The Summerglen Files

Over several years of teaching private trombone lessons, I’ve noticed a trend among students to focus their practice on the ensemble music assigned to them by their band director at school, and shy away from doing anything else. Unfortunately, band music for young trombonists doesn’t tend to be very challenging…so when it’s all that kids work on, they don’t make the musical progress that they’re capable of making. Also, when there’s no more band stuff to work on in the summer, many kids assume that they can put their horns away because there’s nothing to do!

So, our next three videos will present a challenge for young trombonists–to move away from homework-only practice, and add a healthy dose of solo trombone literature to their sessions. Enjoy!

Greetings, Summerglen friends! Recently, I’ve been playing a bunch of church and theatre gigs around town. It’s been fun performing at different places and meeting new people, but unfortunately, I’ve noticed several of my gigmates indulging in some not-so-good habits, like coming to the dress rehearsal without a pencil, and even worse, without their music prepared. What’s even more unfortunate is, these bad habits are quite common–even for veteran musicians!
When an individual musician walks onto a gig unprepared, or neglects to practice common courtesy at the venue, that doesn’t just mean he won’t get called back next time. It can also diminish the credibility of ALL musicians, and discourage people from treating us (and paying us) like the trained professionals we are. So, our Trombone Tips for today and next week will both focus on good habits that gigging musicians should cultivate. Enjoy!