Where do I find out about auditions?

Advertisements for positions in most American orchestras are listed in the International Musician, a magazine sent monthly to members of the American Federation of Musicians (www.afm.org). You can also find out about international auditions at www.musicalchairs.info . If you are serious about getting an orchestral position, I think it is important that you join the union and check the postings for new positions on the 1st of every month.

Could you tell me what the real "support" is? One of my teachers said no matter what register you play, you must keep pushing your belly outward. The other teacher told me exactly the opposite thing: you have to keep pushing your belly inward, it is also called "wedge" breathing. There is also a teacher who told me the real support is air speed. Could you give me some advice about that?

I am having trouble with my pedal register. This has not been a real problem for me throughout my years. I've always thought my pedal register was good, until now... I consistently achieve "double-tones" when trying to play them full. I can play them "in the pocket" but really am having problems improving consistency, clarity, and expanse of range down to say F1. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Has your playing changed much since a few years ago when you joined the orchestra? Are you simply refining the skills/technique that won you the job or have you since discovered a more efficient way of making music on the horn? I'm curious to hear what you have to say about keeping in shape vs. refining technique vs. learning new or different approaches that might replace the old.

I'm curious how you deal with balancing confidence and ego. I'm still young in my studies, so I am still finding my boundaries. Recently in my efforts to not be "that guy" in a section/studio, I found my fear of letting ego get in the way effectively disabled my sense of confidence. Kind of ironic, no? Of course, I'm now starting to see the importance of balancing the two, but I'm very curious to see what you have to say about it and if you have any experience with musicians on either end of the spectrum. Thanks!

When playing in the upper register, I often remind myself to whistle out the notes. The tongue placement that we use to whistle certain pitches is somewhat similar to the tongue placement we use to play those same pitches on the trombone.

When playing in the upper register, I often remind myself to whistle out the notes. The tongue placement that we use to whistle certain pitches is somewhat similar to the tongue placement we use to play those same pitches on the trombone.

I was recently asked by someone how to play a great low C on the tenor trombone. Concern about the general trigger register from low Eb to low C is something that I hear quite often. It seems this area of concern comes up more often when a 2nd trombone audition is looming and those low excerpts from Mahler 5 are on everyone's mind.

I think of this concept in a few different ways. First, never play in a physically tentative way. Many players see a low dynamic marking on a part and let that turn them into apologetic, frightened musicians. I think it is beneficial to do the exact opposite.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just as in football a quarterback wouldn't want to stare down an intended receiver before throwing the ball, you don't want to show what slide position you are moving to until it is actually time to move there.

I've come to the realization that it just might be possible that most teachers are giving their students good information. The problem is that most students don't know to what extent they should use that information. One person tells them to use more air, another person tells them to use less. One person tells them to blow faster, another tells them to blow slower. One says move the slide faster, another says to move it slower! I think you see the pattern here.

Always make sure that repeated pitches line up with one another exactly. Sometimes, we can get away with playing a note slightly out of tune if that note doesn't come back very soon. However, oftentimes a note reoccurs in a passage with regularity. In these cases, it is even more important to have the pitch line up as closely as possible.

When working on your playing, you should always remember that you can go too far in any direction. The aperture can be TOO open. The slide can move TOO fast. Going along with that same thought, the corners can be TOO firm. For the most part, it is important to keep your corners firm and steady.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Think of your range as a pyramid of effort. The higher you play, the less effort you put forward. This is not to say that the lower register should be hard work. Quite simply, we're playing a game with our psychological tendency to stress and strain as we play in the upper register.

There is a direct relationship between sounding good and playing easy. If you feel your playing is under a significant amount of physical strain, you are most likely doing something wrong! Always strive to have an easy, comfortable feeling when you play.

One tendency of a lot of players is to equate soft playing with timid playing. P does not mean passive. I always recommend getting more confident as you get softer. One thing that happens when you start playing timidly in soft dynamics is that you forget to phrase.

When preparing for a solo performance, I always make a best effort to have all of the music prepared one month in advance. Ideally, one month before a performance, all of the notes, rhythms, breaths and basic musical decisions have been made.

"No man's land" is that area on the slide between positions. For example, if you're playing first position Bb and slurring to fourth position G, the area between those two positions would be considered "no man's land". I would advocate trying your best to not spend too much time in this area.

New concepts often seem strange. That's because they are new! I often give students an exercise or concept that is new to them, and because it is new, it feels strange. In general, the bottom line is, "If it sounds good, it IS good."

To create a proper trombone playing embouchure, say the letter "M" and then firm your corners. This should be the default setting. Try your best to maintain this feeling of your upper and lower lip being directly on top of one another throughout the entire range of the instrument. Avoid having the bottom lip roll under the top lip in the upper register.

I find that a common issue in trombone playing is short-arming slide positions. It is pretty rare that I see someone playing fourth through seventh position too low.

When playing at a louder dynamic, it is important to retain the integrity of your tone quality and pitch. Too often, we sacrifice the beauty of sound in an effort to attain volume.

I've noticed many players who have difficulty clearly articulating the first note of a piece. However, they clearly articulate the first note of later phrases. I think the reason for this is that the breath preceding these articulations originates from a different place.

A common error is to over-stress the embouchure in the upper register. From early on in our training, we are taught that in order to create higher notes, the lips must be closer together, creating a smaller aperture. While this is true, we sometimes apply this information incorrectly.

As a student, I remember playing with piano was one of my greatest fears. Sometimes the accompanist was underprepared. It seemed like it was hard to hear what was going on, and the lack of familiarity made me generally uncomfortable. I always felt like I was just trying to keep everything together as opposed to making the musical statements I had been working so hard to perfect.

Perhaps the greatest individual trombone lesson I received was from Ed Kleinhammer, former bass trombonist of the Chicago Symphony. For younger players who don't know who this is, check out some of the great recordings from the CSO/Solti era that made the CSO brass section so legendary. It is pretty awesome!

Make sure to keep a legitimate embouchure and structure in the corners when going into the low range. Many players allow their corners to completely collapse when reaching into the low trigger and pedal registers.

Make sure that you get yourself firmly into the feel of a piece of music before you start playing. I think this is especially important in the context of playing excerpts in an audition. Oftentimes in an audition, the awkward silence between excerpts leads the player to rush into the beginning of the next piece.

I often find myself talking to students about not overfilling the funnel when they exhibit an excessive amount of back-pressure while playing. Usually the reason for this back-pressure is because the air is not moving efficiently from the body into the horn. I think the analogy of a funnel helps make clear where the problem comes from.

If you watch football, you've probably often seen a receiver drop a pass because he was looking for where he was going to run down the field before he had taken care to gain full possession of the ball. I think the same thing happens to us trombone players, especially in sections of the music that begin with fast moving notes.