[Trombone-l] "Sound in Motion" by David McGill

[Tom Gibson]

Amen, Alex!
Mr. Tabuteau has been a big influence on me, too.
I have a 2-CD compilation of his masterclasses (still in print and  
available, though his accent is at times very difficult to  
understand. You really have to listen closely:-).

Two other terrific books outlining his ingenious concepts are:

"Note Grouping: A Guide to Musical Epression" by James Morgan Thurmond

"An Understandable Guide to Musical Expression" by Kenneth Laudermilch

The latter I use with even very young students. It is a set of  
"rules" to remember and is structured a bit like a workbook. The  
former is a thesis and gets heavy, but advanced students will gain  
immensely from studying it. Laudermilch studied with Thurmond, who  
studied with Tabuteau, as I understand it.
The Thurmond book really changed my life in Grad school. I never  
thought the stuff could be codified and taught......I was wrong.


Dr. Tom Gibson
tom at trombonelessons.com
Visit me at iTunes:
Trombonelessons.com Video Podcasts
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On Jun 13, 2008, at 8:39 PM, ALEX ILES wrote:

I just posted this over at the tromboneforum and thought I'd share it
here too...

Best,

LX
==========================================

Hi all,

Wasn't sure the best place to put this topic. Thought I'd start here.

I just finished reading this book and found it very interesting.
David McGill is principal bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony--not
just some "ivory tower academic"!

The book's sub-title is, "A Performer's Guide to Greater Musical
Expression". In a thoughtful and well-written book, he has tackled a
challenging and, some might say, controversial subject.

Using the teachings of the highly influential oboist and legendary
musical pedagogue, Marcel Tabuteau as a foundation, he lays out a
well structured out and logical approach to shaping one's musical
choices. Lots of food for thought. My first impression before diving
into this book was, "How can anyone really TEACH this kind of
stuff?", but after reading Mr McGill's thoughts on the subject, I
think there are lots of valuable ideas to explore,  He also shares
his own insights and experiences about developing one's musicianship
in general.  Even if you are uncomfortable with the very idea of a
"system of expression", there are still some interesting ideas here
to play around with in your own playing.

Without going into too much detail here, I should say that the
essence of David's message is that when you hear a great perfomance,
it is no accident or based solely on a player's "inspiration in that
moment". Great PROFESSIONAL players prepare themselves to play great
and THINK about how they are going to communicate every note and
every phrase they play.

In an early chapter, David shares one of many great Tabuteau one
liners...

[from a masterclass]

"If you think beautifully, you play beautiful [sic]. I believe to
play as you think more than to play as you feel because how about the
day you are not feeling so well?"

David writes in a conversational, concise and at times, very humorous
way too. With almost every point he makes, he uses excellent musical
examples too. Just reading his "bassoonist's" take on "The Ride" and
"Bolero" will be worth the price of the book to most trombonists.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for interesting,
thought-provoking and fun summer reading.

Anyone else familiar with this book or Tabuteau's teachings?

I am curious to hear other views on this book, Tabuteau's teaching
approach, or other thoughts about musical expression in general!!

Best wishes,

LX
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