Recruiting and Retaining
Trombonists in the Band
Program
The Basics!
Presented by:
Robert Kehle
Pittsburg State University
At the Kansas Music Educators In-Service Workshop
February 24, 2006 2:45-3:35
Century II Room 206
Wichita, Kansas
This program has been made possible through a grant from C. G. Conn.
Robert Kehle
rkehle@pittstate.edu
- University Professor of Music
@ Pittsburg State
University
- Principle Trombone with the
Springfield, MO Symphony
Orchestra
- Trombonist with the PSU
Brass Quintet
- Artist/clinician with C. G.
Conn
- Degrees in Music Education
and Trombone Performance
from:
– Washington State
University
– Indiana University
Studied trombone with:
– Mr. M. Dee Stewart
(Philadelphia Sym. Orch.)
– Dr. S. Thomas
Beversdorf (Pittsburgh
Sym.)
– Mr. Keith Brown
(Philadelphia Sym. Orch.)
– Mr. Ed Kleinhammer
(Chicago Sym.)
THE
BASICS
It is how you get
better.
Accept no substitute.
Breath support
• The alternative to
breathing is not very
pleasant.
• This should be a
natural process;
unfortunately we
often make it harder.
• Never stop talking
about it.
• AIR, AIR, AIR,
AIR, AIR, AIR,
AIR, AIR, AIR…
AIR
In order to improve
the playing of a
student we must
concentrate on the
critical factors of
playing.
• AIR is #1.
AIR
The diaphragm works
like a bellows. It
sucks air in and the
result is an expansion
of the lungs as the
diaphragm moves
downward.
Diaphragm
Centrum tendineum
the chest
at inhalation
at expiration
Diaphragm
AIR
Do not let the shoulders rise
unduly as this just creates tension
in the upper body and lungs.
Tension = Tight
sound
AIR
Reasons we cut back on the
air.
Long phrases.
Seeing how long we
can play.
Super soft playing.
These result in a
reduction of air to
the embouchure;
therefore, the
Embouchure shuts
down and we lose
the pitch and tone.
AIR
Proper air.
Demonstration
techniques:
1. The Yawn.
2. Breathe in on
“HAW.”
3. The nose breath.
4. Normal breathing.
5. A poke in the ribs.
Exercises:
Inhale on a MOE
for a 4 count –
exhale on TOE
for a 4 count.
Do not hold it in!
AIR
To open the oral cavity:
1. Breathe through a paper
towel tube or place 2
fingers in your mouth.
The throat is an
extension of the tube.
2. Say in a regular beat; “ee,
ah, oh, ee, ah, oh” then
inhale through the larger
oral cavity.
AIR
It should be like a circle or swing, in and out.
Inhale
Exhale
The inhalation and exhalation should be one complete
process.
Do not hold the air in as it creates tension.
Air – the Exhalation
To help a student
achieve a
continuous full
exhalation try the
pinwheel
demonstration.
Blow at the pinwheel
and keep the wheel
moving.
Breathing Problems
1. Noisy inhalation (especially a high sound) is a symptom of
tension and constriction. Try lowering and relaxing the tongue.
2. Make sure that the student is not using the breath as a chance to
change the embouchure in different registers.
3. Air blockage is a common problem. Often we tighten up in the
throat or upper chest and in so doing we compensate by forcing
the air. In reality what we have done is to constrict the airflow.
4. As a good rule, breathe early rather than waiting for the last
second to breathe. Late inhalations are often tight and forced.
5. Breathe in time with the music. One beat or two, depending on
the tempo will help relax the drawing of the breath and help
you feel the tempo and beat.
6. The shoulders should stay calm and not rise up.
7. Grunting sounds usually indicate that the player is constricting
the throat.
Air – the Inhalation
• Using inspired
volume measuring
devices can help
measure the amount
of air taken in.
• These are used in
hospitals.
AIR & Posture
When standing, stand
tall with the legs
slightly apart. Not
rigidly at attention as
shown.
If you slouch you will
not be able to breathe
properly.
Playing over
the top of the
stands can
cause incorrect
embouchures
Sit up straight, but relaxed.
Not at attention as shown.
AIR & Posture
NEVER do this!
For marching band you
may need to tilt back
slightly in order to get
the horns up. It is a
necessary evil, but a
more normal
posture following the
lines of the teeth is
best.
Mouthpiece Angle
Follow the teeth.
The horn is straight out
and look at the
mouthpiece seal, or
lack of proper seal.
Holding the instrument,
it makes a difference
The left hand forms
a ‘L’ or gun.
This is what it
should look like.
The Bad Slide Hand
The ‘claw’
The ‘finger’
Hold that
bell, NOT!
Embouchure
“There is nothing
wrong with your
chops, your mind is
messing them up.”
Paraphrase from Bud Herseth, Chicago Symphony
Embouchure
Various ways to discuss
the embouchure.
1. Saying ‘M.’
2. A straw in the
mouth.
3. Say “Beau-ty”
and hold on
“Beau.”
Embouchure
Keep the corners
down.
1. Pretend that you
have dental floss
across the teeth and
pull down the
corners.
2. Think of an anchor
on both sides of the
mouth.
Embouchure
• The puffy cheeks
Trombonists need to anchor the
corners of the mouth, hold the
cheeks against the teeth, but not
rigidly, and minimize the puffing.
• The bunched chin
Keep the chin flat, especially
as you ascend. Look in a
mirror as you practice and be
aware.
Embouchure
and Pressure
Left-handed embouchure.
“Let me cram the mouthpiece through the back of my face,”
says the masochist.
Try pressing your thumb against the lower
edge of the front teeth. Now look at the
indentation in the thumb. Imagine what
this is like to the soft lip tissue.
Ring on the lips.
If the lips become swollen it is a result of poor
circulation.
Embouchure
and Pressure
An improper balance between the
airflow and the lips.
- It often results in tension in either
the chest, throat, or both.
Embouchure
and Pressure
The smile
Embouchure
creates
a set of “thin” lips.
Embouchure
Pressure Fixes
1. Make sure the air is there for the lips. Double check
the breathing process.
2. Consciously strive to pull the horn away from the
lips without losing the basic seal needed to play.
3. Make sure the lips are not thin in the mouthpiece.
There needs to be a lip cushion, but too much
will result in a stuffy sound.
“Air takes the stress off the
embouchure...”
Norman Bolter, Boston Symphony, master class October 2, 1991
Embouchure
• If the student tends to drop off from one note
to a lower harmonic it may be due to not
having enough lip in the mouthpiece.
• The drop off can also be the result of the air
velocity dropping in intensity. Use the “block
of air or sound” concept
• The same can be true if there is difficulty in
starting the note or keeping on pitch.
Embouchure building
The best way to build up the
embouchure and increase
endurance is to do:
1.Lip slurs.
2.Flexibility studies.
3.Mouthpiece buzzing (in
moderation).
Tone and the Mouth Cavity
The mouth cavity should not be
closed; rather it should be in a
slightly open fashion.
Try closing your lips and let the
jaw hang; don’t close the teeth.
Tone Results from:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Proper Air.
An open mouth cavity. Remember let the jaw
hang open.
A solid tone concept.
Good equipment. (There are some slides at the
end of the presentation that deal with this
topic.)
“The horn is a megaphone for us.”
.
Eric Cress, Co-principle Trombone with the London Symphony Orchestra
Articulations
“Attacks are the first
thing people hear of
your sound.”
Jay Friedman, Chicago Symphony
Articulations
TONGUE CHART
= a defined start
to the note
Do= a soft attack
This creates a space between
notes.
Thu
Almost a legato articulation
with virtually no space
between notes.
Tu
Lu
= a softer attack
= an unaccented
articulation. The notes butt
up against each other for a
very smooth legato sound
This allows for long notes
and less space.
The true legato tongue.
Articulations
Stop tongue
This is where the player
ends the note with the
tongue. Brass players do not
do this as it usually causes a
disruption of the tone. It
most often produces a
‘toowhat’ sound.
To fix the problem liken it
to blowing out a match or
candle. You just stop
blowing and use a burst of
air timed the proper length
to get the job done.
Articulations
The square root sign and/or ballooning the note.
a.
Do not allow the air to drop after the
articulation like a square root sign.
This will result in a ‘doowa’ type of
sound.
b. The balloon is similar in that. The
player pushes off the end of the note
with a crescendo.
Articulations
No tongue
This is where the student has learned to play the note
without starting with an articulation. Somewhere
along the line they didn’t hear and retain the concept
of articulations.
To fix this you will need them to do what I call “beat the
head against the wall practice.” This is where the
student must practice with a ‘tu’ or ‘du’ articulation
on various notes and ranges over and over and over
and over ... again. DO NOT HOLD THE AIR IN
BEFORE STARTING THE NOTE. Remember it is
one process of in and out.
It is great TV commercial practice time.
Articulations
Legato tongue
This is by far the hardest aspect of trombone articulation.
The slide must be very fast. Tell them 100 MPH.
1. The slide must work correctly.
2. Practice by glissing between the notes.
Make
it so fast that you can barely hear the
slide.
3. Use a ‘thu’ tongue to begin with. This is close
to a true legato and works well in
ensembles.
4. Once the ‘thu’ works then deal with the ‘lu’
tongue.
Make it happen on the note ‘F’ then add chromatic
Add motion.
Articulations
Multiple tongue
An alternation between:
tu’ & ‘ku’ or ‘du’ & ‘gu.’
Practice saying it, but use the air too.
Tone
“In my opinion, the trombone is the true head of the family
of wind instruments, which I have named the ‘epic’ one. It
possesses nobility and grandeur to the highest degree; it
has all the serious and powerful tones of sublime musical
poetry, from religious, calm and imposing accents to
savage, orgiastic outbursts. Directed by the will of the
master, the trombones can chant like a choir of priests,
threaten, utter gloomy sighs, a mournful lament, or a
bright hymn of glory; they can break forth into awe
inspiring cries and awaken the dead or doom the living
with their fearful voices.”
Hector Berlioz, 19th Century composer
Range
- The primary key to range is AIR.
- The air must be faster and more compact as
you go higher.
- One way to speed up the air is by changing
the mouth cavity by using the syllable ‘dee’ as
opposed to ‘doo.’
- The air column must change like a camera
lens reducing in size due to increased lighting.
- Lip slurs are a must in order to improve range.
Intonation
• There is no substitute for tuner practice.
• Train the student to listen for the ‘beats.’
Problem with being flat?
• If the tuning slide is way out it is usually
a symptom of someone trying to play
with his or her lips apart. Make sure the
air separates the lips.
Intonation
• Use easy, but fun music that includes a
CD play along to assist in early
intonation building.
• Here are a couple of examples I like.
• Tons of Tunes published by Curnow
Music
• Double Dip duets published by Club
Hip-Bone
Warm-up
A warm-up to a brass
player is like a warm
up is to a runner. You
do not run flat out
without stretching and
getting the muscles
functioning. The
same is true for the
trombone.
Warm-up
1. Get the air moving! Use breathing
exercises.
2. Play semi-long tones. 4 beats at q =
60
3. Use scales and arpeggios for
articulation work.
4. Play lip slurs.
5. Try some mouthpiece buzzing as
they mature.
Warm-up - Fun stuff
1. Use easy children’s tunes to help
warm-up and to begin to deal with
improvisation.
a.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
b.
Old MacDonald
Warm-up - Fun stuff
Have the students play children’s tunes.
Do not tell them the key. Just let them go
by giving them a starting note. They will
explore and learn new notes on their
own.
This is a beginning improvisation
technique.
Equipment
Recommendations
Most new beginning horns are at least OK.
Things to look for:
1. A slide grip that is not one piece.
2. You get what you pay for.
Used horns:
1. Does the slide work correctly.
2. Are there large dents on the horn.
Particularly check the slide and tuning slide
bows for dents.
Equipment
Recommendations.
Mouthpieces.
To start on a 12C
(Bach designation) is
fine, but switch them as
soon as possible to a
6½ AL. Middle school
or by high school is a
good time to switch.
The 6 ½ AL will take
more AIR, but it opens
up the sound.
Mouthpiece Trueing Tool
Equipment Maintenance
These are problems.
Slide width http://www.slidedr.com/
Stuck slide http://www.oberloh.com/SPL/spl1.htm
Sprung slide
http://www.slidedr.com/
Repairmen
There are lots of
fine and qualified
repairmen.
I use the Slide Doctor
John Upchurch.
http://www.slidedr.com/
They should not use
an expander to
remove slide dents.
That is model ‘T’
equipment. Ask
them about it.
Slide Lubricants
Oil
• A great way to
slick up a tile
floor.
• Your custodian
will love to have
it on the floor!
• Give it to the
trumpet players.
Slide Lubricants
3 good 1 bad
Super Slick
Slide-O-Mix
Trombontine
Thank you.
Blee a
Blee a
Blee
that’s
all
folks!