TromboneChat

Yesterday, we had a rehearsal. I played the solo. I cracked the initial articulation. It is a 50-50 chance that i will get it correctly. Some days I do some days I don't. Any suggestions on getting my percentage to go higher.


All help is appreciated!

I assume you mean the 2nd trombone solo call. Great moment in the literature. Rimsky must have loved his 2nd trombone player. He got all the good licks (see Russian Easter Overture).

It's not high. Not too much of a challenge from the technical standpoint.

Sometimes it is a nerves thing.

I would recommend practicing articulations. Clean hits of notes from Bb (top of the bass staff) to F (2 lines above the bass staff). Strings of simple attacks. Maybe the nerves won't strike so bad if you are comfortable in the articulations.

Also look at the timing of the entrance. Everything comes to a halt waiting for you. Make sure the conductor gives a clean signal when it's time to come in. Hopefully it's a consistent wait time (a second or two after the last string tremolo).

The part should have a bravura quality. You are calling the forces to battle (and are answered by the muted trumpet, signaling a distant enemy). You have a moment in the sun. Enjoy it.

Thanks for your help!

Set, breathe, play. Always in that order.

This is the one that starts on Db in the alto clef staff? That partial is quite flat on most trombones, but many players make too small an adjustment on the slide positions, instead just getting accustomed to lipping it (or ignoring the intonation problem). Make sure you check the exact correct slide position at which the Db responds best and in tune. If you're blowing through the proper length of pipe instead of trying to compensate for intonation with your chops, the instrument will speak more reliably.

Sometimes the problem with entrances like this are related to articulation issues. Try practicing some Arbans (early part of the book) and use a variety of articulations from legato to marcato. Try to keep a good sound through all of it, and a relaxed air (like the legato) in even the most heavily articulated. Be picky about any notes that split, or have a burr on the attack - repeat until they "settle in".

When you play this solo, avoid playing too marcato or too legato (play somewhere in the middle of what you practiced). A good sound with a solid "T" consonant on the beginning, as if you're pronouncing a word carefully so listeners will understand you, should be enough. It is good to practice, at least a bit, with more intensity, but leave the most explosive attacks for special effects, like sforzandos(sp?).

Jim Scott

I remember the first time I played it and I felt very insecure about the entrance pitch. It took a little investigating to figure out why the entrance felt strange. In the preceding measures, the bass instruments play the same pitches that the trombone soloist plays (I think they have it in enharmonics…..C#, E, D#, D natural, C#). However, the drone pitches held during the solo (F natural and B natural) can make you lose your bearings very quickly.

The secret is to block out the new drone pitches (oboe and stopped horn) that begin just before the solo and lock into the bass line that ends a few seconds before that. In order to prepare it, I remember that I would play the bass line on the piano, play the F and B natural drone pitches and then sing the solo in order to make sure I had the pitches locked in my head.

Other than that, the most important thing to remember is to relax. As stated before…..set your mouthpiece, take a full breath and make sure that your air and tongue produce the D-flat at exactly the same time. Best of luck. What a wonderful piece of music!

Thanks all for your help! I think I am not setting. Just going for it. Does that mean to put the mouthpiece on your face and then articulate or is it all in one swoop.

Set the mouthpiece on your face exactly the way you position it for playing. THEN breathe and play. It is a relatively simple concept. However, I see many players in my daily teaching that breathe before actually placing the mouthpiece on the lips. Yikes!

bubba7753 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 12:46 pm Thanks all for your help! I think I am not setting. Just going for it. Does that mean to put the mouthpiece on your face and then articulate or is it all in one swoop.

Yes, the mouthpiece should be set on the face just like you're playing, then breathe through the corners, then play. This doesn't necessarily take a lot of time, but it needs to happen in that order or consistency will be very low.

I think that is the issue . Thanks again.

bubba7753 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:08 pm I think that is the issue . Thanks again.

No problem, it's something many people struggle with at some point! Pretty recently for myself, too.