 I am fortunate to work with a wide range of trombone and euphonium players, from beginner to college music major, numbering 40 to 50 players each week. Despite a large number of students, the problems that we face in private lessons are relatively narrow in scope. I believe that the root of most playing problems come from the first year or two of studying the instrument. It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." For brass players, "sharpening the axe" encompasses a range of skills that must be consistently addressed to ensure continued improvement. If you teach, ask yourself this question: "Am I doing everything I can to prepare this student for the next leg of their journey, or am I teaching for what is convenient now? "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln Take a second and let that quote sink in.
Can you apply this quote to your classroom or private studio? How many of us feel so much pressure for our students to produce right now that we roll our sleeves up and start hacking away at the tree before we check to see if the axe is sharp? I spent a good portion of my 20-plus years of playing the instrument this way, and I am pretty sure that I don't stand alone. If you are a middle school or junior high band director, consider the following. While you diligently drill the Greatest Ensemble Warmup Ever Written © each day, are you cultivating the richest, most characteristic sounds for each instrument? Is it worth spending the rehearsal time blending a Concert F between instruments if the tone is under-supported and weak? If they don't know what to strive for, they are reaching out in the dark. As always, there is more than one path to success. My suggestions below are based on my own eyewitness view of the process. There must be a model for each instrument to follow. Ideally, a private lesson instructor or masterclass teacher for each instrument could serve as this model, but if lesson teachers are not available or outside of your budget, there is a rich collection of recordings available to help you, from commercially produced recordings to Youtube (caveat emptor). Play music as they enter the band room for class, and before sectionals. Have it playing in your office: you never know when something you are playing could inspire a visiting student! Whatever your model, it must be as consistent as possible. Set realistic goals. Often, in an attempt to check things off of the list, we get ahead of ourselves and gloss over very important building blocks of instrumental playing. For example, there is no need to play lip slurs that extend into the 6th, 7th, or 8th partial if the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th partials aren't rock solid. Using this rock solid approach, any future development must be build upon what is already known. If only new things are introduced without review of previously learned material, the various skills will be part of a vast wasteland of random facts, rather than an interconnected web of applicable skills. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Though uninitiated, they will pick up on EVERYTHING you do, both good and bad. If you look back on your school year and are unhappy with the product, there is always something that can be done to improve the outcome. It isn't the demographic. It isn't the budget. It is the approach! Are you doing your own instrument selection process? Is your staff aligned to teach the same things to all students, or do students receive different messages with each teacher? Though it might appear on the surface as burning up valuable practice time, taking time to align these things will make all the difference when you DO get to the music. As always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below! BF
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At the urging of two of my university students, I put together the following presentation for the trombone and euphonium students at SOSU this past Monday afternoon. If you find that the amount of music you are expected to prepare is more than you can handle, then this post is for you! As always, I do not claim any sort of ownership of the concepts presented here. I am indebted to the various teachers who have shared these concepts with me, which I now share with you.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a medical doctor. From time to time, I might offer insight into exercises for good "chop health" as it pertains to the instrument, but nothing I say in this blog should be considered a substitute for a proper medical diagnosis!!! In the final volume of this three part blog post, I will discuss a concept that may seem like a "no brainer" to many, but one that took me a long time to understand and accept. For years, I considered the process of mastering an instrument to be like a race, with a finish line. I couldn't have been more wrong! 
The best players in the world maintain their positions at the top because they are always working towards a new goal. While many face physical, emotional or psychological problems along the way, they accept these changes and manage to sound their best well beyond the point when most would put the horn in the case for good. The lessons I learned after my car crash certainly helped me mature as a player, and in time, I was able to break through to new levels of achievement. However, the biggest lesson I learned was that more questions and new ideas are waiting just over the next hill if you just keep moving forward. In short, unlike a race, this journey has no ending...it is a continuum! This is a good thing. 
I was fortunate to have very patient teachers who looked past my stubbornness to see untapped potential just beneath the surface. I often wonder what might have happened if I had really hung on their every word and done everything they told me to do, every single day.
While the slow, deliberate path I took to recovery certainly made a difference, realizing two facts helped me make the transition from trombone operator to musician. 1. My ability to express emotion through music was directly tied to my ability to execute on the instrument. (my music making was limited by my abilities) 2. The competitive nature of the musical job market made it necessary to be detail oriented, and barely scratching the surface, which was my M.O. for many years, wasn't going to cut it if I wanted to do this for a living. Even into my mid twenties, I hadn't completely let go of my old thinking. While I understood on an intellectual level what was needed to play at my best, I hadn't made the emotional connection needed to really go for it in the right way. I'm here to tell you that there is hope. It is never too late, and no matter where you are now, you can become the musician you've always wanted to be. With the proper perspective and experiences, I found my way, and it is my hope that no matter what struggles you might face, that you might find your way, too. If I can offer any further words of encouragement or insight, please feel free to contact me here. DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a medical doctor. From time to time, I might offer insight into exercises for good "chop health" as it pertains to the instrument, but nothing I say in this blog should be considered a substitute for a proper medical diagnosis!!!
In my last post, I shared the story of a automobile accident several years ago that threatened my playing future. In Part Two, I want to discuss how I worked through the challenges and came out on the other side better informed and stronger than I ever was before the accident. DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a medical doctor. From time to time, I might offer insight into exercises for good "chop health" as it pertains to the instrument, but nothing I say in this blog should be considered a substitute for a proper medical diagnosis!!!
A couple of weeks ago, I officially became a Candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Alabama. This is particularly poignant for me, considering that not too many years ago, I thought I had permanently lost the ability to play the trombone. My friends know the story of "The Wreck," but few, if any, really know all I went through to find my face again. The journey itself has done a great deal to help define me as a musician and a man, and if sharing this journey can help one person out there, it's worth sharing. To set the scene...Y2K was coming, and everyone worried if their computers would stop working at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2000. Russian President Boris Yeltsin survived impeachment proceedings and shook up his cabinet, firing his Prime Minister. It was the summer of Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera, with "Livin la Vida Loca" and "Genie In a Bottle" being played on the radio NON STOP. Let's go back in time to August 1999. :) |
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