Playing the Trombone: The Primer Walter Barrett, Hoff-Barthelson Music School
What most other wind instru ins trumen menta ta ist istss re er to as “slurring” from one note to the next, trombonists call legato. This is eca ecause use w ere a tru trumpe mpett p aye ayerr can slur by just blowing and movi mo ving ng t e va va ve ves, s, a tro trom m on onis istt must often make use of a light tong to ngui uing ng mo moti tion on,, ca e eg egat atoo tonguing, tong uing, to avoi “smea “smearing” ring” from one note to the next. Trom one p ay ayer erss o te ten n use use t e terms legato and slur to mean the same t ing. In ee , t e goa or ot is t e same—p ay two two or more more notes with a seamless connection, an re reee o sm smea ears rs.. In ac act, t, trombonists have many options w en it co come mess to to p ay ayin ingg s ur urs. s. Most trombonists at one time or an anot ot er av avee tr trou ou e ex exec ecut utin ingg a c ean, singing egato. Beginners have the hardest time of it, due to
the fact that almost every method alve Slurs. Only possible oo on t e mar et intro uces wit an F attac ment, t ese wor slurs very early, before the young just like slurs for valved brasses. trombonist has developed the Glissando. This is simply coor co or in inat atio ion n nece necess ssary ary to to ac ie ieve ve p ayi yin ng a not otee an an movi vin ng t e results gotten much more easily slide in or out, also called a on ot er win “smear.” No attempt instruments. s made to articulate ...real improvement T er eree ar aree iv ivee ny pitc a ter t e irst comes when you poss po ssii e way wayss to to s ur one, on e, t ey ju jusst a ru run n have a live person on the trombone: together. giving you Lipp S ur Li urs. s. T is is O t e ive types o personal feedback where the slide stays lurs, the first three on all the aspcets of in one pos positi ition, on, an re t e most most impo importa rtant nt your playing. There t e em ouc ure oes n eve every ry ay p ay ayin ing. g. is no substitute the work, slurring owever, they are best for studying eitt er up ei up to to a new new earnee in seq earn sequen uence, ce, privately with an note, or down to one. o that the beginning accomplished player
Cross-Gr Cro ss-Grain ain S urs.
aye yerr ui s upo pon n previously learned i , rat er t an t e ttempted mastery of three distinct lements at once.
and teacher.
These are used when t e s i e is move in the opposite direction from the new note. No tongue is needed,
Three Steps to e tt t t er er u r r n g The first step to a great legato is air! There needs to be cont co ntin inu uou ous, s, un ro en en,, sm smoo oott nd plentiful supply of air from t e eginning o t e s ur to t e very end of the last note. The “Har “H arm mon onic ic Se Seri ries es an F ex exii i it ityy Studies” from mory Remingto Remington’ n’s armup and Daily Routine is Routine is xcee en xc entt or ip s ur pr prac acti tice ce.. Try singing or buzzing the
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ay ng t e rom one:
e r mer
mouthpiece as a way to visualize that smooth air ow. Once lip slurs feel and sound good, the next step is a smooth, fast slide motion. (No tonguing allowed yet! ye t! Pr Prac acti tici cing ng cr cros osss gr grai ain n s ur urss wi e p yo you u to improve this technique. Keep the air going like you i wit t e ip s urs, on y now we’re a ing t e slide. Make sure that your slide is aligned and is a enten t- re reee zo zone ne.. It is ve very ry i ic icu u t to p ay sm smoo oott ines wit a ente or irty s i e. Check your hand position, and stop holding up t e orn wit your rig t an , o ay? Your e t an is for holding, holding, your right s a way to visualize that that smoot air ow. C ec your an position, an stop o ing up the horn with your right hand, okay? Your left hand is or or o ing, your rig t is or or s i ing! T e s i e as to move just as quickly going from 1 s to 6 th position as it oes rom 1s to 2 nd p poosition. T at ta ta es a go goo bit of practice. Once you’ve mastered lip and cross grai gr ain n s ur urss yo you’ u’rre rea y or t e to tong ngue ue s urs rs!! Tongued slurs use the air from lip slurs, and the fast slide from cross-grain slurs, with a wee bit of tongue t e t ir step to isguise t e s i e c ange. That’s a lot of balls to juggle all at once, but if you’ve put in t e tim ime, e, yo you u won on’’t av avee to t in so muc about the air and fast slide stuff, and you can contemplate your tongue. Here’s the sequence of events: You Y ou p ay t e irst note, an now it’s time or t e next note. Your tongue comes up to put a dent in t at ig at st strrea eam m o air ir,, you mov ovee t e s i e an /o /orr
hange your lip for the next note, and then your tonguee come tongu comess own out o t e way way.. Tim Timing, ing, in egato nd life, is everything! If you got it all right, you’ve lurred! HUZZAH! Watch out for too heavy a tongue tro e, try a sy a e i e “ a ” or “ a ” or “ra ”, an ever stop the air! Just dent it. ongue ong ue wit wit jus justt your your tong tongue, ue, not you yourr w o e jaw jaw. (Try (T ry this: Say “dah-dahdah”. Now touch your finger to you ourr c in an o it ag agai ain n. It mov ovee , am I ri rigg t? eep your finger there, and do it without moving your jaw.) Some people prefer to tongue on cross rain s urs to ma e t em matc t e ot er s urs; it ouldn’t hurt to be able to do it both ways. Keep ingi in ging ng an uz uzzi zing ng to re remi min n yo your urse se ow t e ai airr eeds to flow. There are lots of good etude books out for working on legato; I like the ones by Reginald in , A an Rap , an o course, Jo annes Roc ut.
ome
or s o
s om
egato study should be part of your daily routine. ’vee ee ’v een n wo worr in ingg on Roc ut Stu y #2 si sinc ncee I ea earr C ar ie Ver erno non n p ay it in 19 1983 83,, an an I’ I’m m st stii ea earn rnin ingg tuff from that one exercise! An , as a ways, e sure to wor wit eit er your chool music teacher or a private trombone teacher on s urr urring ing;; rea imp impro rovem vement ent com comes es w en you ave live person giving you personal feedback on all the spects of your playing. There is no substitute for tu ying private y wit an accomp is e p ayer an teacher. You will improve much faster, and be a more o i p ayer i you ta e just one esson a wee !
Walter Barrett performs as a free-lance musician throughout the N ew York area on Alto, Tenor & Bass Trombones, Trombones, Bass Trumpet, Euphonium, and Tuba. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist/Clinician, is on the faculty of Hoff-Barthelson Music School, and is listed in “Who’s Who in American Music.” This article is part of the Yamaha Educator Series, Yamaha Corporation of America, www.yamaha.com.
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Texas Bandmasters Association
