This video and tip is intended for any of you trombonists out there who learned how to play without ever learning to tonguing properly. This is also for any teachers working with students who have learned to play without the of use of the tongue for articulation.
In my many years of teaching private lessons, I have encountered a handful of students who somehow slipped through the cracks of their beginning band programs without ever tonguing correctly. This fact amazes me to this day! I will say though that these students did an incredible job of masking their lack of tonguing and somehow found a way to get by with just air. It’s takes skill to fool great teachers!! In order to help one particular student, I created an exercise to help him transition from tonguing on the mouthpiece to the horn. My video will take you through this process and exercise.
Here is the process I took this student through:
Say “tah” or “toh” to get the tongue moving properly (striking about where the teeth and gums meet or slightly higher).
Spit air with the tongue striking the same place as for step #1.
My student was successful up to this point with a bit of practice and not many problems. To my disbelief, the moment he tried tonguing with mouthpiece on his lips, he would revert back to his old habit of not tonguing. This is when I created this particular exercise to help him transfer his tonguing to when he was buzzing.
Create an embouchure and spit air into the mouthpiece in eighth notes without creating a buzz. This requires blowing relatively slow air.
As you are spitting air, slowly speed up your air stream until your lips automatically start to buzz. Repeat until successful.
Once this is successful, transfer the tonguing to the trombone.
Excessive amounts of correct repetition will be needed for tonguing to become the new habit.
Trying to get back on the practicing regime! Here was a performance from a couple of months ago. A little rusty! Either way, hope you enjoy my performance of Bordogni #2.
Hello fellow trombonists! Lesson #4 is here and you are going to learn how to tongue (tonguing is also referred to as articulating)! Now, you are probably wondering what the heck this “tonguing” thing is. Well hopefully you’ve been experimenting with the 1st three pitches I introduced (F, Eb, and Db). When you are playing this notes, do they have a clear start? Can you play notes consecutively with speed? If you’re answer to either of these questions was no, then you probably are not tonguing. Some of you brilliant people have probably already started tonguing naturally. How else can you play the really sweet music you hear on the radio?
Tonguing is accomplished by striking the tongue onto various parts of the oral cavity to start and occasionally end pitches. Tonguing allows wind musicians to start notes cleanly, play in a variety of styles, and perform notes in rapid succession. I like to teach students to tongue very early on so that a correct habit can be established before any unwanted habit creeps in. This is especially important with trombone playing because if trombonists do not tongue we get constant glissandos (pitches smeared together). I want my trombone students playing beautiful phrases from day one. Also, tonguing is really easy!! Why not start early? Let’s get to it! Once again I recommend that you watch my video first.
First, let’s establish the movement that we want our tongue to use. Say the word “toe”. You can also use “ta”. Say it a couple times until you feel comfortable with the movement.
Watch my video and complete the “toe conversation” (call & response) with me. I will say a 4 beat pattern, and you repeat it back. You can also have a toe conversation with yourself, improvising your own rhythms.
Close your eyes and complete the toe conversation once again, this time focusing your attention on where your tongue is striking in your mouth.
Ask yourself where your tongue hit inside your mouth while saying “toe.” For most people, the tongue will hit right where the top of the teeth meet the gums. This is an effective area to aim for because if you go too high above this, your tongue will with not be heard, and if you go lower, you risk hitting under the teeth therefore disrupting your buzz. If your tongue placement is little different than this, don’t worry! You’ll find out soon enough whether your placement works for you.
Continue with my video and complete the call & response using the “spitting air” technique. This technique involves using the same tongue movement/placement as saying “toe”, but without saying the word. I also like to call it the “sprinkler.” Your air is the water, and your tongue is the little arm that hits the water. Just like the water never getting stopped, your air will not be stopped by your tongue. The tongue does a quick flicking motion. I will “spit” a 4 beat pattern, and you repeat it back. You can also have a conversation with yourself, improvising your own rhythms. Make sure your air is constant and there is no space between your tonguing.
Next, take the “spitting air” technique and move it to your mouthpiece. Continue with my video and complete the call & response while tonguing and buzzing on your mouthpiece. Once again be sure that your air is constant and your tonguing smooth.
Finally, trying tonguing on your trombone!! Once again, you can have a conversation with me on the video or just practicing tonguing on your own. I would start with only one note at first (I recommend F). You can then experiment with changing notes. Don’t forgot all that you have learned previously. Don’t play brain dead!! Keep that brain working! Continue to develop your correct posture, wonderful breathing, perfect embouchure, open oral cavity, and beautiful sound. REMEMBER to play smoothly and to connect all notes with your air. Later, we will work on playing separated. Correct repetition is the key to mastering tonguing. Good luck! Hope you had fun with this lesson!
So, you’re having trouble getting your silly lips to buzz. Don’t worry, you are not alone. Many students don’t get buzzing down during their first attempt. The reason is: We are not used to forming our lips into weird shapes, and our lips are not used to vibrating against each other. The key to success with buzzing is to NOT GIVE UP!! To help you all out I have found a fun exercise that get’s most of my students buzzing right away! Here it is:
Find an ordinary soda straw. (or a really cool one!)
Form an proper embouchure. (Review Lesson #3 if you have problems with this)
Place one end of the straw between your lips while keeping your embouchure set.
Take a deep breath through the corners of your mouth.
Blow air through the straw.
While continuously blowing air through the straw, slowly pull the straw out from between your lips. Your lips should fall together just as the straw is removed and they should begin buzzing. (Make sure your air does not stop)
You can complete this same sequence for buzzing with the mouthpiece. Only change is that you must place the straw through the inside of the mouthpiece and then between your lips.
I hope that this tip has helped those of you struggling with buzzing to become more successful. Once you’ve mastered this exercise, see if you can create the buzz without the help of the straw. Good luck!! Feel free to email me any questions you might have.
This lesson will be 4 parts in one as I promised you all that I would introduce the first pitches on the trombone. I will start with my explanation of the most important part of brass performance: BREATHING. I move from there to BUZZING, another essential of successful brass performing. Finally, I will finish with my ideas about the first notes on the trombone.
Breathing/Air: First of all, why is breathing so darn important to performing on the trombone or other brass instruments? It’s very simple actually…Air is the fuel for performing on the trombone. Without it, the trombone would produce zero sound (well I guess you could hit it and make some sounds). Just like car would not go without gasoline, air is the gasoline for trombonist. All instruments require some part of them to vibrate in order to produce pitches or sounds. A guitar for example, produces pitches when its strings are plucked or strummed causing them to vibrate. Drums produce sounds when their heads are hit, causing them to vibrate. Brass performers create vibrations by allowing their lips to buzz while blowing air through them. Without air, the lips could not vibrate. Without lip vibrations, brass instruments could not produce sound. With all of this in mind, the most successful brass musicians are extremely proficient and efficient with their use of air. They are experts at regulating their air depending on what they are performing and with reaching their maximum output of air with relative ease.
Here are some tips towards successful breathing and use of air (and a video):
Correct posture and body position are first check points for successful breathing. The upper body should be upright but relaxed with the back straight. If sitting, your feet should be flat on the ground creating a 90 degree angle at the knees. If standing, your feet should be about shoulder width apart with one foot slight in front of the other to provide balance and support. I start my beginner students standing because it’s very hard to slouch while doing so. After a couple weeks, I alternate between standing and sitting. The key for posture is that you should feel RELAXED and NATURAL. Tension is the wind players’ worst enemy.
Now that you are sitting or standing correctly, let’s talk about breathing for trombone or any wind instrument. After you’ve checked your body for relaxation, prepare to take your first breath by creating an “Oh” shape with your mouth.
Suck in air through the mouth so that you fill up your lungs from the bottom up. Your chest should expand in all directions and your shoulders will rise slightly as your lungs fill up. If this is your first time trying this, take your time. Make sure you breath is tension free.
Blow the air out through a smaller hole in the mouth so that it slightly imitates how you will expel your air when playing. Push the air from your belly, just like you would push toothpaste from the bottom of the tube out.
Make sure that there is no pause between your inhalation and your exhalation. Breathing is a continuous cycle. You are either sucking in or blowing out for breathing to be efficient.
Once you are successful with your first breath, experiment with sucking air and expelling it in varying speeds and lengths of time. I will post some great breathing exercises in the near future.
Buzzing: After learning how to breath properly, the next step to playing the trombone is learning how to buzz the lips. Like I mentioned previously, pitches and music are created on the trombone by blowing air through the lips which causes them to vibrate. All the trombone does is amplify the pitches that the lips’ vibrations produce. In order to buzz it is essential to create what’s called an embouchure. An embouchure is the way that you need to form your lips. I usually introduce buzzing by first having students buzz the lips without any other items involved. This is called “free buzzing.” Despite it’s relative difficulty and differences with actual trombone playing, free buzzing gives students an opportunity to see and feel what buzzing is all about before adding objects and more complexity. I move from free buzzing to mouthpiece buzzing fairly quickly as it is usually an easy transition. Once mastered, free and mouthpiece buzzing are a solid foundation for great trombone playing and also a fundamental skill to return to when having trouble performing on the trombone. Before you get to antsy here the step-by-step instructions for successful buzzing and an accompanying video. I would watch the video first, and then read the instructions.
Free Buzzing:
Find a mirror in your house and stand or sit in front of it. I find it very effective to place a small mirror on your music stand.
Lick your lips. Moist lips will vibrate better than dry ones.
Say the letter “M” in order to place the lips naturally on top of one another. You may also say “mmmmmmm,” as if you just ate something very yummy! The red fleshy parts of your lips should be visible. The lips should not be rolled inward over the teeth nor puckered outward (we are not pretending to be toothless grandpas nor are we preparing to kiss someone).
Firm the corners of the mouth so that they curve slightly downwards. Keep the center parts of your lips relaxed and natural as this will be where the lips will vibrate.
Be sure that the insides of your cheeks are touching your gums.
Flatten your chin so that it points towards the floor.
Open up your teeth behind your lips so that there is the space the size of your pinky between them. Keep the teeth open while still having the lips closed together. (This helps create a more beautiful buzzing sound and therefore better sound on the trombone.)
Create an open oral cavity and throat by imagining that there is a golf ball in your mouth. At this point you have created a proper embouchure.
Relax your body and take a deep breath through your mouth.
Blow air through your properly formed embouchure to create your first buzz!! Don’t be discouraged if you first attempt either makes no sound, feels funny, or sounds funny. Do your best to match the sounds that I create buzzing on the video. Practice this sequence until you are consistently successful in creating a BUZZY buzz. Luckily you can practice buzzing while doing almost anything…such as during boring commercials while watching TV or while walking down the hallways of your schools. (WARNING: Teachers and friends might think you are weird or crazy. It’s all in good fun though!! Haha!)
Buzzing w/ a Mouthpiece:
Repeat steps 1 – 8 from above.
Grab the mouthpiece directly below the cup with the right hand using your thumb, index, and middle fingers.
Place the mouthpiece cup centered on your correctly formed embouchure. Most trombonists will place the mouthpiece with 60% on the top lip and 40% on the bottom lip. Since all faces and mouths are different, your mouthpiece might feel comfortable in a slightly different location. It’s important that the placement feels natural and comfortable for YOU and that is allows you to create a successful buzz.
Relax your body and take a deep breath through the corners of your mouth so that the center portion of your embouchure only separates slightly.
Blow air through your properly formed embouchure to create your first buzz on a mouthpiece!! Once again, your goal should be to execute numerous correct repetitions of this sequence in order to master mouthpiece buzzing. Soon, I will introduce you all to some advanced buzzing exercises!
Holding the Trombone: There’s no need for me to give an introduction to this…let’s just dive right in! Be sure you open your case and assemble your instrument correctly before learning how to hold it. Watch the video first people!
Left Hand Position:
The job of the left hand is to support the weight of the trombone and allow the right hand to move tension free.
Hold your left hand out in front of you as if you are waving to a good friend. Your pinky, ring finger, middle finger, and index finger should all be touching. Your thumb should be sticking out creating an “L” shape with the rest of your fingers.
Take your “L” shaped left hand and place your thumb on top of the bell section bracing (or think of shaking hands with the bracing) directly across from your mouthpiece. The rest of your fingers should be under the bracing and directed towards the upper slide bracing.
Place your index finger of your left hand on top of the lead pipe/mouthpiece shank.
Wrap the rest of your fingers just under the 1st slide bracing.
Right Hand Position:
The job of the right hand is to manipulate and move the slide effortlessly and efficiently.
Find the 2nd brace on the slide section of the trombone.
Grab the bottom of the 2nd slide brace with the thumb, index, and middle fingers.
Practice moving the slide in and out smoothly.
1st Notes on the Trombone: The time has finally come!! You will now play your first notes on the trombone!! I’m sure some of your could not wait long enough and played the moment you got your trombone. I can’t say I blame you as it is so exciting to play an instrument. Let’s get to some playing. First make sure that your trombone is properly assembled and make sure you have developed successful embouchure, buzzing, and breathing. I like to start students on the pitch F (4th line of the bass clef staff). I follow this with Eb, and Db. Most beginning method books start students on the notes D, C and Bb. In my opinion, these notes are too low for beginner trombonists, as many beginners puff their cheeks to get these notes to speak. This encourages the development of bad habits. By starting on F, students are required to have a more solid embouchure without puffing, but can still remain relaxed and play without tension. Another important pedagogical piece that I stress is learning new pitches on the trombone aurally by first listening to the pitch (try this website for a pitch generator), then singing and buzzing it, and finally performing it on the instrument. Well, I’ve written enough; let’s get to the playing!! Here is the video and step-by-step instructions:
Watch the accompanying video to hear the pitches that you will be trying to match.
Listen to the pitch (Use me or a pitch generator): F Concert
Sing the pitch.
Buzz the pitch.
Before attempting to play the pitch, pull out the tuning slide of the trombone about 3/4 – 1 inch (Watch my video for a demonstration). This will improve the tuning of the trombone.
Bring the trombone to the face so that the mouthpiece lays comfortably on the lips. The bell section should be to the left side of your face and the slide to your right.
Place the slide in 1st position. (All the way in towards your face)
Form a correct embouchure.
Take a deep breath and blow consistent air through your formed embouchure. You will play one of probably three pitches: low Bb, middle F (the one you are shooting for), or high Bb (NOTE: The b symbol is called a FLAT: Bb = B flat). Use your ear to adjust the slide/pitch until it exactly matches the one you heard. Moving the slide towards you makes the pitch higher and moving it away from you makes the pitch lower. Producing any of these pitches is an automatic success but see if you can figure out which one came out. Use your problem solving skills. If you were unable to play the F and instead consistently produce the Bb, work on trying to create a smaller aperture (hole between your lips) and blowing faster air. If, after multiple attempts, you are still too low skip to step #16 and learn three lower pitches.
Move the slide to 3rd position. (Place the slide brace directly before the bell flare, but be sure to use your ear to match my pitch by adjusting the slide.)
Listen to the pitch: Eb Concert
Repeat steps 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8: This time you might produce low Ab, middle Eb (your goal), or high Ab.
Move the slide to 5th position. (Place the slide about 2 inches past the bell flare but be sure to use your ear to match my pitch by adjusting the slide.)
Listen to the pitch: Db Concert
Repeat steps 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8: This time you might produce low Gb, middle Db (your goal), or high Gb.
Move the slide to 4th position. (Place the slide directly after the bell flare, but be sure to use your ear to match my pitch by adjusting the slide.)
Listen to the pitch: D Concert
Repeat steps 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8: This time you might produce low G, middle D (your goal), or high G.
Move the slide 6th position. (The arm should be almost completely extended depending on the length of your arm. Be sure to use your ear to match the pitch)
Listen to the pitch: C Concert
Repeat steps 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8: This time you might produce low F, middle C (your goal), or high F.
Congratulations!! Those were your first 3 notes on the trombone. You either learned F, Eb, and Db, or D, C, and Bb. Whichever notes you learned, you will be able to progress and be successful. Work on getting a beautiful tone on each pitch before moving on to an new material. Also, be sure that you are continuing to develop excellent posture, breathing, embouchure, and buzzing! Remember that all of this takes time, and tons of correct repetition. Once you have mastered each pitch, try creating some songs that you know with those 3 pitches. Or, make up your own tune! Have fun!
Lesson #2 is here and I know you trombone lovers out there are PUMPED!! After this lesson you (or your student) are one step away from playing your first notes on the trombone. Once again, this lesson is SUPER easy and should be mastered relatively quickly. Once you have completed this sequence once correctly, I recommend doing it several times in order to establish proper habits. Here are the steps involved and accompanying video:
Step #1: Gently remove the slide section of the trombone from the case using the right hand, being careful to grab at the slide braces. Before pulling it out of the case make sure the slide lock is LOCKED! If not, the outer slide could go flying off!
Step #2: While holding the slide upright, place it on the ground with the slide bumper resting on the ground so it is secure.
Step #3: While continuing to hold the slide with the right hand, gently remove the bell section of the trombone by grabbing it on an area of the bell flare across from the bracing farthest away from the tuning slide.
Step #4: Find the bell lock on the bell section of the trombone (left hand). Find the screw receiver on the slide section of the trombone (right hand).
Step #5: While holding the slide section upright on the ground, gently lower the bell lock of the bell section onto the screw receiver of the slide section. Screw on the bell lock lightly so that it can still move.
Step #6: Before tightening the bell lock, manipulate the bell section and slide section so that when held up they create a “V” shape with the bell on your left and the slide on the your right. There should be about a 1 inch space between the bell and slide. Tighten the bell lock.
Step #7: Place your mouthpiece into the mouthpiece receiver. You are now ready to play!!
Congratulations! In lesson #3 you will produce your first sounds on the mouthpiece and trombone. Happy practicing!
Before I had started my new website/blog, I had already started my trombone lessons series. Here it is once again…but this time it WON’T STOP!
Lesson #1 involves learning how to open the trombone case properly so that you (or your student) do not 1. Damage your instrument, 2. Damage yourself, or 3. Damage anything around you. This should be super easy, but believe me when I say that I’ve seen some very creative ways to open a trombone case. It was never a happy ending. Here are the hopefully full proof step-by-step instructions with accompanying video:
Step #1: Place the case on the ground (not on a chair, table, or anything else!). This will prevent anything from falling very far or at all.
Step #2: Manipulate the case so that the latches are facing you and the brand name of the trombone is facing the ceiling. (watch the video so you can SEE what this looks like)
Step #3: Unlatch the case in whatever manner is necessary. There are different types of latches.
Step #4: Pull open the top half of the case so that you can see the trombone lying in the bottom half. (Isn’t it pretty!)
THAT’S IT!!! You are now 1 lesson closer to playing your first notes on the trombone. Congratulations! Be sure you practice opening your case several times so that you can establish proper habits. Lesson #2 will involve assembling your trombone.
Hello everyone in computer land! So, I have decided to change my website completely since you last saw it. Well since barely nobody sees it, I’m not sure who I am speaking to. But either way, I have decided to go ALL wordpress. In other words, this site is run 100% using free wordpress blogging software! I love it as it makes creating a website effortless without taking away the fun and creativity. All of the page I have posted are pasted directly from my old website minus a couple of pages. I hope you all enjoy the new site! Comments and suggestions are encouraged! In order to get this blog started right, I will be posting my first performance of many. Don’t expect these performance to be perfect but do expect them to be 100% Petit-Bone (me). This first performance is one of Marco Bordogni’s gorgeous vocalises from the method book “Melodious Etudes for Trombone.” This is a standard method book that all trombonists play out of. One day, I hope to have a performance of every Bordogni vocalise on this website. We will see…
