hi all!
so my band is going to have a huge trombone shortage next year, and my directors have asked if i would like/be willing to play trombone in a second band. i play bass clarinet primarily, plus clarinet and assorted saxes, and i march mellophone. they claim since i picked up mello so easily i should be fine (it'd be in our concert 4 band, which plays grade 5 music)
i think i'm probably going to give it a shot,
just wondering if anyone has any tips/warnings/things to keep in mind!
thanks
Ok, first a bit of a rant...
It sure seems to me that there is this default opinion out there that trombone can just be picked up by just about anyone, and played at a proficient level in less than a year. Why is that?
On quite a few occasions at my job, we get to sit in with high school bands (or more accurately, let them sit in with us ) and lemme tell ya...
Even the guys with a few years under their belt rarely play as well as they think they do. Heck, most of them can't play Stars and Stipes without fracking all over the place.
I digress..
Listen, the trombone is a beautiful instrument with both a blessing and a curse. Because of the slide, it has the capability of being the only instrument that is in tune ALL of the time. The unfortunate flip side of that coin is, that it can be OUT of tune ALL the time in the wrong hands.
To develop a great sound takes years. To develop good slide technique and the muscle memory to hit things in tune every time takes years.
More often than not, when I hear a highschooler who is a part time bone player, the sound is thin, the slide work is sloppy, and the intonation is horrible. I've been playing for many years, and I still take lessons and still work on refining things.
It just makes me mad when people assume it's going to be easy.
If you're going to give it a go, do lots of long tones, work small scale patters over a reference drone, and get some lessons from a qualified teacher. Someone two grades above you doesn't count.
Oh man, Steve is absolutely right. I haven't played for that long, and whenever I record myself playing, I listen to it afterwards and go "Gee, am I really that bad?"
That's why "DanTheMaster" is only a dumb nickname that some people that are amazed by my playing gave me because they've never heard a really talented t-bone player.
(And because they never practice, and anything that sounds halfway decent sounds like pro playing to them.)
I can totally relate to bad trombonists. Next year there will only be 5 trombones, maybe not even that, which would be fine considering the size of the band, but three of them equal about one of the other's sound. However, I must say that everyone's improved immensly- in two years of experience, you can actually hear a few pitches! One time I asked (last chair) if he remembered to practice, and he sayed he mowed the lawn and got laryngitis. I would have believed him if he ever practiced at all... which brings me to my advice. PRACTICE. I cannot stress that enough. ESPECIALLY when you do not have as much experience as everyone else and are just starting. When I picked up tuba in the middle of the school year, I stayed after school in the bandroom for an hour to practice, and it really payed off. It even improved my soccer playing! (better lung capacity)
Oh, also.. especialy on trombone, make sure you are getting a clear sound on every pitch, or when you start playing faster it will sound like a constipated elephant. Tone quality is very important. If you empty your spit valve religously, practice regularly, and remember the coda, you shall succeed. Yoda has spoken.
Ughh...why does everyone assume trombone is so easy...idiots. It's not easy at all. I think it is easy than other instruments when you're playing like complete beginner music because generally the rhythms are dumbed down compared to the corresponding music for other instruments, but once you start getting into more serious music it's just as hard or harder.
searching...
