120 Melodic Articulation Studies for Bass Trombone

Brass players should think of articulations as colors on a painter’s palette, striving to use the widest array of hues to best serve the needs of the music. Great string players are able to produce a seemingly limitless variety of articulation styles; likewise, vocalists have the advantage of text and diction to help provide musical nuance. Legendary jazz singer Frank Sinatra sums up the approach of learning from other musical sources in this famous quote, “My greatest teacher was not a vocal coach, not the work of other singers, but the way Tommy Dorsey breathed and phrased on the trombone.” Trombonists will benefit from following Sinatra’s lead by learning from the best musicians across all genres.

In this book, Donn Schaefer has distilled a wide variety of articulations from many different musical influences and applied them to the etudes of hornist Joseph Schantl. The result is a book reminiscent of Kopprasch's 60 Studies, only with more articulation variety. Use this book to expand your palette of musically expressive options while deepening your understanding of melodic phrasing.

"Donn Schaefer has provided us with a nice collection of short exercises that hone a wide variety of musical techniques. I have known Donn since he was a graduate student, and this book is a wonderful fulfillment of his commitment to placing musical expression at the forefront of trombone playing." - John D. Rojak, American Brass Quintet; Juilliard; Director of Brass Studies, NYU; Hartt