Our Salute to the "Weekend
Warrior"
Not everyone chooses to play
trombone as a profession. That's probably a very good thing:-)
Many folks find that their talents
lie in disciplines such as business, law, medicine, car repair,
sales or other careers. The smart ones, though, realize how much
music adds to their quality of life and how much it means to them
and their families. In my experience, it is always a joy to sit
next to these people and make music with them. They play for all
the right reasons. They play because they love it! Not in it for
the money (although it's a nice perk), they do it for more honorable
and sustaining rewards: joy, comraderie, an "escape"
from daily stresses, a way to connect with other human beings
in a most intimate fashion, a fascination with sound, a cure for
the mundane life and a way to be "special" and unique
amongst their peers...
My experience has also shown
that a certian level of frustration can arise within these players.
They might have memories of playing at a much higher level; might
be able to hear something in their head but not have the technique
to reproduce it; maybe they're intimidated by the players around
them who have more time to practice and stay in shape.....
In any case, what we aspire to
do here with the Salute to Weekend Warriors is give these music-lovers
the tools they'll need to play to the very best of their abilities.
Your lives are insanely busy. We know that. But you want to suck
as much marrow from the musical bone as you can, right? All we
ask for is 15 minutes a day. ANYONE can find 15 minutes in the
course of the day, right? Maybe this means waking up 15 minutes
earlier or staying awake 15 minutes more at night. It won't even
require a trombone on some days, but doing the exercises below
will give you the technical facility, muscular strength, and confidence
to "hold your own" come Friday night at the dance-band
gig or Sunday morning at the Church service. Pledge 15 minutes
a day and enjoy the many benefits as your level of artistry rises
week after week, month after month, year after year.
What the Weekend Warrior
MUST focus on is the BASICS.
Be ever-vigilant against allowing
self-judgement, ego, frustration, fatigue, and warped perceptions
to distort these simple, basic concepts:
1) Why do we play trombone?
We love the tone. We're awed by it's
beauty of sound. We have fun working the slide. We like the feel
of it in our hands, against our lips. It looks cool. It has a
colorful past in many, many genres of music. Beethoven revered
it; Berlioz heard the Heavens in it; Mozart caused it to weep;
Dorsey made it sing; Teagarden made it dance. It's a versatile,
thoroughly enjoyable noise-maker. It's the best thing that's happened
to music since rhythm and we have the ability to make it go.
2) What makes a trombone work?
AIRFLOW passing through taut (NOT tight)
lips puts the LIPS in VIBRATION. These vibrations then put the
air column inside the trombone into sympathetic vibration, thus
giving pitch and tone. That's it. Period. End.
3) What are we TRYING to sound like?
Do you have a concept in your imagination
that enables you to make the music come alive? Every musical phrase
is a chance to evoke CREATIVITY. Don't waste a single opportunity.
Phrases even within a composition differ greatly in personality
(thank God!). Here are some concepts I relate to:
Crystal-clear piccollo trumpet, rotund
basso profundo, liquid soprano aria, heavy rosin on a cello bow,
jazz ballad, raindrops on rice paper, a mouse running on glass,
a rock crashing through glass, a curious cat with intrepid bravery,
a victorious warrior after a siege, Niagra Falls, Notre Dame Cathedral,
peace, anger, dark twilight blue, city traffic.....
There's truly no limit to the images
that might trigger your imagination. The more adept you become
at evoking concepts, images, and feelings, the better player you'll
be. Take a chance with every note. Be an explorer of creativity.
EVOKE something. EXPRESS something.
4) Do we have the proper equipment
to make the sound we hear in our head? (Say this aloud 3 times
:"There is no magic bullet")
WARNING: the pitfalls of becoming an
"equipment freak" FAR outweigh the benefits. We all
know these people. They've spent a small fortune to play the same
set-up as "so-and-so in the Acme Phil". They have 14
mouthpieces for every occasion. They KNOW it's their leadpipe
that's holding them back.
Weekend Warriors are far more likely
to be "equipment freaks" than pros. That's because they
often have much more disposable income than trombone pros and
they have more freedom to try things that might not work. Pros
don't have the luxury of trying a set-up for a few months. When
it's the trombone that pays the bills, it's GOTTA work on any
given night. What we do is find the most comfortable rig that
gives us our desired sound and consistency and we set about MAKING
it work. We've spent enough time evaluating, analyzing, test-driving
stuff that we know there's no magic bullet. Let our miserable
experiences spare you years of heartache, OK?
That being said, PROPER equipment will
indeed enhance your musical enjoyment and keeping your trombone
in good condition makes the music flow a little easier from your
imagination. For instance, if you play primarily lead trombone
in a jazz band, don't play a big-bore horn with a deep mouthpiece.
Find a good small-bore tenor and try a shallow mouthpiece ( I
play a Schilke 47 for lead stuff on a Silversonic 2B). Not only
will your life be easier on this set-up, you'll be more within
the proper style for the music.
Conversely, if you play a lot of brass
quintets and/or chamber things, don't play a pea-shooter small
bore horn. Buy a large bore tenor with a reasonable mouthpiece
(try maybe a 5G, a 6.5AL, or 5GS). Your tone will be nice and
broad and will fit more with the style.
If you can only afford one instrument
but play a variety of styles, split the difference: find a medium
bore tenor (.525" bore) and use a middle-of-the-road mouthpiece
like the 6.5AL. Conn makes a dual-bore slide for the 8H and 88H
tenor models that tapers from .525" to .547". This is
a fantastic option for the Weekend Warrior that wants to play
a variety of styles. I also have an Olds Recording that I found
for $300. Dual-bore with a rich, warm sound. It's nearly 50 years
old and might be the best Weekend Warrior trombone I've ever played.
It could move from a brass quintet to a big band with little effort.
Look around, contact your local music store, search the want-ads,
peruse the Internet. Great trombones are out there waiting to
be rescued. No need to spend a fortune, either. Viable options
can be had for little money.
STOP SEARCHING FOR THE MAGIC BULLET and
adopt a versatile, practical instrument that gives you the sound
you desire.
If you're curious about what the mouthpiece
can do to hurt or help you, check out the "Anatomy of a Mouthpiece" section in the General
Area of this site. If you have questions about your equipment,
email us at:
tom@trombonelessons.com
Keeping the above concepts in
mind, then, what can we do to be the best we can be? In the course
of our very busy lives, how do we make the best use of our time
to develop as trombonists, and more importantly musicians.
1) Read and re-read #1 above.
Never forget that it's about the
JOY. If you can manage to transmit your joy out the bell, you
are well on your way. Don't let trivial BS upset you on gigs or
in the practice room. Resist pettiness like the plague. Smile
all the time. Enjoy what you're doing. Admit your faults, accept
others' faults and be supportive. Be the person that others love
to play with.
2) Sing. A lot. It feeds
the imagination, gives ideas about articulations, helps intonation,
develops a sense of Phrasing, and makes you a better musician.
Sing along to the radio in the car, sing at the office, while
you do the honey-dos around the house. Try scat-singing to jazz
music. It's a wonderful habit. Every piece of music you're preparing
should be sung.
3) Research the Life and Times
of the composers you're playing. What do you know about the
black dots on the page before you? The more you know, the more
effective your interpretation will be. Try getting inside the
composer's head and heart and play from that perspective. The
Internet is a very valuable tool for this. Try going to google.com
and doing some searches. Knowledge is power!
4) BREATHE. In any place
at any time, we can practice the most important aspect of our
trombone playing: the BREATH. By far the most common deficiency
I see in the Weekend Warrior is their inefficient use of the BREATH.
(See #2 above: What makes a trombone work?) Believe it or not,
we don't need nor want a STRONG embouchure. "Strong"
embouchures equal thin tone and poor flexibility. Most weekend
warriors ask me how to build strength when I see clearly that
they don't use their AIR very effectively. Forget about embouchure
strength. Move copious amounts of free-flowing air and most embouchure
woes will go away. Try these wonderful exercises (some are mine,
some I learned via Sam Pilafian, the wonderful tubist)
- at one beat per second, inhale
through the mouth for 4 beats, hold it for 4 without locking
the throat, exhale for 4 and relax for 4. (repeat 10 times).
That's 2 minutes and 40 seconds worth of EXCELLENT practice. Often,
I'll raise my arms above my head as I inhale, then let them fall
as I hold my breath, being careful to keep my chest high and round.
Try it.....but not while you're driving:-)
-Next, the "Paper Airplane"
breath: inhale for 4 beats as you prepare to throw your imaginary
paper airplane (actually HOLD the airplane......remember how important
the imagination is!), then for 4 beats LAUNCH the airplane and
give it a tailwind with a steady, smooth exhale. Watch it as it
soars upward out of sight. (Repeat 5 times), then:
- "Bow and Arrow Breath":
for 4 beats pull back on the string (FEEL the tension), spot your
target, then release the arrow with a 2-beat propulsion exhale.
Rest 2 beats and repeat. (5 times), then:
- "Dart Breath": this
time, you're throwing a dart. 2 beats to inhale as you spot the
bullseye, then 1 beat sends the dart on a very fast exhale towards
it's target. Rest one beat, repeat. (5 times)
All told, that's 260 seconds,
or just over 4 minutes. This is the most important 4 minutes of
practice you'll do EVERY SINGLE DAY. Once in the morning, once
in afternoon, once in the evening before bed. That's nearly 15
minutes total and we haven't even touched the trombone! Trust
me......do it. You'll feel better and play better GUARANTEED!
When it comes time to make music,
you'll play beautiful phrases by blowing Paper Airplanes, lovely
pesante marcatos by blowing Bow and Arrows, and very effective
sforzandos by blowing Darts.
Now, if it's a good day and you
have time to pick up the trombone, do this quick warm-up before
playing ANYTHING else:
-pick any major or minor scale
in the middle of your comfortable range (try Bb, D, C, or something
similar). All these scales, by the way, are in the General
Area of this site. Play the first 4 notes up and down slowly
at an easy mezzoforte. Then BUZZ the same thing in the mouthpiece
alone. Feel the FLAT chin, tucked corners ("gently firm"),
lips touching all the way across, and EVERYTHING inside the rim
buzzing at pitch. The center of your aperture is relaxed and supple.
The lips swing closed like saloon doors. The buzz is like rich,
creamy pudding. Think Paper Airplane......
Next, play the entire scale up
and down slowly at mezzoforte. Then BUZZ it.
Lastly, play the triad (1st,3rd,5th,8th
scale notes) up in half notes, and the scale down in quarter notes,
repeating the top note. Then BUZZ it.
Do this exercise 4 times: one
middle-range scale, one low, one high, another middle-range.
-Then try the following exercise,
developed by the great Ed Kleinhammer in his excellent book: "The
Art of Trombone Playing":
It's important that you "push
the envelope" with your ff and pp dynamics.
Breathe whenever you need to, but try doing the pp in ONE
breath. Don't proceed to 6th position until all FOUR variations
are played in 7th.
- After doing this exercise, play
some low descending scales at VERY soft dynamics to warm down.
Come back later in the day, if time allows, to work on your prepared
pieces for the week. Practicing in short bursts (10-15 minutes)
a few times a day is the BEST way to practice. If you simply can't
make that happen, though, stick to the above warm-up and you'll
get in good shape very quickly.
Have a Ton of Fun always, a clear
concept in mind, and please don't hesitate to contact us with
questions:
tbonegib@bellsouth.net