[Trombone-l] Playing musiaclly

[Jackie Harris-Stone]

A few ideas that have helped for me: (I teach two universities, and a pre-college program, with past experience at various levels from kindergarten to community band)
   
   
    A. dynamic range:
   
    You can say "play more dynamics until you're blue in the face", but younger players especially don't learn until they've done it, so I get groups to play a passage as loud as they can and as soft as they can, and then find a piece in the music with dynamic contrast to appy it to, then backing off on the "as loud as you can" to make it tasteful. Then THEY won't settle for bland as easily, though it takes reinforcement.
   
  B. Articulation.  Practice, and talk about, different stylistic articulations- do they know what a short and long accent look like?  And bring out the styles- "in this piece,  back off on the whole notes; in this piece, sustain them.  Teach them to play lightly- like mini-forte pianos, and you have a great tool in your arsenal. 
   
  C. Style:  I've found in solo playing, really relating moods to talking- an "angry piece" has short phrases, accents, and is generally low and loud- like when you talk angrily- sad pieces are slow, soft, like when you talk sadly. I've done this with kindergarten and 1st grade classes, and they can change a "mary had a little lamb" that's happy to sad or mad or excited or scared by changing articulation, range, dynamics, and speed, so your groups should have no problem!  Apply as you wish.  
   
    B. Rhythmic shape.
    
    I loved Mr. Abramson's rhythmic elements at Juilliard, and I pass it on, because it's easily accessible to Jr. highers.  Basically,  teach them the general shape of rhthym in a bar.  Mr. Kleinhammer will disagree with me, but the shape Abramson uses of used of ONE the strongest, 2 the softest, with 3 (4, 5, etc) gradually louder, with a HUGE crescendo from the last beat of the bar to the first makes the most sense to me musically.
   
    Then, teach the exceptions.  In melodies, longer notes accented notes, the highest note in a phrase, the lowest note in a phrase, notes following jumps greater than a 4th, notes with harmonic tension, ornaments, and syncopations all receive accents (I call it weight when I teach).  I teach the longer notes, and higher and lowest notes first, then jumps of more than a fourth.  
   
   
  And, the most effective of all, play with them and for them, and play CD's.  I currently have three students each place I teach, so to do quartets, I "had" to join in. (Getting paid to play quartets- not to shabby!)  I think, especially with my most advanced program, playing with them, especially when I'm talking about style, has helped their musicality more than 100 lectures.    


Jackie Harris-Stone
Bass Trombone, Orquesta Sinfonica de Monterrey 
Professor of Trombone, Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza, 
Professor of Low Brass, UANL
		
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