[Trombone-l] musicianship question

[Robert Holland]

Jay Sheridan wrote:

> For all those that do any teaching, how do you teach a student (or 
> group- band/orch etc) to play musically? I have tried several 
> different ways, but none seem to be working. I have a group that can 
> perform rhythmically and in tune, but is lacking musically. The group 
> in question is actually a choir, but I usually think in trombone terms 
> when talking to them anyways.

This already turns out to be a rather provocative question. Still, I 
should caution: think as a musician, not as a trombonist. The trombone 
is merely a medium; musicianship requires understanding, taste, and 
inspiration independent of any particular medium.

That said, Jay Heltzer's pithy remark about dynamics made some sense to 
me, though I usually think more in terms of weight and release. As Dave 
Gibson remarks, all by itself, that's not enough to instruct students. 
Where, when, how much, and how often are all issues that a musical 
person can intuit, but an experienced musician/teacher should be able 
to break it down to some good ideas (to use) and bad ideas (to avoid).

It also occurred to me that I think on at least two levels when making 
musical choices: within the phrase and across phrases. It's hard to 
communicate both musical ideas at once, but it's necessary, I think, to 
recognize that note-by-note minutiae should ultimately add to phrase- 
and melody-level shaping.

That's just a start, of course, but it's initial my 2 cents on what 
could be a lengthy and worthwhile discussion.

Robert Holland, Publisher
Briar Music Press
briar at rcn.com
www.briarmusic.com