[Trombone-l] Long tones

[Dan Thornton]

Thanks to a couple Trombone-L members I started doing low-range long tones
in my practicing. In 39 years of playing I had never heard of doing long
tones before joining this list. In the last year, they have made a dramatic
improvement. My pedals have opened up. Upper range has increased several
notes. And endurance is generally better. That's even more remarkable to me
since I am a "weekend warrior" who only has time to practice when I need to
for the next gig. 

So, my question is this ... how do long tones help so much? Why do they
work?

I'm a believer ... now I want to understand.

Dan