A FEW WORDS ABOUT SLIDE TECHNIQUE
If it sounds good, it is good!
If it sounds good, it is good!
Hand Position
A colleague once said (something like), “The slide doesn’t care how it’s held as much as how it’s moved."
Many teachers have iron-clad commandments, but a quick survey of YouTube will reveal a marvelous variety of world-class players exhibiting a veritable smörgåsbord of hand positions. People are different; hands, fingers, arms, shoulders, etc. are different. There is an interesting paper here.
Many teachers have iron-clad commandments, but a quick survey of YouTube will reveal a marvelous variety of world-class players exhibiting a veritable smörgåsbord of hand positions. People are different; hands, fingers, arms, shoulders, etc. are different. There is an interesting paper here.
Slide Speed
It is just as possible to move the slide too fast as it is too slow. Many of my colleagues will disagree. Oh well . . . so it goes. Don’t jerk the slide!! A jerky slide arm jerks the whole body, including air, embouchure, and tone. Just because somebody else can move the slide at light-speed without jerking, doesn’t mean you can! And it's just not necessary. (See the survey.) My friend, Bob McChesney (who has amazing facility) has some advice. I don't agree with all of it, but . . . see Slide Positions.
Some colleagues agree with me. Bass trombonist and composer, David William Brubeck (jazz great, Dave Brubeck’s cousin) wrote an article for the International Trombone Journal titled Trombone Slide Motion, An Alternate Position, that addresses this. And see Jay Friedman’s article, Legato and the Arms Race. International soloist and teacher, Abbie Conant, wrote in her Trombone Teaching Philosophy: “Yes, it is possible to move the slide too fast. Slide must be coordinated with air and tongue. Yes, it is possible to move the slide too slowly. Move the slide so as not to disturb the sound in any way.”
Some colleagues agree with me. Bass trombonist and composer, David William Brubeck (jazz great, Dave Brubeck’s cousin) wrote an article for the International Trombone Journal titled Trombone Slide Motion, An Alternate Position, that addresses this. And see Jay Friedman’s article, Legato and the Arms Race. International soloist and teacher, Abbie Conant, wrote in her Trombone Teaching Philosophy: “Yes, it is possible to move the slide too fast. Slide must be coordinated with air and tongue. Yes, it is possible to move the slide too slowly. Move the slide so as not to disturb the sound in any way.”
Coordination
Move the slide in rhythm – neither too soon nor too late. (There are a lot of theories about this, too.) Ian Bousfield, in his Teaching Talks, says, “Don’t go crazy about the speed of your slide. A lot of people talk about using a fast or a slow slide arm. It’s not about that, it’s about the timing. . . . We move the slide as we articulate.” Charlie Vernon says, “The slide moves in rhythm. It doesn’t move before the beat. It doesn’t move after the beat. It doesn’t move somewhere in the middle of the beat. It moves right – with – the rhythm.”
Practicing with no tongue – just glissandos and slurs – can help. When we play legato, the tongue is the "glissando eraser" – it can also mask other things. When we set it aside, there is one less variable and we can clearly hear the effect of the slide's movement and it's coordination with the embouchure and air. Make the glissandos concise, relaxed, accurate – rhythmic – and as musical as possible – like a great singer singing on one syllable (melisma). Move the slide at that speed – no faster – no slower – and add back the tongue as needed. Jim Markey demonstrates this nicely.
This exercise can help.
Practicing with no tongue – just glissandos and slurs – can help. When we play legato, the tongue is the "glissando eraser" – it can also mask other things. When we set it aside, there is one less variable and we can clearly hear the effect of the slide's movement and it's coordination with the embouchure and air. Make the glissandos concise, relaxed, accurate – rhythmic – and as musical as possible – like a great singer singing on one syllable (melisma). Move the slide at that speed – no faster – no slower – and add back the tongue as needed. Jim Markey demonstrates this nicely.
This exercise can help.
AND REMEMBER