Lesson 1 - Developing Tone

Goals

Following the completion of this lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Describe how the torso, the right hand, the left hand, and the shoulders are positioned while playing the trombone.
2. Identify possible areas of tension by examining themselves in the mirror while holding the trombone.
3. Perform "off the trombone" breathing exercises.

The greatest contributor to the development of good tone is the air. Unneeded tension in the breathing process leads to a strained and unresponsive tone. To develop a breath that is free of tension, we must focus on how the body works during the inhalation and exhalation.

Posture

Good posture is necessary for the breathing process to work at its highest efficiency. The following sets of pictures will demonstrate examples of good posture and hand position as well as common problems to be avoided.

Standing Body Position

Good: The top of the head, shoulders, and hips are in a straight line











Bad: The body is slumped down causing the neck to crane forward, the shoulders to slump forward, and the sternum (the bone that is in the middle part of the ribcage) to sag inward.

 

 

Seated Body Position

When seated, the top of the head, shoulders, and hips must still line up. 

 Good: The back is off of the back of the chair. The feet are flat on the ground. The trombone is aimed slightly down.

 Bad: The body is slumped backward in the chair causing the shoulders to become more rounded and the neck to crane forward.

Bad: The trombone slide is being aimed at the ground causing the whole torso to slump forward.

 Bad: Although the head, shoulders, and hips are lined up, the angle of the trombone will cause unneeded pressure on the top lip.

 

 

Shoulders

 Good: The shoulders must be relaxed and back, allowing the sternum to raise.

 Good: Holding the trombone must not affect the shoulders.

Bad: Holding the shoulders up will cause tension to build up in the body. The slide movement will be greatly affected by tight shoulders.

 Good: The instrument is held off of the shoulder, allowing the left hand to carry the weight of the instrument while the right hand can move the slide.

 Bad: The instrument is being rested on the shoulder. This put a lot of pressure on the top lip and cause the right hand to support the instrument in 5th, 6th, and 7th positions.

 

 

Left Hand

Original photo courtesy of Edwards Trombones http://www.edwards-instruments.nl/images/trombones/slide327.jpg. Additions done by Aaron Wilson.

Good: The left hand supports the entire weight of the instrument. The middle, ring, and pinky fingers suspend the instrument from the stationary brace on the slide while the pointer finger balances the instrument. There is no gripping involved. The image below indicates where the fingers should be placed when holding the slide.

 

Bad: The left hand is gripping the instrument instead of suspending it from the middle, ring, and pinky fingers. Doing so will not allow the player to remove the mouthpiece from the face when breathing. The pointer finger is also not placed by the mouthpiece to balance the instrument.

Right Hand

Good: The right hand does not support any of the weight of the instrument. The slide that is farthest away from the mouthpiece is straddled between the middle and ring finger of the right hand with the thumb gently placed on the brace. When moving the slide, all parts of the arm (the knuckles, wrist, elbow, and shoulder) must work together to move the slide. The thumb pushes the slide out and the fingers draw the slide in.

Bad: If any part of the arm is tense, the player will not be able to move the slide rapidly or make fine adjustments for intonation. All three of the following examples will cause the elbow to control all of the slide's motion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activity

Stand in front of a full length mirror and examine your posture first without and then with the trombone. Look at how you hold your torso, your shoulders, and your head. With the trombone, examine your left and right hand. Is all the weight being supported by the left hand? Can you move the slide out with the thumb and back in with the fingers? 

Breathing

The following video will discuss what muscles are used in the breathing process and how posture affects breathing.

 

This next video will give some examples of "off the trombone" breathing exercises that you can do in your own time.

 Exercises

 Quarter Notes

With the quarter note exercise, our goal is to work on taking a consistent relaxed breath. Think about interrupting each inhalation with the exhalation, and visa versa, eliminating any gap in the breathing process. You should breathe after every note.

Download Quarter Notes Exercise (click File/Download)

 

Long Tones

Much like the quarter note exercise, you should breath after every note in the long tones exercise. Your breath will be very similar to the "off the trombone" breathing exercises discussed in the video.

Download Long Tones  Exercise (Click File/Download)

Courtesy of the Remington Warm-up Studies for Trombone

 

Lip Slurs

The purpose of lip slurs is to develop flexibility throughout the entire range of the instrument. When performing these exercises, only the first note of each slurred group should be tongued. The numbers above indicate the slide position. Try to hold out each note for its full duration before shifting to the next note. The shift must be instantaneous and relaxed. Try whistling each of these exercises before each attempt. The way that the air moves when whistling is exactly how it moves when playing the trombone. Try out the Half Note Lip Slurs and the Three Note Lip Slurs. If those exercises feel comfortable, try moving on to the Five Note Lip Slurs.

Download Lip Slurs Exercise (Click File/Download)

Courtesy of the Remington Warm-up Studies for Trombone