TromboneChat

I'm sure that this has been asked a billion tines before but the doubling thing just isn't working for me. I sound iffy on both tenor and bass and I find that when I play just one horn for a week or so I start sounding much better. I just don't have enough hours to practice both horns as much as I should and I don't think I will be able to reach my goals at this rate. On the other hand. It really is important for me play both tenor and bass.
Any advice?

You answered your own question, you need to practice both equally there are no short cuts

Play them both a bunch, have equipment that works for you on both.

On days where you can, alternate literally every exercise or etude.

The better you play in general, the better you are able to double. Don't rely on a specific horn to play well.

It took time for me to find equipment that really worked for me. Then I had to stick with that equipment. Progress was not always equally distributed. There were also times due to life that one or the other were neglected. Life happens. Once I was getting satisfactory results on each, it took daily practice, switching back and forth or from one to the other. There is no substitute for time in the saddle.

One irony was that once I landed on a mouthpiece for the (doubled) bass, I was able to get to something that worked even better than previously for lead and large bore tenor. Good luck.

It took (ok, IS TAKING is probably more accurate here) me a long time to develop bass as a viable double. The answer is the same as everything else. Get lessons, practice a lot, listen to good examples, make sure your equipment is sorted out. I'm still working on this, but just making what I have work has been good discipline. Some people find that practicing in a certain order helps (tenor then bass) and definitely bringing the mouthpiece rims closer together (using a bigger tenor rim and a smaller bass rim)... For me, once I got a bigger DE tenor setup, it wasn't such a jolt picking up bass.

For me, tenor is more about the chops, and bass is more about the air. You really have to differentiate how you play the two. You can't approach bass chops first, and you can't horse tenor with a lot of air.

Plus, and I think people really hate to hear this. You have to get good on one before you can be good on both. If you haven't mastered tenor yet, adding bass isn't going to magically give you mastery over both. Take it easy, you can't do the hard stuff until you've mastered easy more controlled playing. Long tones, slurs, then articulations, and always intonation and time. Playing on your own is good, but playing with a group will help multiply your gains in the practice room.

You may also benefit from taking a couple of months off of your dominant horn, and take some time to develop the weaker one. Work on exercises, and characteristic studies, as well as melodies, or bass lines, etc. When you come back to the other horn, it will return to you more quickly.

if it's really important then you just have to find the time. if you can even do a focused 45 minutes on each horn a day, that's usually enough work to get somewhere. i agree with hyperbolica about emphasizing one more than the other if time is that much of a factor, maybe lean one way depending on the nature of your upcoming work?

also listen a ton when possible to the players you want to sound like. it might feel like basic advice, but throwing on a Markey or Pollard CD for bass, or an Alessi or van Rijen CD for tenor or whoever you like (i lean classical) can really solidfy sound concepts.

https://www.mountainpeakmusic.com/low-b ... -doubling/

Mountain Peak Music released our book on this topic several years ago. This isn't the only approach that works, but it does work. Short summary, related to a previous comment: master one "home" instrument, and treat the other as a departure from that one. Have a practice regimen on the secondary instrument that systematically focuses on the areas that are different than the primary instrument.

Apologies for the shameless plug.

Plus, and I think people really hate to hear this. You have to get good on one before you can be good on both. If you haven't mastered tenor yet, adding bass isn't going to magically give you mastery over both.

In my case, this was not true. In fact, adding bass trombone to my bag of tricks greatly improved my tenor playing.
I was struggling to correct my breathing; I was playing a 6H.
My teacher encouraged me to get larger equipment as way to push me into simply putting more air into the horn.

It worked. On both horns.

To JC I would say that while spending equal amounts of time on the two platforms every day might not be possible for you, try to get both horns on your face every day. Maybe 80% on one horn, the rest on the other, and alternate days. You can "average out" your equal time over many days. NOT playing the one of them for several days will definitely set you back.

On the bass, it's especially important to concentrate on the trigger notes. Lots long tones, etc. Do Alan Raph's simple "money notes" routine every day for a month. That alone could be your bass trombone work on a day when you concentrate on tenor. I bet that will pay off.

Another beginner bass trombone thought: If you are playing a huge mouthpiece, it can actually get in your way. Try something less demanding for a few months. I gave the same advice to a colleague who was struggling with his new horn. It helped him get started. And he was able to move to the bigger piece after a few months.

Good luck!

Finding equipment that you can immediately feel comfy on that gives you the typical sound on that horn is important. For me coming from small tenor, it meant a bass mouthpiece on the smaller side, 2g or smaller 1.5g.

Also, you must accept that once you start doubling you won’t ever be 100% on either horn, that’s one of the givens. Obviously you can work hard so your 85% on each horn is of a very high professional level, but since starting to double I’ve never really been able to maintain absolute peak form on small tenor, unless I spend a few solid weeks on just that horn.

JCBone wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 11:34 am I'm sure that this has been asked a billion tines before but the doubling thing just isn't working for me. I sound iffy on both tenor and bass and I find that when I play just one horn for a week or so I start sounding much better. I just don't have enough hours to practice both horns as much as I should and I don't think I will be able to reach my goals at this rate. On the other hand. It really is important for me play both tenor and bass.
Any advice?

No shortcuts JCBone. It's not that easy. Practice practice practice! It is hard in the begining but then you will feel how it is become easier and easier to play and improvise.