Western Illinois University
Trombone & Euphonium Studio

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Orchestral Playing Basics For Trombonists

Tone:

Pure, Round, Fat, Resonant, Warm, Refined
A tone quality that blends with winds AND strings
Consistent tone quality in all registers.

Technique:

Dynamics – cultivate a WIDE range. Play with control from pppp – ffff.
Articulation – never harsh, but always clean. Remember – blend with strings
Clean and precise slide technique
Highly developed sense of time, rhythm, tempo
Impeccable intonation.

Musicianship:

Most often in the orchestra, this means your musicianship AS A SECTION rather than as a soloist.

• Matching tone, articulation style, dynamics
• Breathing together
• Unified sense of time, rhythm
• Balance, blend within the section
• Balance, blend with the rest of the orchestra
• Unified, secure intonation

Listening:

Get to know the orchestral literature through recordings and live concerts.

Practice orchestral passages:

Tenor Trbn.:

Mozart: Tuba Mirum from Requiem (2 nd trombone solo)
Berlioz: Hungarian March from Damnation of Faust (1 st & 2 nd trbn.)
Mahler: Symphony #3 (1 st trbn.)
Rossini: La Gazza Ladra Overture
Rossini: William Tell Overture
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries (1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd trbn.)
Wagner: Lohengrin (Prelude to Act 3)
Ravel: Bolero (1 st trombone solo)
Schumann: Symphony #3 (1 st trbn.)
Strauss: Til Eulenspeigel’s Merry Pranks

Bass Trbn:

Kodaly: Hary JanosSuite
Haydn: Creation (chorus #26)
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
Berlioz: Hungarian March from Damnation of Faust
Wagner: Lohengrin (Prelude to Act 3)
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

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