I currently play tenor sax in my schools band. There are way too many of us and not nearly enough trombones. I would like to teach myself to play. I have access to a horn. But I have no clue where to start or what to do. I`ve never played a brass instrument before. What do I need to know to teach myself?

Marie:

I strongly suggest finding a teacher, at least to get started--it will speed things up, and avoid bad habits.

The basics of trombone playing:
The tone is acheived by buzzing the lips together. Your lips should be centered in the mouthpiece and the corners of your mouth should be tight, like a flat smile. You can practice by trying to play songs on just the mouthpiece.

With the slide all the way in, you can hit several notes by tightening and loosening your lips--the easiest ones are a low Bb, the F above that, and the Bb above that, and maybe the D above that. Using the horn in this way, it`s exactly like a bugle, so if you can reach enough notes you can play familiar bugle calls like `Taps`.

The purpose of the slide is to hit the notes in between. There are seven slide positions, each of which lowers the overall pitch of the horn by a half step. So if you start on the F with the slide all the way in (1st position), you can hit E, Eb, D, Db, etc. by moving the slide out a few inches at a time.

The positions must be found by ear--when the notes are in tune, you`ve moved the slide enough. To get you started:

First position is all the way in.
Third position is just before the slide handle is even with the rim of the bell.
Now find second position--halfway between first and third.
Fourth position is with the slide handle just past the bell rim.
If you run first, second third, and fourth positions, you can find the rest, because they`re evenly spaced. Again, listen and try to make the notes in tune (it gets easier quickly--at first your pitch will be unstable because your embouchure [lips] won`t be developed). If you have short arms, you might have a little trouble reaching seventh position. If you have long arms, be careful not to get too vigorous toward the end of the slide or you could damage it.

The trombone does not naturally slur between every note like your saxophone--often it will "smear" from one note to another, so try to move the slide quickly and tongue each note. I don`t play saxophone, but in brass, the tongue strikes the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth, like you`re making a `t` sound. You will find there are some natural slurs (that don`t require tonguing), but that`s not important at the beginning. Just tongue every note.

Use lots of air when you play, not just enough to make the horn sound. A good practice to get started is to play up and down the first position notes (those are the bugle notes you can play without moving the slide) without tonguing. These are called `lip slurs` and they`re the fastest way to develop tone, flexibility and range.

I hope this is helpful. Some things are easier shown than explained. Like I said, get a teacher if you can.

Dal

I would suggest talking to the first chair trombone player and set up some help from him.