[Trombone-l] Teaching embouchure to beginners

[Wayne Dyess]

You've been doing all right.  Other than letting the student work it  
out for themselves, the next best thing is demonstrations by you or  
other trombonists.  Encourage them to listen to the "right" kind of  
music, attend concerts, watch and learn.

That in itself should prove to be motivating, and motivation is the  
key to successful teaching.

Good luck!  It is an awesome responsibility.

--Wayne Dyess



On Jun 25, 2007, at 5:16 AM, Stuart Collidge wrote:

>
> I find myself in the position of teaching a lot of young beginners  
> to learn the trombone (an awesome responsibility indeed).  One  
> concept that I find quite difficult to impart is the concept of  
> embouchure.  Well, not so much the concept, as the description of  
> how to manipulate the embouchure that young people (10-12 years  
> old) can grasp.  In the past, I have taken the tack that they  
> should just play and let the lips sort themselves out as they go,  
> but I am currently thinking that this is just too important to  
> trust to fate.
>
> Does anyone have a successful way of getting beginners to adopt a  
> suitable embouchure?
>
> Stu Collidge
> Freelance Bonist, Sydney, Australia

Wayne Dyess
The Night & Day Orchestra
http://www.ndotex.com
Lamar University-Beaumont, Texas
Professor of Music