Lesson 2 - Slide Technique

Review of Posture

Before continuing with this lesson, take a moment to review the "Left Hand" and "Right Hand" sections of "Lesson 1 - Developing Tone."

 

Activity

Put the slide lock on and pick up the instrument with just the left hand. Now, play the first two bars of the quarter note exercise, taking the instrument off of the face to breathe between each quarter note. To free up the right hand, we must work on making the left hand independent and strong enough to support the instrument. Try this exercise in front of a mirror to check your posture and hand position.

The Mechanics of the Right Hand

To practice moving the slide effectively, we must understand what parts of the hand and arm are utilized. Take a look at your right hand and slowly make a fist. You should see that every joint in the fingers and thumb are moving to complete this action. Those joints also move when you play the trombone. Additionally, your wrist, elbow, and shoulder also move when playing trombone. All of the bendable parts of the arm and hand work simultaneously in trombone playing

Locking up any part of the arm or hand will force the other joints to work too hard, slowing down your slide speed. The most common problem with slide technique is locking the fingertips. Take a look at the pictures below. In each example, the fingers are unable to move, leaving too much work to the wrist and elbow.

Check out this video for a more detailed explanation.

 

Developing Slide Technique

The following exercises are effective ways to develop comfortable and relaxed slide technique.

 

One Position Shifts

This exercise is taken from the Remington Warm-up Studies for Trombone. Focus on using the thumb to propel the slide out and the fingers to draw the slide in. You may even want to isolate the slide technique by playing all notes under one phrase marking as a glissando.

 

Chromatic Scale Practice

If you are really adventurous, try starting this exercise on a different pitch. It may be played in any register, starting on any note.

 

Exercises

The second page of the first lesson exercises contains exercises that are good for developing slide technique. If you need another copy of the exercise, you may download it here. (file/download).