Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Teaching Stratigies That Work Trombone
Teaching Stratigies That Work Trombone
Strategies
THAT WORK
Sound is Number One of themselves when practicing; in fact I tell them to say it out
I often tell students, "It doesn't matter how high you can play, or loud. It is much easier to ignore a voice in your head than a voice
how fast you can longue. If you do it wilh a bad sound, no one in the room. Students get used to assessing their playing by how
will want to hear it". I'm nor sure who was the lirsi lo say it, buy it feels or note accuracy only. The more we accurately perceive the
1 say it 50 often my students know it by heart. Everything we product, the better we play.
do with students should be based on sound. Students should tie If it sounds good, you are probably doing ii right. Sometimes
reminded that tlie audience can't see ihe music, but they know teachers give too much information to young players. It is
It il sounds good. Sound is more importani ihan ihe dynamic or imporlanl to simplify the process of playing wilh a good sound.
ihe articulation, but students often sacrifice sound for both. In The best exercise for improving sound is simply blowing.
general, longer note values sound better, and students need to start Without the horn, we blow ihrough the phrase, trying to get
with a comfortable dynamic and work up or down from there. the best sound possible with the air alone. When the air sounds
good, the student should then go back to the horn, and the tone is
always better.
What Do You Hear?
There are some common sense techniques one can use to develop
a student's sound. The most important of these is pushing the Technique Comes From Slow Practice
students to hear themselves more accurately. In lessons, have This concept is easy to believe, but diffieuh lo get students to put
them play a phrase or two then ask 'what did you hear?" Often into practice. Get them playing with better technique and sound
the hrst answer will be something they think you want to hear, by assigning slower rather than faster tempos. Students' tendency
but is obviously not based on their listening. Other limes the is to play the passage as fast as they can manage the notes, rather
answer is "! don't know". They play the phrase again and then than play only as fast as they can with their best sound. Using
ask the same question. I will ask ihal question 10-20 times in an Kopprasch, Bieger, or even scale patterns, the student slows the
hour lesson, and encourage the students to ask the same question tempo to the extent of even playing one note at a titne, until the