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Before Starting
Meaningful selection of beginners is crucial, as students need to be
matched to an instrument which will offer them a reasonable chance
to succeed. Having this process as part of instrument selection
before beginner band starts will already give trombone students
(and their director) a fighting chance. Some sort of musical aptitude
test is invaluable, and must be coupled with assessments of student
personality, intelligence, and previous musical experience, offered by
adults who already know the group of students. At the same time, care
is needed to create balanced instrumentation, and here the teacher's
opinion, based on information about the potential band students, can
be a very powerful influence in promoting the trombone.
Characteristics of future trombonists should include: an ear for
pitch, some basic piano knowledge so they can find their notes on
the keyboard and leam to match pitch, independence, the ability to
survive in the back row. reasonable arm length, and suitable lips and
teeth. Pre-testing should include the ability to create a sustainable
buzz both with and without the mouthpiece while not puffing out the
cheeks.
In the Beginning
As the students begin to create their first few "tender" notes, focus is
rightly on developing correct playing habits. Every trombonist must
have his/her own music stand, and the slide of the trombone should
be located approximately in the middle of the page of music, just to
the left of the stand. By stressing this slide position right from the
beginning, directors avoid the dull repetition of reminding students to
"hold up your bells."
Very young players will sometimes have trouble draining the
condensation from the slide, even resorting to using their feet. This
can easily lead to slide damage and/or breaking ot" the water key.
Insist from day one that students use only their fingers on the water
key. It's reachable if short-armed youngsters lift the trombone up
behind their left ear with their left hand, and create the correct angle
of slide so that the drain is at the very lowest point, then shake the
water out. Teacher guidance w ill be needed for this.
Because the slide is out in front of the student, it's easy for weak
readers to "cheat" and follow the slide positions of the person next
to them. Since most method books start off with unison playing, try
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or seem to give them mostly whole notes and half notes while the
upper woodwinds and trumpets have more interesting parts. For
each semester, select at least one tune that challenges your trombone
players, and give them a glissando every now and then, even if you
have to edit it into their part.
In addition to effective repertoire selection, this is a crucial time to
encourage independence in the developing trombonist by having the
student play lots of melodies with play-along books and CDs of all
styles, or sign up for SmartMusic^. As the trombonists skills expand,
so too should the available music. The director's suggestions at this
stage can make or break a player's future in band.
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crescendo into the upper and lower ranges both on the instrument and
buzzing the mouthpiece (that keeps eoming back), then work to refine
the tone. By the high-school level, students will need specialty books
of exercises and festival repertoire. The director's assistance at this
stage will go a long way to encourage the developing musician to
pursue constant progress.
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The University of
Toronto
Faculty of Music
Wind Conducting
Symposium
Guest faculty:
Paula Holcomb
Resident Faculty:
Gillian MacKay and
Jeffrey Reynolds
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