[Trombone-l] Recordings for study purposes (was Sonata by George FrederickMcKay)

[Charles DePaolo]

>> Curmudgeon's answer: back in the day before...when students 
>> walked to school 10 miles uphill both ways..sheet music was 
>> the only "record" of the music...

I have to agree with Bob on this one. I'm certainly not opposed to a kid
having a chance to hear a particular piece once before trying to play
it, but way too many kids use the recording as a "this is how it goes"
device.  No, that is NOT how it goes, even if Joe Alessi is performing
it.  It's ONE of the ways it might go, but is not necessarily the
definitive way.  Everything you need to know is right there in front of
you on the sheet music. Tempos, notes, dynamics and phrases are all
there in black and white. What you do with them is up to you. Certainly
you want to give a good presentation, and you might like to emulate some
of the artistry of your favorite superhero.  But the printed music
itself is the ultimate ur-source of information about how to play a
work. Christian Lindberg might play it this way, Mark Lawrence that way
and Joe Alessi still another.  Are they all wrong because they don't
agree?  Certainly not.  But they are all looking at the same sheet of
paper when they work up the chart. Being a New York State print music
retailer for 20 years, I am familiar with how NYSSMA works.  They're
looking primarily for accuracy, plus whatever artistry the student can
bring to the table.  That means getting the notes is the first step.
Putting them in the right place rhythmically is the next. Playing them
loud or soft as printed follows.  NYSSMA is fairly mechanical this way.
Hearing recordings of works will not in any way help this aspect of the
performance-you can either play the notes or you can't.  And of course
you don't want to play like a robot, but as long as you nail all the
ink, you're going to be scored high.  If you add a little musicianship
to boot, then look out.  The neat thing is that musicianship advice is
abundant.  You don't have to have a trombonist to provide it.  If your
kid works up the McKay the best he can, executing all the ink perfectly,
then he can play it for he town's musical genius(es), who could be a
guitarist, a cellist or even a woodwind player (yikes!).  I'm kidding of
course--some of my best musicianship lessons came from folks who knew
nothing of the trombone except that it was behind them in the orchestra.
In short, recordings are great to get a general feel, but they are
absolutely not necessary to create a compelling performance.  In fact,
they may cause just the opposite to occur - another rubber stamp
Lindberg/Alessi/whomever copycat performance attempt.  Good luck!

--Chuck