[Trombone-l] An alto neophyte asks for it.

[Frank Darmiento]

Dave -
This has developed into one of the more interesting
threads of late and there have been many excellent
suggestions.  I'll only add a couple of brief resonses
and thoughts.

My personal experience includes playing a Bach 39 alto
for about 26 years.  I love the horn.  I currently use
a Bach 12C mouthpiece and it seems to be a good fit. 
I've tried everything from a 15E to a 7.  Anything
larger than a 7 and I overblow the horn too easily. 
On sizes smaller than a 12C lose a little of the mid
to low range.

As far as learning the horn, my approach was to play
lots of scales (for intonation) and then read
everything in sight (including big band jazz charts). 
If you get further into it I have a new set of 30 alto
trombone etudes on my web site (www.SackbutMusic.com).
 And no, they're not free--sorry (but they are pretty
inexpensive, says me).  They include 10 etudes each in
bass, tenor & alto cleff and cover all major & minor
keys.  They're probably at the intermediate level,
mostly because they get include the 5, 6, 7 flat/sharp
keys.

Good luck on your odyssey.

Frank

--- Dave Demko <demko61 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Tenor trombone is and will remain my principal ax,
> but I'm considering
> taking up alto and would welcome some informed
> advice. Even if the
> advice is "don't."
> 
> My notion is to have alto as an option for chamber
> music with trombone
> quartets and mixed brass ensembles. I want to be
> able to play in tune
> without having to fight and cajole the horn too much
> and to blend well
> with the "normal" instrumentation of a brass
> quintet.
> 
> Some bore sizes I've seen range from the .454 on the
> Amati ASL-601 up
> to .500 on the Edwards. Is a "large" bore .500 horn
> designed to hold
> up in a section where the second and bass are
> playing modern, "louder
> is better" orchestral trombones? What kind of
> contrast in tone quality
> between small and large are we talking about?
> 
> What do people think of the Bach 39, the Amati, the
> Conn with the Bb
> attachment, the Yamaha YSL671? Any other favorite
> equipment? This
> question is not an invitation to launch a holy war
> over the One True
> Alto, merely a request for impressions. Does anyone
> have
> recommendations about method books and etudes? Any
> thoughts on whether
> alto will confuse my chops or my clef-reading on
> tenor?
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave
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> 


Frank T. Darmiento
Scottsdale, Arizona
frank at darmiento.com
www.SackbutMusic.com
---------------------------
Frank Darmiento's latest jazz CD 'Sudden Impact' is available from Summit Records at:
http://www.summitrecords.com/product.tmpl?SKU=339

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