavenger hunts. (well at least you do if you're on the winning team).

So, readers of this blog, I'd like to propose a scavenger hunt that will most likely involve a trip to your neighborhood hardware store (and might invite a few stares, as well).

The theme: "Expensive Gadgets that May or May Not Help But We're Reluctant to Buy Them Because They Cost So Darn Much"

(EGMMNHBWRBTBTCSDM, for short)

The first item is one I've discussed a posting some time ago. Please note, I'm not endorsing this thing (in fact, I don't endorse it!). I'm just saying that, if you really really want to get one, you can find a much cheaper version at the hardware store.
The device in question is the Power Lung. My blog posting, ETW (part 2), pretty much slammed it but pointed out that you could run to the hardware store and buy a ball valve that seems to do pretty much the same thing.

Ball Valve...89 cents
Power Lung Series P617B..$100 (on their website today)

Hmmm, which price do you prefer?

OK, so here are the next items I think we should hunt for. I haven't tried either one for aforementioned reason that they are somewhat pricey and I don't know if they're valid.

Hey, they may be great.....or maybe not. I dunno.

But.. if we can come up with a cheap hardware store version that does pretty much the same thing...COOL!

New Item #1: Chop Sticks
These are a working out of an idea that has been around for a long time...holding something like a pencil between your lips to strengthen the embouchure.

The starter kit of chop sticks rolls in at $24.95. Maybe it's great, maybe not.

Let's see if any of you are motivated to run to the hardware store to find something comparable and a whole lot cheaper.

New Item #2: P.E.T.E. The Personal Embouchure Training Exerciser
This is newer, I think. Once again, maybe great, maybe not. It costs $34.95 for the plastic version, $39.95 for the brass version and $69.95 for the gold-plated version.

Look closely at the shape of it and then try to find a good substitute.

If you find something that could work as a good substitute, email me the jpeg and I'll blog it.

Happy Holiday Hunting, Scavengers!

Boomerangs for Pitch

2009-11-28T20:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a trick I like to use in teaching.

When a student is struggling to lock in the right pitch, I sometimes have them purposely start out of tune with a given note (such as a tuning drone) and then slowly gliss towards the right pitch.

Sometimes, as they approach the right spot, they aren't sure if they've quite gone quite far enough. I tell them, "Keep going until you know you've gone too far, then turn around and go back to the pitch. Like a boomerang."

Somehow, going beyond and coming back seems to help a great deal.

This drawing represents a boomerang from below the pitch...
Of course, you can also do boomerangs from above.

An Explosion at the Rochut Factory!

2009-11-24T23:23:00.000-05:00

(AP: 11.24.2009) A recent explosion and fire at the Rochut factory has temporarily halted etude production. Although company management officials issued a quick press release

"We regret the unfortunate accident at our factory this morning. We want to assure the public that no employees were injured in the blast. The source of the blast seems to have to have been the slur press when a cognitive dissonance valve malfunctioned. We are confident that we will be back in production with minimal delay."

In the meantime, Dolce Bel Canto Inc., distributors for the etudes is announcing a fire sale on the beloved etudes. The works are complete except, of course, for missing slur marks.

Said one industry analyst:
"Perhaps this is a good thing. We all know the phrasing controversies concerning some of these etudes. Perhaps the appearance of these etudes without marked slurs will force students to decide logical note groupings. Perhaps that will be the silver lining to this dark cloud. Only time will tell."

Rochut's stock (NYSE code RCHT) dropped 27% in heavy trading early in the day but experienced a partial recovery as profit takers moved in, ending the day down 12 points.

A Nice Online Music Dictionay

2009-11-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice free service from Virginia Tech...

An online music dictionary which includes pronunciations of the terms and, for some examples, sound samples (although I never could get the sound sample page to download...maybe I'm too impatient).

Here's the Link.

Record - Work it Out - then listen back

2009-11-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a new sequence I've tried in a few lessons.

The student plays while I record.
Before we listen to the recording, I point out the detail I wish to focus on and I get them to notice and improve.
Then, we listen to the recording.

The change is that steps 2 and 3 are a swap from the old way which was: Record-Listen-Work it Out.

Why do I like this new approach? As we work out the detail in question, the student's ear becomes more focused.

One example might be the tendency to "twah" during a moving legato line. They're doing it, but at first they don't hear it.

I focus in on a small section and "take out the magnifying glass" to help them hear that elusive "twah" habit. Once their ear is sensitized to it (and they're playing it better), I play back the recording and they can really hear the problem clearly.

Anyway, for you teachers out there, it's a sequence that may seem counter-intuitive but I've seen some nice results.

Out with the old and in with the new...The Basic 4 Warm-Up

2009-11-16T09:46:00.000-05:00

I've pulled down my old warm-up materials from the website and replaced them with this.

What went down?

Daily Routine Menu

Daily Building Block Routine

Why?

Well, the routine menu is going to overlap too much with the book I will be writing this Spring. The idea still works but I need to revise material and put it into a more cohesive form.

The Building Block Routine was reasonably thorough but it was just too long. In lessons, we never got past a few of the exercises. Also, as with the routine menu, it will overlap awkwardly with that new book.

So....

I wanted something short and sweet. (yes, I was tempted to write "short and suite")

Something to get you (and me) off the ground a little more quickly (like, 12 minutes)

What are the "Basic 4"?

Wind/Sound
Flow
Lip Slurs
Scales

Here's a link.

The gurgle of truth...

2009-11-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

In many lessons, I often find myself urging my students to use more air. Here's an interesting detail I've noticed...

They start to notice that water gurgling in their spit valves. When they empty the valve, I'm sometimes stunned to see how much water comes out. I wonder to myself, "How did that much water build up without bugging that student."

Could it be that, during practicing, they were using ...

LESS AIR

Weston Sprott on an iPhone app

2009-11-08T17:34:00.000-05:00

I just learned of a new iPhone app from a company called Music in Reach. They have playing info focused on a variety of instruments.

Weston Sprott, second trombonist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra has collaborated on the trombone version of the app.

Here's an example video of Weston talking about hand position. You can find other videos like this as well as an ad for the app here on YouTube.

My first impression: it's nice to see that the first people to come out with such a product have done a good job. (of course, maybe they weren't the first..who knows)

Still, a very nice service for only $1.99.

Beware the Creeping Triplets

2009-11-01T01:59:00.000-05:00

It's not too hard to play this rhythm correctly...

But watch out when you try to play this...

( cue spooky music)

You start out with the best of intentions. You merrily stroll through all those dotted rhythms. Suddenly you feel yourself weakening.

It seems as if some force is taking over your mind, causing those upright triplets to melt into..

(creepy music gets louder here)

(ba-ba-baaaah)

You must escape those slimy creeping triplets..

Frisbee Tone

2009-10-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

Here's an analogy I sometimes use...

A note starts with a little wobble and then settles down and steadies. This sometimes makes me think of a frisbee. Notice that, when thrown, a frisbee sometimes wobbles a bit before settling down.

If only we could get right to the steady tone and bypass the wobble.

Why does the wobble happen? Well, I'm not sure there's one reason. I notice this more often with bass trombonists.

On lower notes, I often see students blowing with an air stream that is too fast/forced. Other times it seems as if the lips are trying to buzz the wrong pitch and need to be "fixed" into place by the instrument.

How to fix that wobble? Buzz some notes and make sure they're centered. On the instrument, try some breath attacks. Make sure you don't use an explosion of air to start a note.

Memorization and pitch

2009-10-31T01:00:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting experience from lessons this week...

I had a student memorize the beginning of a standard solo. He devoted a fair amount of time to it and returned with it (mostly) memorized. Here's the interesting part..

His intonation was better.

So let's think this through:

Learning from memory means listening to determine if you're playing the right notes.
Your focus of attention turns away from the print on the page to the sound in your head.
Boom, instead of focusing on the mechanics, perhaps you are now focusing on sound.

What if I sent each incoming freshman a simple recording (mp3) with accompaniment and asked them to learn it by ear to play in that first lesson?

In other words: Give lessons on a piece where no printed music is involved.

Might be an interesting start to the semester.

Aharoni's New Book (and I continue banging the relaxation/embouchure drum)

2009-10-27T08:28:00.000-04:00

I recently got a nice email from Eliezer Aharoni, former bass trombonist of the Jerusalem Symphony. He had a few nice things to say about my new book, Simply Singing for Winds.

Mr Aharoni, if you don't know the name, authored one of the real classic books for bass trombone,
the New Method for the Modern Bass Trombone. A more exhaustive book I have not seen.

He has come out with a new book, The Non-Classic Bass Trombone, which has some nice tunes in a pop style along with a play-along recording.

He has posted some YouTube videos that mostly feature Micha Davis,Bass Trombonist of the Israel Philharmonic.

One nice thing about these video: they show the player(s) from some different camera angles.
I've never heard Micha Davis before but I really like his sound and his relaxed physical approach.

Anytime you watch a great player, be sure to take details of both sound and sight and store them in your memory vault. Four details that jump out at me when I watch Micha Davis play...

Really nice centering of sound on low notes
Very relaxed demeanor, especially notice that the slide arm isn't too tense.
The second uses a variety of camera angles including a brief close-up of Aharoni's embouchure. Notice those firm corners.
Lastly, notice that Davis is able to play most of these low notes without having to puff out the cheeks. Yes, it can be done.

The Lips Don't Care...

2009-10-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

So here's a saying that has been forming in my mind. Let me know what you think...

The lips don't care about the tongue.

They only care about air.

The horn doesn't care about the lips.
It only cares about vibration.

The audience doesn't care about the horn.
They only care about sound.

Perhaps it then follows that you should...

Focus more on: Air, Vibration, Sound

Focus less on: tongue, lips, horn

NYPO Mahler 3 ..quick before it goes down

2009-10-14T12:19:00.000-04:00

http://nyphil.org/attend/broadcasts/index.cfm?page=broadcastsByMonth

If haven't had a chance to hear it yet, move quickly. They pull it down on Oct. 16th!