Thoughts on Audition Preparation

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.

Which auditions should I take?

I believe it is important to take auditions ONLY for positions that you really want to have. By choosing to take auditions that you are only extremely serious about, you improve your chances of being successful. Be realistic, yet optimistic, about which auditions you will take. If you are serious about the auditions you are taking, you are more likely to work with the level of intensity and motivation it takes to be well prepared. Determine for yourself what your goals as a musician are, and make your audition selection align with those goals.

I’ve decided to take the audition. When should I start preparing?

I usually try to make my audition preparation last 6-8 weeks. When I’m not in preparation for an audition, I try my best not to work too much on excerpts. It is important to learn all of your standard excerpts and be familiar with the notes, rhythms, style, etc. well in advance of thinking about taking auditions. However, once you have this knowledge, I don’t think it’s particularly beneficial to slave over Tuba Mirum and Bolero when you could be working on other things to improve your artistry. Having said that, by taking this approach, you give yourself the ability to work in a very focused manner on the audition list without burning out on the excerpts. While in preparation, it is important for me to attempt to work only on the audition list. The excerpts and required solo become the integral part of all practice. While you can’t eliminate all other obligations in your musical life, you should attempt to eliminate as many of them as you can so that you can put as much energy into the list as possible. This does not mean you should be negligent in your warm-ups or practice of fundamentals. It just means you should avoid scheduling recitals, playing “just for fun” concerts, and gigs that hinder your preparation.

So, I’m 6-8 weeks away from the audition. The list is very overwhelming. How do I go about putting it all together?

Often, audition lists are quite extensive and can seem overwhelming at first glance. I remember my first major audition experience was for Associate Principal Trombone in the Cincinnati Symphony. I was 20 years old and staring at a list of more than 20 excerpts, a concerto and sight reading. For me, that was asking quite a bit! Having to work on a list that long, and having since worked on other lists, some similar, some less difficult, and some more difficult, I have learned several things about successful preparation.

First of all, try your best to not be intimidated by any audition list. For many people, myself included, our first instinct upon getting the list is to play through several of the excerpts. You soon become aware of just how difficult some of these things are and how much is being asked of you. You practice many of the excerpts for a few weeks, and though you’ve made improvements, there still seems to be a lot of work left to do, and now you’re only a few weeks away! You should be pretty close to ready by now, but... you’re not, right? I think this is common, and it’s a result of putting too much pressure on yourself to always sound like you’re ready to play the audition at this very moment.

You must always remember that this is a process. Quality results rarely come quickly, and you must be patient and have faith in the time frame that you’ve set for yourself. As a teacher of mine once told me, Lance Armstrong doesn’t bike like he’s trying to win the Tour de France EVERY DAY. Rather, he has a long training regimen that lasts for months leading up to the big race so that he can be in peak form at the right time. You don’t want to peak too early and leave your most polished and inspired performances in the practice room. Don’t be concerned with instant perfection. Instead, channel your energies so that you are in the frame of mind to be constantly improving. Physically and mentally prepare yourself at a pace that will allow you to be at your best when your best is needed.

Ok, ok, ok, so what’s your routine?

Disclaimer: The following is a sample of what I do when preparing for auditions. I have had success with this, and I have known several others who have had success with it also. Everyone has something that works for them. So, take this as food for thought. Try it out, alter it to fit your needs, throw it out... whatever!

So... let’s take an example list:

North Carolina Symphony, Principal Trombone, 1994

* Solo of applicant's choice

First Round

* Berlioz, Hungarian March

* Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique (Movement 4)

* Hindemith, Symphonic Metamorphosis (Movement 2)

* Mahler, Symphony No. 3 (Movement 1, all solo passages)

* Mahler, Symphony No. 5 (Movements 1 and 3)

* Mozart, Requiem, Tuba Mirum (trombone 2 solo)

* Ravel, Bolero

* Rossini, La Gazza Ladra

* Rossini, William Tell Overture

* Saint-Saens, Symphony No. 3 (poco adagio solo)

* Schumann, Symphony No. 3 (Movement 4)

* Strauss, Ein Heldenleben (Battle Scene)

* Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel

* Wagner, Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin

* Wagner, Tannhauser

* Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries

* Sight Reading

Final Round with Brass Section

* Brahms, Symphonies No. 1, 4

* Bruckner, Symphony No. 4

* Hindemith, Symphonic Metamorphosis (Movements 2 and 4)

* Schubert, Symphony No. 9

* Tchaikovsky, Symphonies No. 4, 6

* Verdi, Nabucco Overture

Now, upon first glance... yikes! That’s a lot of music. The first thing I do when I see a list such as this, is take out a pencil and paper and divide the excerpts into different categories. Which ones are high? Which are low? Loud? Fast? Soft and high? Lyrical? Technical? Which ones are most difficult for me? Which ones have I never worked on before? Which are easy for me? Etc... Use this information as a base from which to prepare your practice regimen for the next weeks leading up to the audition. The first categories I address are the “Which are most difficult?” and “Which don’t I know?”. Hopefully, you already have recordings of all of these pieces and are familiar with them, but if you don’t, go to the store and get them RIGHT NOW!

Week 1

So, we have 8 weeks. I like to spend the first week or so just getting myself back in the mood and the feel of playing excerpts. This is also the best time to eliminate any lack of familiarity with particular pieces on your list, and a good chance to play through some of your old favorites (ie Bolero, The Ride, Hungarian March) just for fun. Let’s say for example that from this list, you’ve never heard the Overture to Nabucco, you’ve heard Mahler 5, Symphonic Metamorphoses and William Tell, but never really worked on them. The rest of the list you’ve seen at some point in lessons and you’ve practiced them, but REALLY practiced them? It’s been awhile. I would spend the majority of the first week in the practice room getting the notes and rhythms of these unfamiliar excerpts in my chops. When you’ve reached a decent level of fatigue with this on a given day of practice, give yourself a break, then come back and play some of the old favorites just to reacquaint yourself with them. When not practicing, be listening constantly (especially to the tunes you don’t know so well). When in “audition mode,” I almost always have my CD player on and I’m listening to pieces that are on the audition list.

Weeks 2-6

Now that you’re quite familiar with the entire list, it's time to get into the big part of the workload. Look again at the way you divided the list into categories, and devise a routine that will allow you to practice effectively every day. I have learned from experience that practicing five

really high and loud excerpts over and over again for an extended period of time not only leaves me in a state of fatigue that day, it completely ruins my practice goals for tomorrow. Therefore,

organize your practice in a manner that is balanced and time/energy efficient. Each day should include a combination of excerpts that works all different ends of the instrument.

I aim to approach each practice session on an excerpt with a specific goal in mind. For example: Today I’m going to work on playing Tuba Mirum perfectly in time. I give myself 15 minutes to accomplish this particular goal. (Work on inner pulse, sing it through, conduct through it, sing it with the metronome, play it with the metronome, once through playing all the subdivisions, now without the metronome hearing subdivisions in your head, etc.) I record this 15 minute practice session, and listen back when it’s over. Listen back with a pencil, and mark the places where your time slipped, all of your pitch errors, articulation inconsistencies, etc. on the music and spend some time thinking about what you can do to improve these imperfections. Now that you’ve spent a good 15 minutes playing through the excerpt, it is probably more beneficial to spend some time conceptualizing what you can improve. Taking an inventory of all the faults in the excerpts will give you a good idea as to what the focus of your next practice session on this excerpt should be. Allow your thoughts to sink in, and you can apply this knowledge later. Fight the temptation to pick up your horn and try to prove that you can do it right. Have confidence that you worked hard, you approached it intelligently, and it will be better next time you play it. It is absolutely imperative that every practice session is goal driven and specific in purpose. Unguided and unfocused practice is often the equivalent of not practicing at all. The whole process of listening and evaluating usually takes me 10 minutes or so. Then I take another five minutes off to relax my mind, and then on to the next excerpt. Time to improve slide accuracy and pitch in William Tell . . .

If I were to break down the above list for myself, it would look something like this...

Day 1

Tuba Mirum

Symph Metamorphoses

Rhenish

Till Eulenspiegel

Mahler 5 (Mvt. 1)

Brahms 1

Tannhauser

Day 2

Saint-Saens 3

Hungarian March Bolero

William Tell

Mahler 3 (solo #3)

Lohengrin

Heldenleben

Day 3

Mahler 3 (solo #2)

Gazza Ladra

Sym. Fantastique

Mahler 5 (Mvt. 3)

Mahler 3 (solo #1)

Brahms 4

Ride

Each day, I would warm up and work fundamentals for 30 minutes. Then I would take a break and dive into this routine. Day 1: Tuba Mirum for 15 minutes as detailed above, 15 minute break, Symphonic Metamorphoses for 15 minutes, 15 minute break, etc. It's not important that this is all done in one session. In fact it is probably better to split it up into 2 or 3 sessions throughout the day if your schedule will allow. After my last practice session on the excerpts, I would allow a

break of at least a few hours. I would come back that evening for one final session that may last about an hour. I spend about 30 minutes working on the prepared solo and playing through the section excerpts. Then, I pull about 5-10 excerpts out of a hat and random and play them down

audition style for the mindisc recorder. Warm down and you're done for the day. My calendar would be: Mon-Day 1, Tues- Day 2, Wed- Day 3, Thur- Day 1, Fri- Day 2, Sat- Day 3. When working this hard, it is necessary for me to have one day a week where I simply warmup for a few minutes, play 30-45 minutes of fun music (Rochut, other solos), and then allow myself to relax. Its been a long week! Spend the majority of this day relaxing, enjoying a good steak, watching football, hanging out with your friends. Sunday is the day of rest. Your mind and your chops need/deserve a break, because after all, it's back to work tomorrow!

Weeks 7-8

These last couple of weeks leading up to the audition are extremely important. Hopefully by this point, the vast majority of technical and musical imperfections have been sorted out. Continue to practice your excerpts and solo with regularity, paying extra attention to the couple of excerpts that still need a little more polish. At this point, you should be focusing mostly on your ability to play through the excerpts. You should start shutting down your “work!” mode and start dialing up your “perform” mode. You are now approaching the time where you don’t have fifteen minutes to get these excerpts right. Soon, you will be on stage and expected to perform them well the first time you play them.

Practice the art of playing something well the first time. I have noticed many players who are content to play something at a mediocre level at first, then a little better, then a little better, and 20 minutes later they have a product that’s slightly above average. What we need is something spectacular for the first time. By now, my music is overrun with notes I have made to myself (from all those listening/evaluating sessions, remember?), so what it takes for me to perform the excerpt well is laid out right in front of me. The difficult part is remembering all of those things when you play.

I will spend 90 seconds or so before each excerpt just thinking about what I need to do to make it a successful performance. For example: Before playing Tuba Mirum, I will look at my markings and remind myself of all the things I’ve worked on that are now marked in my music. In my mind I’m saying, “I want this excerpt to sound bold and confident. It’s quite possibly the first thing I’m going to play. Hear the tempo of the 8th notes in bar five to set my tempo and establish the thought of subdivision from the beginning. Embrace the high Ab in bar 5 instead of shying away from it. Make sure the Eb’s and F’s in the second half of the excerpt are low enough in pitch. Make nice hairpins in the arpeggios and keep the tempo moving forward.” My parts actually go into more detail than that sometimes, but that’s the idea.

One last note about marking notes on your music... I like to put a one word description above each excerpt that reminds me of the color/style I would like to inflect (i.e. Tuba Mirum-Bold, Bolero-Sexy, Heldenleben-Energetic, Rhenish-Calm, etc.). Your goal in an orchestral audition is not to just play everything as cleanly as possible. Rather than playing to not make mistakes, you should be actively making impressions on the listener. The goal should be to make the committee say “Wow!” after each excerpt, and for a different reason each time! Be like a painter with hundreds of brushes and a palette of hundreds of colors. Think of each excerpt as an opportunity to show something different that you have up your sleeve. Now, take a deep breath and play it through, just like you’re on stage.

Each day leading up to the audition, lessen the amount of time that you spend thinking through the excerpts. Being so familiar with your written notes, you will be able to process all the information clearly with less time each day. The goal would be that a few days before the audition, you can think over an excerpt for 10 seconds, play it, think about the next one, play it, etc.

Nitzan Haroz, Principal Trombone of the Philadelphia Orchestra, told me to think of these markings on the music as your GPS system. Have all your directions written on the page and simply read them to yourself before and while you play. This takes a lot of remembering out of the equation. There’s nothing worse than leaving the stage and thinking, “Well, I could have done it better, but I forgot to do that thing I worked on!” I’ve done it before. It's quite painful.

Make sure that you take good care of your chops during this time. It is better to be a little tight, yet fresh on the day of the audition than to be completely overworked. Plan your practicing in the last week or two so that your chops will be in the best possible condition for the 2 or 3 days that you need them to be.

I’ve got the physical part of the preparation down. What should be going through my head?

The mental aspect of audition preparation is too often overlooked. We’ve all heard “in tune, in time, with a good sound,” but it's just as important to be aware of the mental state you need to be in to actually produce these things when you’re on stage. Think ahead of time about all of the things that will happen at the audition. If you can, look online and get a picture of the concert hall where you will be playing. Imagine yourself in that place. Visualize yourself playing well. Spend time building up your confidence and belief that you can and will take on the task at hand. There’s nothing wrong with having a personal “pep rally” every once in a while. Don’t be arrogant, but DO be confident. You are preparing to put on a solo presentation, and the committee wants to hear a confident, self-assured, expressive musician. If you are steeped in self-doubt, it is impossible to achieve this. Developing a positive attitude about the audition process and about your ability to perform well is paramount. None of us are promised a winning result at an audition, but you can feel satisfaction in knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. You’ve done everything that you can do. Go out there, play to the best of your abilities, and hope for the best.

Any thoughts about audition day? 

Get a full night’s sleep the night before the audition. Have a nice healthy breakfast, and keep your head straight. I often have the urge to wake up, scarf something down, and pull out my horn really soon. Don’t be too anxious to find out how your chops feel. You don’t need to see if your high D’s are back at your apartment on the other side of the country. You’ve been taking care of your body, chops and your mental state, so everything should be there when you need it. Attempt to make your morning as easy as possible. Relax yourself. Have a nice slow warm-up that doesn’t wear you out. You just want to get everything up and running and feel flexible and awake. Resist the temptation to play through several of the excerpts. After you are warmed up, it is better to either mentally go through the excerpts or just start a few of them. You never know how much playing you will be expected to do, so you want to make sure that you have all of your energy saved up for the time when you are auditioning.

Arrive at the audition at the time you were told to come. Arriving too early just leads to anxiety issues. You see the groups that are there before you. People are talking about who advanced and who didn’t, what they had to play, what restaurant everyone’s going to after the audition, what mistakes they made, etc. None of this is beneficial to you. You need to be concerned solely with yourself and maintain a relaxed, positive state of mind. By all means, be nice to the other people that are there. Check in with the personnel office, say hello and smile when people speak to you, but distance yourself from too much extracurricular activity.

Audition days always bring about a certain amount of stress no matter what you do. Being aware of this fact will help you keep your composure. Mentally prepare yourself for the possibility that things will not go as planned. The audition is running an hour late, so now you’re hungry because you ate too early. Your chops don’t feel so great. You’re getting nervous. When these things happen, just exhale and think, “Well, it's no surprise. Just stay calm and do the best you can.” Don’t leave your best takes in the warm up room. Take advantage of the warm up time to get yourself relaxed and get your chops ready to work. Don’t think of this as your last fifteen minutes to crash practice! If you haven’t figured it out by now... well... you’re probably not going to figure it out!

What about other people at the audition?

Don’t be concerned with other people at the audition. Inevitably, at any major audition, there will be some good players there. You may have some of their CD’s, you may admire their musicianship, but you shouldn’t be intimidated by them. You can’t allow other people to affect your psyche. I remember having an experience where I was signing in for the semi-finals of an audition, and I saw the names of the other people that were there. I thought to myself, “Wow, a lot of these guys are REALLY good. I better be on my A-game or I’m not going to stand a chance!” I have learned that is the absolute wrong attitude. Sure, there are other good players at the audition, but you’re a good player too! Thinking about other people auditioning can only negatively affect your performance. Know that you have prepared well, and you have something musically unique to offer that the committee might love. Also, don’t change things at the last minute. You are likely to hear someone in the warmup room next to you playing an excerpt differently than you have prepared it, or playing some wild flexibility exercise that you didn’t even know existed. Try your best to pay this no attention. Have confidence in your preparation and your musicianship.

Any suggestions for when you’re on stage?

I can’t remember how many times I’ve been told before a recital or an audition, “It’s a beautiful hall. Have fun!” I then think, “Have fun? Are you kidding? This is the most pressure packed day of my life!” For the longest time, I never understood the notion of enjoying your performance at an audition. Now I do, and I’m glad to say that it makes a difference. Take a couple of deep breaths and play a couple of notes into the hall if this makes you feel more comfortable. (If you choose to do this, please make sure these notes sound good. It's not technically a part of the audition, but people ARE listening!)

This moment is the culmination of all of your hard work, and it's your time to shine. Just keep your mind focused on taking a good, controlled breath and playing what you have prepared. A large part of having that “enjoyable” experience is to play for yourself. Don’t play for the approval of the committee. Present the music in a manner that says, “This is how it goes.” as opposed to, “Is that ok?”. The people out in the hall are waiting, hoping that you will impress them. If you present a confident, self-assured performance, there’s a good chance they will like you.

Finally, don’t be bothered by mistakes. You shouldn’t expect to make mistakes, but you shouldn’t be thrown off by them either. A cracked note or two is not going to ruin your chances. Your overall presentation, tone, pitch, clarity and phrasing are much more important than being note-perfect. Interestingly enough, in every audition I’ve won, I’ve made mistakes (I cracked a couple REALLY bad!). The few times I played note perfect? Not as successful. The lesson? Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to play the “perfect” audition.

Is there a difference in the way you play each round?

I have talked to a lot of people who say, “In the first round, the committee is just looking for a reason to cut you. It's all about playing in tune and in time. In the later rounds, that is when you get an opportunity to open up and they are really listening to what you are doing musically.” Basically what they are saying is that you should play the first round “in the box” and as cleanly as possible, and then really go for it in the semis or finals. Personally, I don’t subscribe to this theory. I think you should give everything you have in every single round of playing. If you have prepared well, you will be able to do this while still playing “in tune, in time, with a good sound”. Eric Carlson, 2nd trombonist in the Philadelphia Orchestra, once told me that if you advance in the first round of an audition, you should do more of the same in the second round. The committee voted for you in the first round because they liked what they heard. Why would you go and change it? I think that’s quality advice.

Any thoughts about inderol or proponenol?

I don’t want to endorse or criticize the use of these drugs. My personal feeling is that performers should not be dependent on them. I have known people that use them for every important performance they have. I can’t endorse that. Other people use them on rare occasions when they really can’t afford to have their nerves shake them (a big audition, playing Mahler 3 at Carnegie, etc) and I think that’s ok. When you are doing performances for learning experiences, you should avoid using these drugs. Student recitals and concerts, mock auditions, school auditions, rehearsals, etc. are situations that are meant to give you the opportunity to see how you respond to performing in a pressure situation. There is no real reason to use inderol/proponenol in these situations. Only use inderol if you feel that you have to. Additionally, if you make the decision to use it, give it a test run before you use it in the real situation. You might be surprised to see how your body responds to the drug. Some people get dry mouth as a side effect. Others find that their playing gets dull or overblown because they are too relaxed. Set up a mock audition for yourself and see how you feel when using inderol.

Some closing thoughts...

I don’t claim to be the authority on audition taking. I have taken several auditions with varying degrees of success. To my credit, every audition I have taken has been an improvement from the last one that I played. I think that just shows that playing and auditioning well is a never-ending learning process. While the details of preparation often change, there are few things that I have found the vast majority of successful audition takers have in common.

First, and most importantly, these people are all hard workers. There is no substitute for industriousness. Quality results don’t come from shortcuts. The difference in the level of so many talented people is usually found in work ethic.

Secondly, they all have good teachers. Luckily, ALL of my teachers have been people that I admired as players, teachers, and human beings. They were all people who were doing what I wanted to do, and they were all very demanding while still managing to promote individuality in my musicianship. Furthermore, they did their best to make the challenge of playing and improving an interesting and enjoyable experience.

Lastly, successful audition takers are generally organized. Be organized about how, when and why you practice. Make photocopies of your excerpts, and have them all bound into one book. This way you can always be assured that you have all of your music with you.

What you have read is a look into the way that I prepare for auditions. Hopefully it can serve as a useful resource to others who are taking auditions. Best of luck to you!

“Real Support”

Q:

Hi Weston,

I have a question to ask. 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?

Best,

Jimmy

A:

Hey Jimmy,

Thanks for your question. It seems to me that the schools of thought on this are very different, especially from country to country. I know that you have had some very qualified teachers who are excellent players, so obviously their methods have served them well. My opinion is that the real "support" is air speed. I've never taught anyone to consistently play with your belly pushed in either direction. To me, this seems rather unnatural and would make playing significantly more stressful than necessary.

My general feeling is that all the support you need will come from taking the breath that correctly suits the phrase you need to play. The more you fill your lungs on the inhalation, the faster the air will come out on it's own. I think of the lungs as being balloons. If you fill a balloon to 95% of its capacity and release the air, the air will come racing out at a high rate of speed without any help as a result of what I call "natural compression". If you fill a balloon to 30% of its capacity and release the air, the air will come out a much lower rate. The only way to get this balloon to release the air more quickly is to squeeze the balloon, adding artificial support to the release of the air. I view my lungs the same way. I aim to fill my lungs to a point that the air comes out naturally, without artificial support (pushing your belly inward or outward), at the speed that is desirable for the phrase.

Only in the extreme upper register, and usually the extreme upper register and dynamic register, do I feel that artificial support is needed. For example, when going for the high Eb in Symphonie Fantastique or the high D in Brahms' 2nd, the natural compression of the air is not enough to get the high note and the extreme dynamic. A little support from the abdominal region can help raise the air's rate of speed. There's not much of a better way to explain how this is done except to say that the same muscles you use to go to the bathroom are basically the same muscles you will use to reach this extreme range at a high dynamic.

As for always playing with your belly outward or inward... I honestly don't understand this. First of all, your lungs are not in the same area as your stomach. Air goes in your lungs, your lunch goes in your stomach. Pushing your lunch in or out, in my opinion, isn't going to make you play better. Just leave it wherever it naturally falls. Trying to correctly control your breathing apparatus while focusing on keeping your stomach in or out seems like a lot of wasted effort that will only have negative effects on your playing.

As always, this is the way that I play and the way that I was taught. I know there are many different schools of thought on this, and there many different ways of playing well. I hope this information helps!

Weston

Pedal Register

Q:

Hello Mr. Sprott,

First of all, I've never done this sort of thing, that is contact a pro with a big issue of mine, but after reading through your site it looks like you would be a great person to come to. Your sight is proving to be a great resource for me, also.

Anyway, 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.

Sincerely,

Joe

A:

Hey Joe,

I'm glad the site has been helpful to you. As far as contacting pros with your issues, I'm glad that you were open to consulting me. I would encourage everyone to seek out the advice of professional players. I know most of the "big name" guys around, and they are almost all really great guys who are eager to help people with a desire to learn. We're all trombone geeks and constantly looking to learn and improve as well.

Sorry to hear about the pedal register issues. Reading between the lines a little bit... I find two things that you say to be pretty interesting. First, you say that this register has not been a problem for you throughout the years. This makes me wonder what has changed. Did your equipment change? Have you switched to a smaller mouthpiece? Have your chops changed significantly because of increased wear and tear? The reason why I ask these questions is simple. Often times we have a part of our playing that is just fine and then one day it starts coming apart. Being people who are trained to practice your way out of a problem, you work hard to eliminate the issue through hard work. However, this sometimes results in only making the issue worse. There are times when the issue would be resolved simply by leaving it alone for a little while and allowing your body to reset to its default setting where everything was fine! I often have to remind myself of this. I play a ton of music and find myself making silly mistakes or having issues in my playing that usually aren't there. The problem is not a lack of understanding, but rather the compounding effects of mental and physical fatigue relating to the issue.

The second thing you said that caught my attention is that the notes seem to speak fine in the middle dynamics but start coming apart in the louder dynamics. I think you may benefit from further solidifying the center of the sound in the mid range dynamic for a few more months before trying to expand the range too much. Don't go for it all at once. Also, playing this register at a ff dynamic with a standard tenor trombone mouthpiece can be a difficult thing. I you have a really fabulous high Eb and pedal F on the same mouthpiece, I'm guessing your rim is pretty big. If you're trying to accomplish this on a 5G or a 6 1/2 AL, it can be done, but I think the path is more treacherous. Regarding the idea of working to have the most beauty and center of sound in the mid dynamics first, I point you to a great quote from a Boston Globe article on Alfred Genovese, former principal oboist of the Boston Symphony who studied with Marcel Tabuteau at Curtis. Tabuteau's wind class was famous for the profound effect it had on Curtis students. Arnold Jacobs gained much inspiration from attending these classes.

Soft and sweet, expressive as a voice, the sounds that Alfred Genovese coaxed from his oboe lingered in the memories of audiences and musicians decades after the notes faded.

His approach to playing was formed in part by Marcel Tabuteau, a legendary oboist who trained generations of the world’s best players, including Mr. Genovese, his last student.

“He did not stress volume of sound, but instead quality of tone, something we are in danger of losing as orchestras get louder and louder,’’ Mr. Genovese told the Globe in 1998, just after retiring as principal oboist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. “We worked on the oboe like a singer works on the voice, beginning in the middle register; from that you could develop the top and the bottom. And everything else is produced from the basis of a dolce tone, a sweet sound.’’

I love that quote. From a more purely blue collar trombonist point of view, I would recommend that you work to maintain structure in your corners now matter how low you go. Oftentimes, low range double buzzing results from a lack of structure. Make sure that the airstream is as wide as you can make it while still keeping your corners. Tilting the mouthpiece slightly upward to allow more space for your bottom lip to vibrate can also be helpful. Lastly, take your time and make sure you don't rush your progress. After all, how often does a tenor trombone player need to play a pedal F at FFF anyway? :)

Weston

Refinement and Efficiency

Q:

Hello Weston Sprott,

First I must tell you how much I love your site. The playing tips section has some real gold nuggets, I look forward to your further comments.

My question for you: 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.

Also, just got your cd and am really digging it. The Casterede in particular I keep coming back to.

Best,

Tim

A:

Tim,

First of all thanks for the compliments and thanks for submitting your question. Hopefully, more people will feel comfortable sparking conversation as well!

To answer your question, my playing has definitely changed a lot since I joined the orchestra. Obviously, back when I won the job six years ago, I had a lot of things going well enough to find myself in the winner's circle. However, I think that just means I exhibited fewer bad habits than everyone else over that course of a few days and I had good fortune on my side as well. My playing is constantly evolving and improving. Playing in the MET Orchestra and having the opportunities afforded to someone who plays in such a great orchestra has opened my eyes to a ton of things that I can improve. The fact of the matter is there is always a lot to learn. As the old adage goes... the more you know, the less you know.

I am definitely refining the skills that won me the job in addition to learning how to play more efficiently. The basics of rhythm, pitch, tone and phrasing are things we can always work to improve. The details may get finer, but there is still work to be done. Anyone who says otherwise is either arrogant, no longer improving, or more likely, both! As for efficiency, playing at the MET has forced me to be a more efficient player. I think very few people can truly understand the amount of playing/work that is required of the musicians in the MET Orchestra. This past week for me has included two performances of Puccini's Tosca, two performances of Berg's Wozzeck, one performance of Strauss' Capriccio and a Carnegie performance of Schoenberg's Five Pieces and Brahms' Second Symphony. That doesn't include the 14 hours of rehearsal. Next week has 15 hours of Walkure rehearsal in addition to more Wozzeck, Tosca, and Capriccio performances. Throw in 8 regular weekly students and a couple of drop-ins, many of whom would like to have you demonstrate the more difficult passages they are working on, and you've got a nice 7 day work week. Did I mention we were playing Rheingold the week before?!! For those of us who like to play recitals in addition to a schedule that regularly looks like this, learning how to be efficient is paramount. During my first few years in the orchestra, I constantly found myself dead tired and playing on my teeth. As a result, I was forced to find a way to be more efficient so that I can have a long career that will hopefully be more free of injury and chronic fatigue. After a few bouts of stress, a couple of books about marathon and cycling training (to learn about people who routinely put a lot of hours on their musculature), and a handful of performances that I felt were compromised by extreme fatigue later, I have found myself with a completely different practice routine and set of equipment than I had as a student. I still haven't gotten it all figured out, but I get closer and closer every day. Most importantly, I have a far greater understanding of how to play efficiently and correctly than I ever did before, and I find that knowledge base getting larger each and every day. Having the information I possess now makes me wonder how I ever achieved the things I did when my knowledge base was so limited. I suppose ambition and a lot of hours in a practice room can make up for a lot!

As for keeping in shape vs. refining technique... This is a different battle for each and every person. It surely varies depending on your school or work schedule and on your own body's capacity for fatigue. During weeks like the one I described above, I don't need to do anything to stay in shape. The job will keep you in shape. I simply put in 45 minutes or so of long tones, lip slurs, scales and arpeggios and save my chops for work. During weeks when the schedule is more reasonable, I have time for an additional hour or two per day on top of that mandatory 45 minutes of bare bones basics. That extra time is usually focused on solos and etudes. I've also come to realize that there are different times for certain types of growth. There are points in the season when I'm in recital preparation and other weeks like the one I described above where you are simply keeping your head above water. I find the summertime, when the MET is on break, to be my best time to make major changes in my playing approach. I'm actually afforded the time and opportunity to experiment with new things without worrying about paying the price in performance if they don't work. If you're a self-motivated person, being able to practice without being concerned about what's coming up tomorrow can be a very positive and liberating thing! The summer also gives me the chance to put the horn in the closet for 10 days and hit the reset button. That's quite helpful too!

As for learning new approaches... I'm always learning new approaches. I regularly read through the traditional trombone geek sites and sift through what I think is sensible and what's not. Some of it's useful and some of it is laughable. I also look through the webpages of great players just like you do in hopes that they will give me some food for thought. I really love Ian Bousfield's new website and I think Jay Friedman's monthly articles are generally spot on. Check them out if you haven't already. I also attend a lot of performances in search of inspiration and a learning opportunity. After Wozzeck the other night, I raced to the east side of town to see John Fedchock's quartet play and it was fantastic. I regularly visit Jazz at Lincoln Center to see my heros Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon and their friends, and I'm a regular at Carnegie Hall to see the world's great orchestras on tour. Listening to all of that gives you plenty to think about when you practice!

Confidence vs. Ego

Q:

Hi Weston,

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!

A:

This is a truly excellent question. I've dealt with this issue a lot, both as a student and as a professional. I'm sure this issue could be psychologically unpacked from several varying angles because it is so complex. I'll tell you how the ego/confidence balance has affected me at different points in my musical life, and hopefully you can draw something beneficial from that.

I attended a very large public high school in Spring, TX. We had a really big, incredibly competitive band program with many high level trombone players. As a result of this, I didn't make into the top band at my own high school until my junior year of high school, and even then I wasn't first chair! It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I was even recognized as the top player at my own high school, and even that distinction was a toss up at times (Tim Higgins, Principal Trombone of SF Symphony was also in my section, as well as another student named Stefan, who may have very well been more talented than both of us put together!). Texas high school band is filled with constant competitions. We had at least 6 chair tests a year at our school, plus marching and concert band contests, region band, region orchestra, all-area, all-state, solo & ensemble contest, etc. At any rate, I recall my high school music experience being more about competition than anything else. Sure, we had fun playing the music because we had a killer trombone section and we all loved music, but I remember a lot of it being about proving who was the best.

This type of hyper-competitive environment brings out certain qualities in a person, especially amongst those who thrive in such an environment. When I got to Indiana University, I had the good fortune of winning the audition to be principal trombone in the university's top orchestra as a freshman. Accompanying the positive feelings of getting to play in the best group and gaining the sense that perhaps there was a chance for me to be successful in our incredibly competitive industry, was the dubious label of the cocky, arrogant, freshman kid. To the credit of my accusers, they were partially right! I can't give them the satisfaction of saying their labeling of me at the time was spot on accurate. :) It's easy to gain an inflated sense of self around your peers when you are young, talented, and know next to nothing.

I think the greatest downfall of arrogance/egotism is that you fail to learn from those who are less accomplished than you. The more experience I have, the more I realize that there is something to be learned from just about everyone, regardless of their level of accomplishment. I've learned some of the most useful and fascinating things from the people you would least expect to learn from. During my first years of college, I reserved my greatest humility for my teachers and others who were clearly higher up on the totem pole. I now realize that level of humility, interest, and desire to learn should be presented to everyone. This way you open your mind to learning and befriending everyone, not just the musical "upper class". Having a big ego doesn't serve the best interest of anyone. It only makes the eventual fall from your high horse longer and more painful, and it WILL happen sooner or later! We are susceptible to what my best friend likes to call "heavyweight champion syndrome". You win a big fight/audition (or play a great concert/recital) and you feel on top of the world because everyone is applauding your most recent success. While you waste time basking in your own glory and reading your own press, you forget that someone else is training hard to knock you out! As a musician, your greatest opponent is oftentimes yourself. We are all only one rehearsal or performance away from being knocked to the canvas and learning humility the hard way.

On the other side of the coin, I'm a big fan of having a lot of confidence. I think many people have difficulty distinguishing between confidence and egotism, but there is a clear difference in my opinion. Egotism lends itself to believing that you are simply better than someone else and making sure everyone else is aware of this as well. By definition, it is "an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority". Confidence, on the other hand, is defined as "full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing". There's the difference. I think it is impossible to be a consistently successful musician without confidence. Most people aren't able to maintain confidence at critical moments, and oftentimes, they regard those who can as egotistical. Confidence in your product will come from much deep thinking and consideration of your musical choices, coupled with hours of practice and repetitions of the repertoire. If you have put in this ground work, you shouldn't feel guilty about playing with confidence. Every musician is entitled to his/her interpretation, so long as it is well thought out and practiced. This is why I always tell people to not play for approval. Have enough confidence to play what you believe in!

As an auditioner, it's important to have confidence in your product. I think a turning point in my mentality towards auditions happened during an audition for the Seattle Symphony. I played well in the preliminaries and advanced to the second round. When I was signing in for the second round of the audition, I saw a pretty incredible list of names of those who had signed in before me. One of these great candidates was in the warm up room next to mine, and he sounded really fantastic. I convinced myself that I would need to play my greatest round ever and hope for some others to stumble in order for me to be successful. I lost confidence in the value of my product. Needless to say, I didn't win that audition. I called my teacher (Nitzan Haroz) to give him the news, and I explained that I could understand the decision because even though I played very well, some of these other guys were REALLY great players. I remember him saying, "Yes, Weston, those guys are great players, but YOU are a great player, and you have something special to offer too!". My issue at the audition was not a lack of ego, rather it was a lack of confidence. You need not feel superior to your competition to be successful. You only need to feel that your product has its own unique value and is worthy of consideration regardless of who else is making a presentation that day.

As a recitalist, I've had the good fortune of playing all over the world and oftentimes following the path of some of my trombone heros. I would be lying if I said I never thought about how their past performances will compare to mine. When you hear that someone you greatly respect just played a recital at the same place last month or last year, the thought does cross your mind.... I hope things go well, or else they will think I'm terrible compared to that person. I remind myself that it's all about presenting your own musicianship to the best of your abilities. In the context of a recital, who cares if I'm better or worse than somebody else? Confidently present your musical ideas, and at least in your own mind, allow them to stand on their own, independent of comparison to others.

As a colleague in an orchestra, there is no place for an inflated ego. Nobody wants to work with someone who simply thinks he's better than everybody else and doesn't respect the opinion of others. There IS a place for confidence. Nobody wants to work with someone who lacks confidence in their own musicianship and doesn't have ideas of their own. Verbally, you have to tow the fine line of making your opinion known while not stepping on the opinions of others.

Should you need an example of how to conduct yourself, look no further than my musical hero, Wynton Marsalis. Both on and off the stage, he presents him with confidence and selflessness. If you attend a performance of his, he will recognize everyone on the bandstand except himself. He won't talk about his own greatness, but he's not self-deprecating. If you listen to him play, you won't hear any question marks come out of his bell. If you talk to him, he will show you respect. Long story short.... Get rid of the ego while developing as much confidence as you can. Some people may mistake your confidence for ego, but if you continually treat people with respect and are willing to listen more than you talk, they will realize that perhaps they mislabeled you. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Whistle While You Work

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. Try whistling a two octave scale. You will notice that as you get higher and higher, the tongue arches more and the air stream begins to move down. I advocate doing something very similar as you go into the upper register of the trombone. 

Two Fingers and a Thumb

Try your best to always hold the slide with two fingers and a thumb. Your middle and pointer finger should rest on top of each other at the bottom of the brace on the slide. Your ring and pinky finger should be right under the slide with your palm facing your body. Many players who don't do this have a bad habit of constantly switching their hand position or reaching for the bell as they pass by third position. Even players who don't actually touch the bell sometimes reach slightly. Either way, you should aim for your grip to be consistent as often as possible. Obviously, depending on the length of your arm, this may change slightly when you reach sixth and seventh position. 

A good way to train yourself to hold the slide properly is to hold a coin against the slide brace with your two fingers. The moment you stop holding the slide correctly, the coin will fall. Do this for a few weeks until you feel that this new way of holding the slide is now comfortable. I think you will be happier with the consistency of motion and accuracy of your slide movements.

How to Improve Your Trigger Register

As a preface to this bit, I would like to say that the writing of this brief article was inspired by someone on the Online Trombone Forum who asked me to write about this topic. I'm truly hoping to make this website as informational and educational as possible so that people will actually be able to get something out of it and will want to visit again. Too many sites have become glorified business cards. Other trombone players already know what I do. Let's get to the business of helping people!

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. The first thing I ask someone when they complain about their low register is, "How often do you play in your low trigger register?". Inevitably, the answer is usually very little at all. I think that's the first problem. If you want to improve your low trigger register, you need to play more low trigger notes!

For a long time, I started every day with very slow descending scales that started on a middle Bb and went down to pedal Bb at a comfortable dynamic. Then I'd do the same thing on A major, Ab, G, etc. until I couldn't get my lowest notes to speak. This process accomplished a lot of things right away. I had a teacher who once told me that the purpose of a warmup is to establish the way you want to play for the remainder of the day. If you start off your day making beautiful sounds, there's a good chance that you will continue to do so as the day goes on. Since a middle Bb is a pretty easy note to sound great on, I would start there and work to maintain that beauty as I descended. The series of scales got me accustomed to playing a beautiful sound and moving a lot of air. As it directly relates to the point of playing more often in the low trigger register, these scales had me playing a ton of notes in that register within the first ten minutes of my day. As a result of that, I'm pretty comfortable in that range.

There are a few technical things to think about in regards to the low trigger register. Most people have a shift where they drop their jaw as they approach the extreme lower register. I do this as well. One problem I notice in a lot of players is a loss of structure in the embouchure after this shift. Make sure that you still maintain a real sense of structure in the corners of your embouchure in this low register. Too many people are quick to just let everything go and completely let all of their facial tissue flap in the wind. As a result, the tone becomes unfocused and out of tune. The further and further the slide goes out, the more difficult it becomes to focus the notes. The combination of an unfocused embouchure and an extensive amount of tubing (think Low C in trigger 7) makes for a very unfocused note. The person who asked this question also mentioned a concern about playing loud in this register. This goes along with my point. If you have difficulty centering the note, how can you possibly manipulate the dynamic? As a quick reminder of how things should feel in your corners, play the C an octave or two higher and take a mental picture of the support in your corners. Try to recreate this level of support in the lower octaves despite the fact that your aperture will be more wide open.

As for the air stream, I would think about blowing a relatively slower, wider air stream. I often use the analogy of General Zod blowing cars down the street in Superman, but younger kids can't relate to that anymore. It never seems like Zod is working very hard, but there's obviously a lot of air moving there! I tell people to relax. Playing loud in the low register is one of the most relaxing, free blowing, tension free things to do. When I'm in this register I like taking a LA-Z-BOY breath. By that, I mean I think of sitting far back in a nice relaxed chair on Sunday afternoon watching some football and being 100% carefree. Take a huge breath, set your corners just enough to that there is structure and just let the air go! Don't make it any more complicated than that!

I hope this tips helps. For those interested in a great fight scene from Superman 2, see here.

Don’t be Shy

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. In order to have a clear front and shape to your notes and phrases in softer dynamics, you need a very confident and steady air stream, even if it is escaping your body at a lower volume. The softer you play, the more confidently you play!

Another issue many people have is playing in a musically tentative style. I'm not a big fan of playing question marks. If you're playing for a recital or an audition committee, commit to never play for approval. Don't play what you hope will make the audience happy. Rather, play what you believe in your heart is correct. If you do this, they are more likely to be convinced, and you are more likely to be inspired to play with conviction. Please note that in order to carry out this approach, you have to have something that you want to say musically. This only works if you have carefully thought through the musical decisions that you make. So, you have to put in some work to back up all that confidence!

Don’t Telegraph Slide Positions

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. This issue is something I notice mostly with younger students. As a result of indecisiveness, the player starts moving the slide too early and with a lack of confidence. You should either be in one position or confidently moving to the next. Have no question marks in the slide motion.

Maybe Everybody is Right!

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. Anyone who has studied with multiple teachers in great orchestras with differing backgrounds has probably been left to wonder how they all play so well with such different ideas. So what are we supposed to do with all of this conflicting information?

Once upon a time, I used to think there was one way about going about the business of trombone playing. As I gain more experience playing and teaching, I realize how many different ways there are to help someone (including myself) be successful. The fact of the matter is, most pedagogical information we receive is based in relativity, and you can almost always go too far in one direction or another. Perhaps a teacher tells you to practice moving your slide slower and with a greater sense of control. Chances are, if he/she is a knowledgeable teacher, the teacher is right. But how far do you take this? There is a point where you can move the slide too slow. Then you go to someone else and they give you opposite information. They are telling you the truth too! For someone who is not completely aware of their own tendencies and acutely aware of what sounds good and doesn't, this can be quite confusing. At the end of the day, both teachers are right. It's up to you to put in the hours isolated in a room to figure out the appropriate balance.

I think a smart student has a healthy sense of adventure and willingness to experiment. If you are willing to practice opposite extremes, even when they go too far, you'll have a better recognition of when things are correct and how you got to that point. Take clear articulations as an example. Many people have difficulty getting a clear start because the air is too slow and late getting to the instrument after the seal of the tongue is broken. To remedy this issue, most would beat their head against the wall trying to get the air as close behind the release of the tongue as possible. I think a more innovative way to go about it would be to blow air through the horn with no tongue and then articulate once the air stream is moving. In effect, you're getting the air to be not just even with the release of the tongue, but ahead of it. Then work backwards from that point, gradually bringing the tonguing motion closer to the front of the air stream, until you get them to line up exactly where you want. You might be surprised at how well this works. Practice that every day for 10 minutes for a few weeks, and you will be happy with the results. I'm sure many of you have used the idea of glissing or flutter tonguing through a passage to make sure the air is constantly moving forward. Why not be as extreme and innovative in finding solutions in other aspects of playing?

Make Sure Repeated Pitches Line Up

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.

I can distinctly remember having a lesson with Joe Alessi when I was a student at Curtis where he tortured me over the first two low Bb that occur in the popular excerpt from Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony. It was really frustrating to be picked on in such a way, but he was right!! If you want to make it very obvious to an audition committee that you have difficulty playing in tune, play that low Bb, then Db, and then come back to a low Bb that's in a slightly different trigger third position than the first one. A few mistakes like that are often followed by dismissal from a major orchestra audition. It's a difficult thing to get perfect, but it can be accomplished with diligent practice.

I would work to improve pitch, especially with repeated tones, by using a drone. The first line plus one bar of the Grondahl Concerto, first movement, is a great example. Set your drone to a concert F. Play that first line plus one bar slowly, making sure that every F lands in exactly the same place. For the brief moment in time that you are playing the F, the sound of the drone should almost disappear if you're absolutely in tune. Once you get that right, repeat the same line and set your drone to an Ab. If you don't have a machine or recording that will drone for you, make a recording of yourself playing these notes as long tones. This can be quite revealing too. How steady can you hold your pitch? How easy are you to play with?

Relax Corners

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. The point here is to be careful not to be overly muscular and inflexible. Within the structure of having corners that don't collapse and turn into a smile in the upper register, there should be some degree of relaxation in the corners. If you have complete, unrelenting muscularity in your corners, the muscle contraction in your face will eventually cause a buildup of lactic acid which in turn will cause stiffness in your embouchure and a lack of endurance. The musculature needs to relax at some point to allow the lactic acid to cycle out of the embouchure. This is why playing soft or playing low can help you get your chops back when you are feeling tired. When playing soft or low, your corners don't have to be quite as firm to support the air stream appropriately. It's also the reason why a healthy vibrato can help your chops feel more flexible. That motion helps the acid cycle through the musculature and not build up in a static environment. 

An exercise I like to try with students working on the upper register and corner construction is to have them play an F in the bass clef staff. Then work up a major scale as far as possible while attempting to keep the corners in the exact same place as they were when the scale began. The key is to not worry about squeezing the corners as hard as possible or making them super firm or thinking not to smile. The goal is to simply have the corners remain in the early position with minimal stress. Maintain a sound that is relaxed and flexible. 

To the students... Please don't tell people that Weston Sprott said to play with a lack of structure or firmness in your corners. I am simply making the point that the idea of firmness in the corners can go too far, sometimes to the point that a lack of flexibility and endurance result. I definitely agree with the idea of a structured embouchure setup where the corners don't spread or collapse in any register. 

Ascension is a Pyramid of Effort

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. I like to play very slow scales (half notes at quarter equals 60) and as I ascend in range, I continually think about the next note being produced in an easier, more free blowing fashion than the previous one. Work to make it all feel easy. After all, there is a direct relationship between feeling good and playing easy!

Play Easy

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.

Phrase!!!

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. If you stop thinking of the phrase moving forward, you also stop thinking of the air moving forward. When playing soft music, make an extra effort to think about the direction of the phrase. Phrase direction equals air direction.

Be Prepared One Month in Advance

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. This provides you with the opportunity to relax your mind and simply worry about being in solid physical condition for your performance. There's not much worse than cram practicing the notes in the week leading up to a recital. Also, this provides wiggle room in case something unexpectedly interrupts your preparation. It seems as though we always get sick, get called for a gig that we need to take, or bite our lip right at the wrong time! Advance preparation provides peace of mind. 

No Man’s Land

"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. Always move the slide deliberately and with a purpose. I am NOT an advocate of moving the slide as quickly as possible, but I am an advocate of being very deliberate and confident with your slide motion. Many players spend a lot of time fishing around between positions or moving in a very tentative fashion from one spot to the next. Either be in a position or deliberately moving to the next position. Being hesitant is almost never a good thing. 

A good way to tell if you're doing this properly is to video record yourself playing. Watch the video with no volume and see if you can tell what rhythm you are playing. I find that the people with the best slide technique often have a slide motion that is clear enough that a rhythmic dictation could be taken from it. Try your best to move the slide in a smooth, deliberate fashion that reflects the rhythm you are playing. In an effort to do this, please resist the temptation to jerk the slide in a muscular, uneven fashion. The goal is to find a nice balance between clarity and fluidity. It takes a lot of practice but makes a huge impact on the precision of your playing when you get it right.

New Concepts

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." Be comfortable with doing something that feels awkward if it works for you. If you practice consistently enough, it will feel like your new default in a few weeks!

The Letter “M”

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.