Joint Brass Recital

The Luther College brass area recently gave a joint recital featuring the works of Paul Hindemith. Our quintet worked up a fine arrangement of the Symphonic Metamorphosis themes to end a recital of four Hindemith sonata: trumpet, althorn (performed on alto trombone), horn, and trombone. We had a great time preparing the recital and preparing works our students bring to lessons and perform in recitals regularly. This experience was a great reminder of how difficult the works of Hindemith are and what a pleasure it is to perform the works. This article in the Luther College Chips helps to put some of these thoughts in place. Fun times with a fun group of players!

Favorite works for Trombone in Chamber Music

The following is a simple list of a few of my favorite works for trombone in chamber music. Many are standard. However, I recommend readers check out recordings of the Tull and Bellon, they are great recital works!

 Victor Ewald, Quintets 1-4

Victor Ewald was a musician and composer in St. Petersburg Russia in the early twentieth century. He performed with a string quartet and was known to meet with the “mighty handful” group of composers. Ewald was also a well-known concrete and brick engineer, pioneering modern concrete construction methods.

All four of Ewald’s Quintets are excellent material for brass quintets. The fourth quintet was actually the first written and is very similar to his earliest string quartets. I find Quintet Four to be the most approachable for young student groups. Ewald was interested in Romantic style music and incorporated Russian folk song into many of his works, making an interesting work for student groups to rehearse and analyze.

I include the four Ewald brass quintets because they are early works for brass quintet and allow for the teaching of brass quintet history. Additionally, there are many good recordings of the quintets for students to study. There is additional value in students learning about quintet history and the use of all conical, valve instruments in brass quintet.

Giovanni Gabrieli, Canzona Septimi Toni Octavi a 12

This work for twelve trombones would have originally been performed in St. Mark’s cathedral. Although originally written for sackbut consort, voice and Cornett ensemble, the work is valuable for students. Often trombone ensembles have many doubling parts. However, this canzon by Gabrieli has twelve trombone parts, encouraging students to be responsible for their part in the music. The work also employs terraced dynamics, a system of playing very specific dynamics with little musical interpretation for placement and lack of crescendo and diminuendo. Students can also learn about the dance style of early brass music.

Many recordings are available of this work and similar works by Gabrieli, both with modern instruments and period instruments. Students can spend time discerning their preferences for performance practice and learn about the differences. The Canzona Septimi Toni Octavi a 12 additionally offers students the opportunity to learn about the many historical brass instruments available for modern performance. Educating students about sackbut and renaissance trombone may not be useful for getting them work later, but it does create a clear image of the historical ability of the trombone what the work may have sounded like originally. This provides the opportunity to discuss student’s preference for a modern interpretation or historical interpretation.

Jean Francis Victor Bellon, Quintets 1-12

Recently discovered (2007-2011), the twelve quintets of Bellon are some of the earliest composed brass quintets known. They date back to the 1840’s. Bellon was a French composer who studied at the Paris Conservatory. He was an active string quartet musician and brass performer. His appreciation for brass instruments is not completely understood. However, he did start a society for the appreciation and application of brass instruments in the modern orchestra and chamber music. Going as far as to write a work for brass quintet and 12 double basses, Bellon was apparently interested in louder and more unrefined sounds. According to recent research published about Bellon, his works where appreciated by audiences and found fame in and around Paris, but did not move away from that center of art. Hector Berlioz even heard some of his chamber music and appreciated the value given to the brass instruments.

Bellon wrote these quintets for as close to what we consider the modern brass quintet configuration as possible in the day; Piston Cornet, Keyed Flugel Horn (or Cornet in Eb), Horn, Trombone and Ophiclide. Teaching these quintets provides an opportunity to work with students on the history of brass quintet and the history of brass instruments.

I have only recently started reading the twelve quintets and found them all to be really excellent chamber music and easily programmable. I think student groups may have some trouble with the works, but starting with Quintet 11 may be the easiest way to learn the style of Bellon.

Ludwig Van Beethoven, Drei Equali

An original work for trombone quartet by a major composer cannot be overlooked. Many students find this to be a motivation to perform the work. This three-movement work incorporates many of the things students will find in the two symphonies by Beethoven that include trombone. The quartet can also be performed on smaller bore instruments, providing practice in period style performances for students. The top parts are written in alto clef with tenor clef dominating the third trombone part and appearing in the bass trombone part. Bass trombone players also need to get out of the top of the bass clef staff, extending the range for some younger players.

Drei Equali was famously used as a funeral dirge when Beethoven died. The work can be used in many ways for trombone quartets and is very programmable.

Fisher Tull, Concerto for Trombone and Woodwind Quintet

The Concerto for Trombone and Woodwind Quintet is a great example of the very successful use of trombone with woodwind instruments in a chamber music setting. Unlike many other trombone and woodwind chamber music settings, the Fisher Tull uses the trombone as a solo instruments and keeps the horn in the woodwind quintet. This allows for even more color changes throughout the three-movement work.

Although only one recording is available of this work, students can learn a great deal by discovering and working on the piece. It also provides a strong opportunity for student to work with woodwind colleagues, possibly helping to create better collegiality in wind band and orchestra rehearsals.

Reasons to Perform in a Chamber Ensemble

Why play trombone in a chamber ensemble? Here are a few ideas about the wealth of performance and growth opportunities.

There are many benefits for students participating in chamber music ensembles. It is one of the fastest ways a student can progress musically and technically on their instrument. Students are expected to add one more rehearsal to an already full schedule, but this helps create even better time management and schedule creation. Additionally, finding time for chamber rehearsals and coaching is an important skill, one that will follow students through professional life. Students are expected to rehearse on their own, making the most of their musical and technical progress without the direct help of a teacher. Teachers help as much as possible in weekly coaching sessions. However, student groups must have a plan for successful coaching sessions. Student groups have the option of learning vast amounts of literature and becoming aware of a whole area of literature they may not have known. For young students, this can be a liberating experience that allows for personal growth as well.

These benefits can also be challenges for some students. Time management is always an issue, and the way many chamber music programs are set up (often as an afterthought or minimal degree requirement), many students allow chamber music to be the first activity to go when schedules become challenging. Another challenge for chamber music is personnel issues amongst chamber members. Unlike in a large ensemble, chamber groups have only a few members to focus on and no specific leader at the front of the group. Students must learn to work together, even when it is difficult to work together or appreciate the chamber ensemble. Moments of tension can come from lack of preparation by one or more students, lack of technical or musical ability and even a lack of interest and commitment. For the most part, it is important for student groups to learn how to work through these issues early, because they will continue being issues throughout their musical career. The most successful student ensembles have clear expectations for their group and all of the members are in agreement about the goals each semester.

The chamber music setting is a great preparation for the various challenges professional musicians find. These include complexities like finding rehearsal space, a difficult issue in many overcrowded music facilities. Students must also learn to quickly adapt to the difference between the rehearsal space (usually a small practice room) and concert hall. Some student groups will struggle with the lack of time to prepare in the concert hall. Other groups may struggle with the variety of concert locations including malls, weddings, graduation ceremonies, background music at various events and performing with choirs or other large ensembles. Performing a chop heavy recital with little or no break is a great learning experience for many students. The must learn how to manage their own performance including getting to and from the gig, getting gigs to begin, payment and learning the expectations of the hiring staff. Issues with obtaining legal music can also be a problem. Many students are not accustomed to purchasing their own ensemble music and can resist faculty encouragement to start growing a library of sheet music.

The experience of chamber music ensembles is very different from those of  larger ensembles like band, orchestra and jazz groups. Students grow quickly as musicians and mature as adults because of these varied situations chamber music puts them in. This can be different from the experience of performing in a large ensemble, which picks music for students and does a substantial amount of practicing in rehearsal. A large ensemble and solo work both usually have a conductor or teacher specifically listening for problems and creating solutions for the problems. Student led chamber groups are responsible for all of this work in addition to performing at a high level. An additional difference from much of the solo and recital work students have at the collegiate level is that in chamber music, they typically choose their own music. This means they must create a way of reading music to see what they like and make informed decisions about programing for chamber music recitals. Students may also be expected to learn popular music or music in varying styles and is expected to alternate between styles quickly within a performance. 

My Five Favorite Trombone Solos for Undergraduate Juries

I have prepared the following list after discussing favorite trombone works for jury performances (yes, it is jury season). These are not the only solos I consider when choosing jury literature with students, but these are some of my favorite to listen to and tend to help students focus on their weaknesses the most.

#1- Arthur Pryor, Thoughts of Love: Valse de Concert

The Pryor Thoughts of Love is a great park band style work for students to learn. I have students learn it as part of understanding the history of trombone and what the common repertoire has been for trombonists in the United States. Learning the “brash” park band style is important. This work is also a simple work to memorize, a good skill for students to learn. This is a good work to program on a recital or use as a performance work with a home summer band. The work also provides students the opportunity to work with a small-bore tenor trombone. Many of the highly technical aspects of the work become approachable with a smaller instrument.

For recordings, I explain to students that we are lucky. We have recordings of Pryor performing this work on Arthur Pryor, Soloist of the Sousa Band. Students can study the unique sound and style of Arthur Pryor. I do not necessarily ask students to perform just like him, but it is again good to have a strong historical understanding of the work and its uses. Larry Zalkind also has a good recording with the New Sousa Band of Thoughts of Love. Zalkind has a unique interpretation of the Pryor works that dances between modern and historical that I really like. I also recommend the Ian Bousfield recording from Pryor Engagement and the Brett Baker recording with the Black Dyke Band as other interpretations. My goal is for students to be as educated as possible about the musical and technical options for each work they approach.

Because this is a work composed by the trombone virtuoso for himself, there are many technical and musical issues for students to be aware of. There are improvisational elements and musical decisions that need to be made by students. This is where the recordings they are listening to and making recordings in practice room and lessons is important. Listening is also useful when learning the disjoint style of Pryor, although I do not always recommend trying to completely mimic the sound. Students can also approach using a small-bore tenor trombone for a more authentic sound and artistic ability. If they do use the small bore horn, there are some notes in runs they may want to consider using a quick false tone to avoid clunky slide technique. The high and low range can also be difficult, although playing on a small trombone with the appropriate mouthpiece helps some students. The low range can be difficult on the smaller horn, so having students learn to balance these issues is important. 

#2- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Concerto for Trombone

The Concerto for Trombone by Rimsky-Korsakov is an important work for trombone. It is one of the few concerti by a major composer that many people will recognize without any formal music training. The work appears on many audition lists for concerto competitions and competitions, making it an important work for students to study. Students can learn alternate and rational slide positions from this work. The key signature is also a selling point for students still not comfortable in all keys. The outer movements are in Bb, but the second movement is in Gb. The student will feel more comfortable in a key with many flats after learning this concerto. Finally, this is often an introduction to concerti with cadenzi. Students have a written cadenza from the composer at the end of movement one and two. They can use these cadenzi, as is often specified by competitions, or they can create their own cadenza.

As the instructor I recommend recordings with piano and band accompaniment. Students often run to YouTube for this recording, which is dangerous because of the many bad recordings out there. The piece is approachable for some middle school or high school players, but they may not have the technical skills and tone needed to be a great example for collegiate students. Carl Lenthe has a great recording of the Concerto on his recording From the Audition Window.  I also recommend the Per Brevig recording Music for Trombone and Piano.

A number of technical challenges are possible in the Rimsky-Korsakov. As already stated, the key signature in the second movement can give some students issues. Two issues exist because of the publishing technique of the day and a lack of trombone technique from the composer. The breathing choices provided by the two publishers of the work often do not work musically and technically for players. Working through this issue with students is important. They will have a better idea of how to make their own editions afterwards. The publisher also has many articulation markings that usually are just not needed by trombonists. These included the ever popular staccato and marcato over a note marking. Working with students to create an understanding of this marking and why from a historical point of view it may have existed is important.  A technical issue I work through with students often is the coordination between the slide and articulation. Especially in the fast passages, students will have some issues present themselves. This is an opportunity for students to work on articulation and coordination. They can also work on fast single repeated articulation. I do not teach multiple tonguing with this work, I have never had a student who needed it at the given tempi.

#3- Ferdinand David, Concertino

The Ferdinand David Concertino is a strong example of a classical style concerto for trombone. As a teacher and performer it can be difficult to perform in auditions and hear in lessons as often as I do. However, its importance to students is invaluable. Students will perform the work at concerto contests, orchestral auditions and graduate school auditions. The work has become one of the major rubrics for deciding the musicality and technical proficiency of student trombonists. After learning the work, students can put it away for years at a time and come back to it with new ideas and ways of executing the technical issues involved.

I recommend several listening resources for this work. The blog by Jay Friedman has a recording of Jay playing the opening material without accompaniment. This recording is useful for students performing the work on an orchestral audition and can also provide some insight on how a major orchestral section leader wants to hear the concerto performed. The Carl Lenthe recording At the Audition Window is a strong interpretation of the work that includes piano accompaniment. For orchestral accompaniment I recommend the Michel Becquet recording from Michel Beqcuet et la musique. This is a live recording and only one or two issues with it. Becquet has a fantastic sound and plays the concerto with a great sense of musicality and proficiency. I don’t always send students to Christian Lindberg, but he does have several recordings. I find them to be overly flashy and he often takes musical ideas out of the context of the work in my opinion.

There is a common issue of the dotted eighth note and sixteenth note in the David concerto. After working on this with many teachers, I have found the easiest way to work on this is with another person. The other person can be a teacher or student; with a metronome they can keep track of that rhythm.  Often the sixteenth note becomes compressed to the triplet and the triplet has a tendency to compress as well. Being sure the student is really listening to good recordings is vital to solve this problem. Many students need to think about the rhythm away from the context of the baring system to really play it proficiently. This can also help with issues in the triplet conversion. Range both high and low can be an issue in the concerto as well. I have students work on scales and arpeggios in Bb, Eb, C, and F while working on this work. The idea is to increase the comfortable range both up and down using scalar passages. I also have students do a fair amount of lip slurs moving from the comfortable middle range into the high range. Most of the movement up in the concerto is through natural and lip slurs.

#4- Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Concerto per Trombone

The Wagenseil Concerto is one of the early works for alto trombone. I think it works as a strong introduction to the alto trombone for undergraduate students who have a strong understanding of the mechanics of the instruments and clef. Students who are not prepared to perform in alto clef or are uncomfortable with the alto trombone as an instrument will struggle with the work. It is important that the student be technically proficient to execute the musical nuances of the work. When  a student lists the ability to perform on alto trombone on a resume, I want them to have knowledge of the basic repertoire for the alto trombone. Because of this stipulation, I think it is good to start students with this work early.

I recommend several recordings for learning the Wagenseil Concerto for Trombone.  Jörgen Van Rijen has a strong recording of the work, Sackbutt. The style is appropriate and will help students to differentiate the light style and articulation style that is so different from romantic style tenor trombone performance. I also recommend the Alain Trudel album Trombone Concerti and for a recording with an older European style I recommend the Branimer Slokar Posaunekonzerte.  A combination of recordings will help most students develop their own musical and style ideals.

The challenges associated with this work include the use of the alto trombone. Students need to be comfortable with the slide positions, partial adjustments and have a strong knowledge of the scale patterns on the specific horn to be successful with this concerto. The style is very light and string like, finding the optimal point of resistance between the horn, mouthpiece and articulation is important. Many students come prepared with a compact sound, which I like to open up and keep lighter. This issue can be approached various ways, in my own performance I tend to work on arpeggios in the key I am working in, playing short notes, sometimes with air attacks and just the smallest amount of tongue articulation possible. I work with students to reduce compression from the articulation to open the sound and create a light, clear sound.

Additional challenges that this style of music brings up are the ornaments and unwritten cadenza. With young students, I listen to recordings with them and discuss the ornament options. With more advanced students I ask them to turn this into a research project. I provide the book of Bach ornamentation styles as reference and ask them to listen to recordings to make choices. All students have a copy that they actually write out the pattern they are going to use and practice from, so they have a specific decision. The cadenza is difficult to teach. I know some teachers just don’t have students play it, but I try to work with students to either improvise a cadenza (referring to our Baroque scholars at the college for help) or provide one of the three written candenzi I have used in the past (The Alessi cadenza, Chasanov cadenza, and my own created cadenza). All three are different and provide many options for students. Sometimes they are able to create there own version from these models.

#5- Paul Hindemith, Drei Leichte Stücke

The “Three Easy Pieces” by Paul Hindemith is written for cello. The name references the cello ability to play much of the work in first position with few complicated string changes. As a trombone work, it is a fine introduction work for tenor trombonists learning the bass trombone or tenor trombonists working in second partial. The work is also a strong introduction to the works of Paul Hindemith to trombonists who are required to have a certain amount of skill before attempting other works by the composer specifically for the trombone.

As the instructor, I find it valuable for students to listen to a variety of recordings. The first recording I recommend to students is Niall Brown, Hindemith for Cello and Piano.  This is a strong representation of the options the cello and piano have and the student trombonists can learn from the string interpretation. I usually ask students to find at least three cello recordings before listening to trombone recordings of the work.  The trombone recordings I recommend include the Ron Barron Hindemith on Trombone and the more recent Paul Pollard Point in Time. The Paul Pollard recording is especially useful to students working on tone production in the low range. If they are struggling I often pair Point in Time with Pollard’s many online videos about daily routine and tone production.

A number of technical challenges are present in this work for students to work on. There are several sections of duple against triple rhythms. Students will need to work on the rhythm away from the trombone, usually with a metronome. These passages must be very strict because the piano continues in the duple meter without a change. Additionally, the work helps initiate work in the valve for tenor trombonists and double valve dexterity for bass trombonists. I recommend students use false tones to help open up the first and second partial passages, especially at the end of each movement at a low dynamic level. Students should also be able to buzz the passages if possible, not at dynamics marked, but to be sure the vibrations are heard in the head. Because this is a cello work, there are no breath markings and some of the phrases are out of control for many student trombonists. I try to work with students to make rational breath choices that are musical when possible. This is also a fine chance to work on breath control in the low range with many students. The musical issues that present themselves to students can vary, some students are ready for the challenge and others not. I find that listening to many recordings helps most students. The work is also very vocal, so having a student sing passages, even an octave up, can help with dynamic and color choices.

Brass Choir

As students at Luther College are preparing to perform on the brass ensembles concert, I thought it would be fun to share the performance of the mass brass choir in the Spring of 2012. The group is nearly 100 student musicians in the Luther College Center for Faith and Life performing Toccata Athalanta, by Aurelio Bonelli. Pretty cool!

Entrepreneurship

http://21cm.org/magazine/sounding-board/2015/11/01/entrepreneurship-and-the-artist-revolutionary/

I recently found this article about entrepreneurship and artistry.  The article discusses the lack of differences between the two words and what this can mean for musicians. Check it out and see what you think.  I think this describes my understanding of art and shows that as artists we really need to spend time walking that line between our "day gig" and creating something new and experimentation.

Jazz Curriculum, Changes and Thoughts

I've been thinking about how I teach jazz in applied lessons. Every semester I run into a problem: my students are eager to learn tunes that they really aren't ready to execute. Particularly when transcribing the solos and learning changes for improv.
I want to keep my students involved in learning jazz and excited to do so. Often students get discouraged when involved in big band or combo chamber groups because they aren't quite at the same prepared place as some other students. I've been rethinking my curriculum and trying to organize it just a bit more, hopefully easing some of the transitional materials for students will be better. Check out what I've created and feel free to leave comments, I'm interested especially in what tunes other professors are having students learn and why.
Thanks!

In addition to following this course of study, students interested in jazz are expected to enroll in Jazz Combo Chamber Ensemble (insert course number) for a total of 3 semesters.  Students with a jazz emphasis on the music major are expected to enroll in Jazz Combo Chamber Ensemble for a total of 6 semesters.

Year One:

-       Jazz Literature

o   Basic Chords Handout

o   Maiden Voyage, vol. 54  (Aebersold)

o   Patterns for Jazz (for bass clef instruments) (Coker, Casale, Campbell, Greene)

o   Lip Slur Melodies (Edwards)

o   Jazz Fragments: for the beginning improviser (Elkjer, Robert)

o   Doodle Studies and Etudes (McChesney)

o   Melodious Etudes for Trombone (Rochut)

o   Intermediate Jazz Conception for Trombone (Snidero)

o   Trombonisms (Watrous)

§  Specific useful studies, intro to multi tongue, ghost notes

o   The Real Book

All of Me (Basie)

All the Things you Are (Kern)

Blue Bossa (Dorham)

Summertime (DuBose Hayward and Gershwin)

Take the A Train (Ellington/Strayhorn) 

Out of Nowhere (Green)

Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson)

Cantaloupe Island (Hancock)

Autumn Leaves (Kosma/Mercer)

Straight, No Chaser (Monk), slow tempo version

o   Recordings (applicable to Real Book selections)

-       Jazz Software

o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation). Technimo LLC.

-       Jazz Duets

o   Famous Jazz Duets for Trombone and Bass Trombone (OR two tenor trombones) Vol. 1-3 (Aldcroft)

o   Beginning Jazz Duets (Aldcroft)

o   Double Dip, Twenty Dynamite Duets for two Trombones (Davis)

o   Bone Kill (Davis)

o   Just Add Trombone (Davis, Feder)

o   Ten Duets for Tenor Trombone (Pederson)

o   Ten Duets for Bass Trombone (Pederson)

o   Ten Duets for Tenor and Bass Trombone (Pederson)

-       Transcription Projects (adding rhythm changes)

o   Kind of Blue (Davis)

o   Solar (Davis)

o   Soul Stirrin (Green, Benny)

o   Footprints (Shorter)

o   Cantaloupe Island (Hancock)

o   Chameleon (Hancock)

o   Tune Up (Davis)

o   Satin Doll (Mercer)

o   Minor Blues (Johnson)

-       Recordings to listen to for style

Wycliffe Gordon- instructional videos on YouTube.

Robin Eubanks

Frank Rosolino

Carl Fontana

Bob Brookmeyer

Conrad Herwig

J.J. Johnson

Jack Teagarden

Year Two:

-       Jazz Literature

o   Basic Chords Handout

o   II, V, I (Aebersold)

o   Contemporary Techniques for the Trombone (Vol. 1, Foundation Exercises for Jazz) (Baker)

o   Lip Slurs (Edwards)

o   Patterns for Jazz (for bass clef instruments) (Coker, Casale, Campbell, Greene)

o   Doodle Studies and Etudes (McChesney)

o   Melodious Etudes for Trombone (Rochut)

o   Jazz Conception for Bass Trombone (Snidero)

o   Jazz Conception for Tenor Trombone (Snidero)

o   Sight Reading Jazz (Bass Clef) (Taylor)

o   The Real Book, Bass Clef
All Blues (Davis)

All of Me (Basie)

Anthropology (Gillespie)

Blue Bossa (Dorham)

Summertime (DuBose Hayward and Gershwin)

Take the A Train (Ellington/Strayhorn) 

Out of Nowhere (Green)

Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson)

Cantaloupe Island (Hancock)

Autumn Leaves (Kosma/Mercer)

Satin Doll (Mercer)

o   Recordings (applicable to Real Book selections)

-       Jazz Software

o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation)

-       Jazz Duets

o   Famous Jazz Duets for Trombone and Bass Trombone (OR two tenor trombones) Vol. 1-3 (Aldcroft)

o   Beginning Jazz Duets (Aldcroft)

o   Double Dip, Twenty Dynamite Duets for two Trombones (Davis)

o   Bone Kill (Davis)

o   Just Add Trombone (Davis, Feder)

o   Ten Duets for Tenor Trombone (Pederson)

o   Ten Duets for Bass Trombone (Pederson)

o   Ten Duets for Tenor and Bass Trombone (Pederson)

-       Transcription Projects

o   My Funny Valentine, Proof Positive (Johnson)

o   Minor Blues, Proof Positive (Johnson)

o   Kind of Blue (Davis)

o   Soul Stirrin’ Soul Stirrin’ (Green, Benny)

o   Blues March Meet the Jazz Sextet (Fuller)

o   Alone Together, Gallery (McKee, Paul)

o   Blue Monk, New Friends (Knepper)

-       Listening resources

Curtis Fuller

Tommy Dorsey

Jack Teagarden

Kai Winding

Slide Hampton

Urbie Green

Wayne Henderson

Year Three:

-       Jazz Literature

o   Killer Joe (Aebersold)

o   Patterns for Jazz (Coker)

o   Sight Reading Jazz (Bass Clef) (Taylor)

o   Doodle Studies and Etudes (McChesney)

o   Reading Key Jazz Rhythms (Lipsius)

o   Basic Chords Handout

o   Real Book

§  Charts assigned by need and level

A Night in Tunisia

Fly Me to the Moon

Footprints

Michelle

Ornanthology

Confirmation

Scrapple from the Apple

-       Jazz Software

o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation)

-       Duets

o   Bonezilla (Davis)

o   Family Tree (Davis)

o   Trombone Institute of Technology (Davis)

-       Transcriptions and Tunes Based on Skill Level and Theory Knowledge

o   As assigned with listening projects

§  Examples:

o   Blue Room, The Sermon (Fuller)

o   Solitude, Ellington Songbook (Johnson)

o   A Day in Copenhagen, (Hampton)

o   Blue Monk, New Friends (Wesley)

Curtis Fuller

Conrad Herwig

J.J. Johnson

Frank Rosolino

Carl Fontana

Paul Desmond

Ray Anderson

Robin Eubanks

George Lewis

Conrad Herwig

Jimmy Cleveland

Year Four:

Materials in year four are dependent on student level and expertise.  Students should have a strong understanding of chord progressions and jazz listening.  Chamber ensemble work (Combo) is the key to continuing performance and improvisation learning.

-       Jazz Literature

o   How to Improvise (Aebersold)

o   Jazz Pedagogy, for teachers and students (Baker)

o   Patterns for Jazz (Coker)

o   24 Jazz Etudes (Gale, J.)

o   Dance Band Reading (Raph)

o   Real Book

§  Charts assigned by need and level

A Night in Tunisia

Cottontail

Days of Wine and Roses

Fly Me to the Moon

Footprints

Girl from Ipanema

Groovin’ High

Michelle

Ornanthology

Confirmation

Scrapple from the Apple

-       Jazz Software

o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation)

-       Transcriptions and Tunes Based on Skill Level and Theory Knowledge

o   As assigned with listening projects

§  Examples:

o   Echoes of Harlem, Right There (Turre)

o   Reelin’ and Rockin’ (Dickenson)

o   A Caddy for Daddy (Fuller)

-       Listening and other transcription examples

Ray Anderson

Curtis Fuller

J.J. Johnson

Carl Fontana

Frank Rosolino

Bill Reichenbach

Trombone Shorty

Jiggs Wigham