Solo Repertoire for Students of All Levels

[Bananicorn]

Hello, fellow TromboneChatters!

I was wondering if y'all could help me out.

I'm interested in what solo pieces would be good for students. What are some of the best/your favorite pieces in order of difficulty from elementary school through college? A progressive list of solos for students to learn as they advance would be great.

Thank you for any replies!

[BGuttman]

Both Reginald Fink and Denis Wick put repertoire lists in their respective books (Trombonist's Handbook and Trombone Technique). Both books are somewhat old and there may be newer pieces that they didn't know of.

[Mamaposaune]

"Trombone Gems" a collection of solos by Vandercook, published by Rubank, is a great book of solos for elementary-middle school aged players. Tuneful and fun, includes a piano accompanient.

[harrisonreed]

It's all relative. You can take any two pieces. Playing a passable version of the David Trombone Concerto is in many ways much easier than playing a beautiful version of Mary Had a Little Lamb. Pieces are as difficult as you want them to be. You can rank pieces by level, but they lose something when you do that. Not many trombonists touch the Andante and Allegro by Barat after middle school, even though it is a beautiful piece. They don't know that because they've never heard it played well and nobody who can play it well programs it very often, maybe because they think it's a bad piece for middle schoolers too.

I think students should choose and work on music that interests them and they want to work on. Even if it's the "Little Mermaid Book of Trombone Songs"

[norbie2018]

Many states have organizations that put together solo and ensemble lists for their state's solo and ensemble festivals/ competitions. I would recommend checking these lists as the solos are graded.

[tmccarle]

Aside from what has been listed above I had to compile a listing for this type of subject for a course I took in college. I can send it to you if you'd like. I will second that depending on the level anything can be used.

[CalgaryTbone]

If you go to the Trombone Studio sites of some University music departments (or perhaps the Instructor's site) you will find some good repertoire lists. Some of them are a PDF that can be downloaded. There may be some similar lists on personal sites of some trombonists who teach a studio of jr. high and high school players, but I'm less familiar with any of those. A good starting place might be the site for Last Row Music. He has a lot of brass links for websites, etc. (sorry, don't have the link in front of me). It's a good site, with lots of audition information and good links to websites, etc.

Jim Scott

[Bananicorn]

Aside from what has been listed above I had to compile a listing for this type of subject for a course I took in college. I can send it to you if you'd like. I will second that depending on the level anything can be used.

Sure! I would love to see your list. That would be very helpful. Thanks!

[Bananicorn]

Also, thank you to everyone for your answers! I appreciate your help. I'll take a look at all the books, sites, etc. that you guys mentioned.

[tmccarle]

Aside from what has been listed above I had to compile a listing for this type of subject for a course I took in college. I can send it to you if you'd like. I will second that depending on the level anything can be used.

Sure! I would love to see your list. That would be very helpful. Thanks!

Sorry for the late response. I'll dig it up and have it to you soon. Thanks!

[Neo Bri]

It would be great to see some good lists for beginner bass trombonists. I've always felt there's a problem with bass trombone literature since developmentally the bass trombone is usually viewed as an advanced extension of the tenor trombone. But young and inexperienced bass trombonists do exist. Ideas?

[Ozzlefinch]

I have a few ideas, some of which may get me drawn and quartered, but nonetheless…

The trombone is not a very good “solo” instrument. I know, it’s probably a heresy to say that, but it’s true. The sooner we come to terms with this, the better. The reasons why have been discussed on this forum many times so I won’t go into them here. With that in mind, perhaps it’s better to think of trombone in terms of duets or trios. I think there is much more to be done in this area than pure solo work- at least as far as being able to convince a trombonists to perform in a way they normally never do in a full orchestra setting.

First of all, what are the learning objectives for the students? What exactly do you expect them to know or do after studying a certain piece of music? What is the purpose of having them solo in the first place? Is it an exercise in theory? Time? Confidence building? What? It will be much easier to choose a piece of music if we know what we are expecting from it.

As for me, I have found that students, no matter the subject, learn better when they are having fun. With that in mind, I use a trombone trio for the theme from the James Bond movie “Dr. No”. It’s a classic that is instantly recognizable anywhere in the world and is very fun to play. There are dozens of lessons that can be learned from this simple piece of music for all skill levels. The same can be done with any popular music: theme from Star Wars, Jaws, or really anything at all.

New learners? Then it’s an exercise in learning to play with others and keeping time.

Mid-tier students? Teach intonation, expression, and tonality. Have them memorize the parts and perform without sheet music. Have the players switch parts. Let them "dress the part" with tuxedos and martinis- perhaps a bit of stage play wouldn't hurt - there's no law (yet) that prohibits music from being fun.

Advanced students? Music theory. Have them transcribe the work to trumpet, or other instruments. Improve: have them modify the work and jazz it up or change the theme themselves in a creative way (metal version, hip-hop, or whatever interests them). Have the student rewrite the piece as an actual solo from the existing 3 parts.

How will the solo/duet/trio be performed? Is it a stand-alone, part of a longer concert, or used for a warmup exercise? The Dr. No theme can do all that. Imagine during a high school concert when the band just performed two stuffy works by Bach and Schumann, then three trombonists stand up and walk to the front of the stage and whip out the James Bond theme. The audience will love it! And yes, music in a performance setting is entertainment as much as it is technical proficiency.

A solo/duet does not have to be complicated for it to be able to teach valuable lessons. Perhaps after working with a trio, a student will be inspired to branch out on their own and perform actual solos in front of an audience.

Anyway, that is my 2 cents worth.