The Advancing Trombone Player book is a complete step-by-step system that includes everything you need to build your embouchure, tone, technique, flexibility, tonguing, endurance, range, and musicianship. Written for those trombone players who are ready to achieve the highest levels of playing their horn. The "ATP" system consists of four sessions per day: warm-up, tonality study, Arban's book studies, and endurance/range/musicianship studies. This will take approximately two hours per day divided into four sessions, with breaks in between. Don't try to play all of the assignments in one session, you really do need the rest to keep your embouchure fresh all day and ready again for the next day.
If you cannot commit to two hours per day, then go with one hour per day and play every other exercise in the lessons on day one, then on day two play the ones you skipped, on day three alternate back to the ones you played on day one, and so on back and forth throughout the week. And spend two weeks on each lesson instead of one week, or longer if needed, when using this pattern.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The book has a total of 168 pages, which includes 8 pages of music for the warm-up routine session, 48 pages of music for the 12 tonality studies session, and 53 pages of music for the full range studies session, plus there are 52 pages of step-by-step lessons, one per page. For the fourth session of each lesson, you will need an Arban's Complete Method for Trombone book (Alessi-Bowman 2002 edition). If you have a copy, please check it to make sure that the page numbers that I have used in The Advancing Trombone Player book matches with your Arban's book. Here is a link to the edition that I used for this book - www.MPHmusic.com/go/arbanstrombone If your page 139 in your Arban's book is the beginning (#1) of the interval studies and page 323 begins the Characteristic Studies (#1), then you're fine.
A Few Things To Remember:
- Be diligent in your practice, you will be rewarded for your discipline by following the routines in the 52 Lessons - use these lesson plans, this step-by-step system is designed to get you playing better, and much quicker, than a haphazard approach to practicing
- Rest as much as you play within each practice session, you should still feel good at the end of each practice session
- Always strive for a great sound on every note
- Always play musically
- Slow and good is better than fast and bad - you will learn faster by practicing slowly, then speed up in small increments to improve your coordination to play faster and still sound good
- Practice all of the articulations when indicated (S=Slur, T=Tongue, etc.)
- Use a metronome to help you improve your coordination as you speed things up
- If you can't reach some notes, give it three tries and then move on - they will come in time
- Each lesson can last one week, or two weeks, or whatever time period you are comfortable with - just keep progressing step-by-step through the lessons - and start with Lesson 1
- When you get to the end of the 52 lessons, start at Lesson 1 then do Lesson 52, then 2 and 51, then 3 and 50, and so on until you've done 52 and 1, criss-crossing in the middle. After that use the warm-up and tonality sections daily to keep in shape and progress to other practice materials. You can always return to the ATP system for a review to work on specific areas of your playing, or if you take some time off and need to be a comeback trombone player all over again
- Listen to great trombone players in all styles of music - this will help you know what a trumpet is supposed to sound like so you can model your sound by emulating the best players around
- Have fun!!
If you have any questions, feel comfortable in contacting me at my email address that is on the bottom of each webpage at our website.
Go for it and have a great time!
Mark Hendricks - MPHmusic.com
