Warm up class in day 1 of the camp!

Churchill the bulldog can do all those positions in his sleep!

Buzzing and Bulldogs! Buzzing is critical to developing a great sound on the trombone. It’s an extremely useful tool to use during your warmup

Mark Fisher from Chicago Lyric Opera & the Santa Fe Opera joined us to share his insights and thoughts.

Blow the inspiron, buzz the mouthpiece, play the horn. This simple recipe is key to developing good production on the trombone.

How to develop a relaxed and lyrical high register by using the Vocalises by Marco Bordogni transcribed by Joannes Rochut. Play the vocalise as if it were written in tenor clef down two octaves. You do this by ignoring the bass clef and imagine there is a tenor clef instead. In regards to the key signature, you will transpose up one 5th. For example a vocalise in C major will now have a the signature of G major. Play down two octaves with a rich full sound. Breath often but try to still make music. Start by just playing one phrase or one line. Do this 3 or 4 times. Now buzz the vocalise on the mouthpiece this time as if the study were in tenor clef. Again just start with one phrase or line. Do this 2 or 2 times. Now play the vocalise in tenor clef on the trombone and try to emulate the same free blowing feeling you had in the low register. Take this approach for all lyrical passages in the high register.

Establishing great articulation and pitch. When preparing a technical passage slow practice is imperative. 1st Sing the pitches 2nd Buzz the notes on the mouthpiece accurately (use a piano to help you.) This will develop your inner ear and the connection between your embouchure and your inner ear 3rd Play a pitch on the trombone and sing the next pitch. This will practice always hearing the next pitch before you play it - don’t guess and let the horn tell you which pitch to play! 4th Play the passage slowly and gradually increase the metronome speed.

Performance Nerves & Focus on Stage