We don't yet do lessons on line!
It is possible, however, to portray
some of my core concepts and ideas in these pages. I hope that they can help you take a refreshing look at your own playing.
Specific
ideas and techniques on playing the trombone are best communicated in
person, working one-on-one, playing with and for each other, and trying
to define, capture and cultivate sometimes-elusive concepts. That is why
our instrumental education process is built upon the weekly one-on-one
lesson. If it were possible to write a chapter or two on just how to
perfectly operate the trombone, I would have done it long ago and had it
patented. In reality, each student approaches the task with a unique
combination of desires and concepts, strengths and, yes, also shortcomings.
This master class handout has evolved to include many of my playing and teaching ideas. Contained in these pages are many of the phrases and concepts that I repeat to myself when practicing and to others when
teaching.
By design, a master class handout is made for use in a master class. Simply reading the headings and suggestions below on your own could lead to questions ? or even misinterpretation. By nature, many of the remarks below seem to be mere cliche. I make them available here for practical reasons, but also in the hope of spurring readers to maybe look at their playing in a new or fresher perspective. Please feel free to contact me with questions on these concepts.
My answers to such questions are already resulting in links to more detailed
explanations.
Please remember, however: that no amount of verbalized information or theorizing will ever replace one-on-one lessons with a qualified, master teacher.
Keeping that in mind.....
Master Class with Carl Lenthe
Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music, MA315
Bloomington, Indiana 47405
(812) 855-2828
Attitude
Cultivate a positive, constructive manner
Don't get down on yourself for not being somewhere you aren't
Better: recognize where you are and what it will take to get where you
want to be
Posture
Play
Something
Songs, songs, songs
Improvise - noodle around
Play by ear (get what you hear out of the trombone)
Memorization
Make Music
I) Make music with others - that's what its all about!
Find a duet buddy, start a trio or quartet
Don't play only with brass players
Learn to play other instruments to whatever degree possible
II) Improve your musical understanding
Cultivate and improve your understanding of the different styles
Metrical, rhythmical structures (dance steps)
Harmonic, melodic relationships
Learn about non-brass instruments
III) The world is a stage; be creative
Be theatrical; from articulation to character portrayal
Make words from syllables, sentences from notes and phrases
Build paragraphs and chapters
Make story lines, create narratives
Timing, charisma, personality, temperament, charm, panache, 幨an,
flamboyance, flair, passion (add more of your own?)
Play the role, even if it isn't "you"
Concepts and techniques
I) General practice tips and ideas
Pull your results out of bell instead of pushing them into the mouthpiece
Scales, scales, scales
Arpeggios, arpeggios, arpeggios
Play technique musically - make exercises out of your musical passages
Etudes, the missing link
Go to your range and dynamic extremes regularly - blow freely
Buzz on the mouthpiece sometimes (nice, healthy buzz - blow freely)
Play the "air trombone" (mouthpiece in left hand - right hand plays the
air slide
Slur through the phrase to recognize air and phrase flow
Blow through the phrases
Practice slow things fast (you already practice fast things slowly, right?)
Don't abort the breath because of a miss - don't make two mistakes out of one
II) Basic blowing
Breathing:
Breathe quietly
Breathe relaxation, not tension
Breathing should be quiet, free and natural
Breathing exercises
"Hot potato"
Breathe from the lips
Posture affects breathing
Bring the horn to you, don't you go to the horn
Music breathes - breathe musically
Make a musical virtue out of the necessity of breathing,
Blowing:
Blow freely - don't fight yourself
Flow & Focus (and other f-words)
Let go and blow
Back off - don't force
Let go of the lips. Blow freely. Stop the squeeze
Should ideally feel whole face vibrate
Blow a nice full and free flow and focus of air
Low register (also valveless notes) can help breathing and blowing
Focus the tones with the air
Think of the "lip slurs" as blowing exercises (Flow & Focus)
III) Tone
Don't be monotonous (mono-tone-ous)
Be able to speak in many tones, colors and shadings of voice
Your tone is your calling card
Listeners don't know what is difficult - but they know what
sounds good
Vocal approach:
Don't try to sound like a bass in the tenor register
The Tone of intonation - sharp/flat vs. high/low
Place the tones vocally; don't squeeze them around
Place the tones in a resonant, vocal manner
Hit the notes clearly and let them ring
Nice and easy
III) Articulation
Be an articulate musician
How many sentences can you speak with only two consonants?
Play as if giving dictation - Play deliberately
Articulation - develop good multiple tonguing before you need it and
beyond your needs
A slow tongue squeezes the preceding note while getting ready to
strike the next
"Stay on the string" (tenuto)
Resonant staccato, like a pizzicato walking bass
The tongue articulates the air (tone) column - it doesn't break it
Tongueless slurring
IV) Hearing
Hear better, internalize notes and intervals - sing
Conceptualize - sing
Work on hearing - sing the notes and phrases.
Sing for intonation purposes and to avoid mechanical dependency
Hear the notes and harmonies
Holding points for the ears - half, whole steps, sequences, etc.
Find "interval tags"
The
Drone --- Use a tuning machine that gives all pitches (anchor notes)
Sight-read and transpose
V) Right hand and arm (slide technique):
Throw and catch the slide (please don't forget to catch)
Toss the slide, toss the slurs, toss the air - even in slow connections
Slide vibrato (not elbow vibrato) - will illuminate right hand and
arm use
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