First, what has been the best advice or direction you've received from a teacher regarding making music with your instrument?
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
Two questions
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ttf_hyperbolica
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ttf_Geezerhorn
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Two questions
Quote from: hyperbolica on Dec 04, 2016, 05:26PMFirst, what has been the best advice or direction you've received from a teacher regarding making music with your instrument?
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
1) Pick a style and try to sell it.
2) N/A
C) Good advice should come from a good source; i.e. someone who plays exceptionally well themselves. Otherwise, advice is filtered through my own experiences; both as a listener and as a player.
...Geezer
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
1) Pick a style and try to sell it.
2) N/A
C) Good advice should come from a good source; i.e. someone who plays exceptionally well themselves. Otherwise, advice is filtered through my own experiences; both as a listener and as a player.
...Geezer
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ttf_jalapeno
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Two questions
1) the show STOMP - they can make music with trash....so can you with a trombone
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ttf_Burgerbob
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Two questions
1. If it looks and feels easy, then it sounds that way too. And it should always be easy.
2. Always be part of the group. Never get that look.
3. With trial and error.
2. Always be part of the group. Never get that look.
3. With trial and error.
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ttf_robcat2075
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Two questions
QuoteFirst, what has been the best advice or direction you've received from a teacher regarding making music with your instrument?
This is a composite of numerous sources, none of them having said it in exactly this way nor having adequately explained it individually...
You need to know what it's supposed to sound like. You need a mental expectation. You need to be able to recognize the difference between "good" and "you" so you can work at getting closer to good and know if you are approaching it or not.
Without that, your practice time is mostly wasted. Practice time is where you progressively correct yourself and make yourself better and you can't do that without awareness.
Quote from: hyperbolica on Dec 04, 2016, 05:26PMAnd because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
Does it work? Does it make sense? Is it something good players actually do?
There isn't much about music that is something you doggedly pursue without benefit until, years later, the clouds suddenly part.
This is a composite of numerous sources, none of them having said it in exactly this way nor having adequately explained it individually...
You need to know what it's supposed to sound like. You need a mental expectation. You need to be able to recognize the difference between "good" and "you" so you can work at getting closer to good and know if you are approaching it or not.
Without that, your practice time is mostly wasted. Practice time is where you progressively correct yourself and make yourself better and you can't do that without awareness.
Quote from: hyperbolica on Dec 04, 2016, 05:26PMAnd because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
Does it work? Does it make sense? Is it something good players actually do?
There isn't much about music that is something you doggedly pursue without benefit until, years later, the clouds suddenly part.
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ttf_bigbassbone1
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Two questions
1. Make it sound good. You can score analyze, listen/copy all you want, but if it doesn't sound good to you, you won't convince others it is musical.
2.Be cold and clinical when taking an audition. Don't be a robot but dont let your feelings get in the way of distracting you from the task at hand.
3.You can't really.... its usually worth trying everything however ridiculous it might be. Its bad advice if you can honestly say it doesn't help you after trying, and its good advice when you get a good result. No one TRIES to give bad advice, so give all advice a fair shot.
2.Be cold and clinical when taking an audition. Don't be a robot but dont let your feelings get in the way of distracting you from the task at hand.
3.You can't really.... its usually worth trying everything however ridiculous it might be. Its bad advice if you can honestly say it doesn't help you after trying, and its good advice when you get a good result. No one TRIES to give bad advice, so give all advice a fair shot.
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ttf_Exzaclee
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Two questions
1) probably some of the best advice I ever had was to learn the song. Be able to sing it. Learn the chord progression, lyrics (if applicable), form, etc. Particularly on a trombone, anything you can't sing you probably can't play either. Usually if I'm having a problem with a tune or a particular lick, I'll learn to sing it as pitch perfect as I'm capable of, in time with good rhythm, with basic chordal accompaniment on piano. Then I'll form an embouchure and sing it with the articulations I'll use playing it. Then I add the horn. This approach has helped me solve those things I have trouble with more often than not.
2) Be reliable. Show up on time, prepare for every gig as intensely as you are capable of, dress right, respect the music and the other musicians on stage... be reliable. I've learned over the years that sometimes this means not taking a gig you either don't have time to prepare or aren't qualified for.
3) When you're young it's hard to separate good advice from bad. If you make a habit of getting information from multiple sources, you have a better chance of developing the critical thinking skills you need to separate the good from the bad. While it is good to find a good teacher and stick with that person for a while, taking from multiple teachers will make your education more well rounded. Choose good teachers with recommendations. Don't quibble with them over differences in approaches to pedagogy, gather differing viewpoints and see what works for you.
2) Be reliable. Show up on time, prepare for every gig as intensely as you are capable of, dress right, respect the music and the other musicians on stage... be reliable. I've learned over the years that sometimes this means not taking a gig you either don't have time to prepare or aren't qualified for.
3) When you're young it's hard to separate good advice from bad. If you make a habit of getting information from multiple sources, you have a better chance of developing the critical thinking skills you need to separate the good from the bad. While it is good to find a good teacher and stick with that person for a while, taking from multiple teachers will make your education more well rounded. Choose good teachers with recommendations. Don't quibble with them over differences in approaches to pedagogy, gather differing viewpoints and see what works for you.
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ttf_Gabe Langfur
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Two questions
Quote from: hyperbolica on Dec 04, 2016, 05:26PMFirst, what has been the best advice or direction you've received from a teacher regarding making music with your instrument?
Always start with what you CAN do.
QuoteSecond, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
It wasn't direct advice, but I remember reading that Dave Taylor just said yes all the time when he was getting started in New York. Money didn't matter; just say yes to every opportunity, show up, and do your best.
When I was in grad school I found a letter in my mailbox one day asking if I would play a benefit concert for free. I said yes; the other grad students said they wouldn't play for free. At that concert I met a contractor who hired me for my first professional gig in Boston and many thereafter.
QuoteAnd because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
Very generally, good advice is about saying yes, being open, learning. Bad advice is about saying no and thinking you have nothing to learn from a situation.
Always start with what you CAN do.
QuoteSecond, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
It wasn't direct advice, but I remember reading that Dave Taylor just said yes all the time when he was getting started in New York. Money didn't matter; just say yes to every opportunity, show up, and do your best.
When I was in grad school I found a letter in my mailbox one day asking if I would play a benefit concert for free. I said yes; the other grad students said they wouldn't play for free. At that concert I met a contractor who hired me for my first professional gig in Boston and many thereafter.
QuoteAnd because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
Very generally, good advice is about saying yes, being open, learning. Bad advice is about saying no and thinking you have nothing to learn from a situation.
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ttf_largobone
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Two questions
1. A quote from my teacher has guided me for years now in this respect: "Always make beautiful sounds. If it isn't pretty, no one will want to hear it (even your own mother!)" -Casey Maday
This was occasionally coupled with shouted phrases and copious amounts of hand motions and pointing but I think you get the gist. No matter what I'm doing, from marching band, to performing a solo in front of thousands of people, I'm always playing beautifully and trying to be expressive. Any time you spend messing around and half-assing your playing, someone else is practicing and getting better than you.
2. I'm not technically a pro (though I have been paid on numerous occasions) but there are a few pieces of advice that have made a big difference to me:
-Refer to answer #1
-Be reliable, on time, ready to perform. Don't put too much on your plate.
-(Referring specifically to auditions but applicable elsewhere) Control every aspect you can, and let everything else go. No amount of last minute antics will change anything, you are as prepared as you can be and it's best simply to warm-up as best you can, and go in there knowing that you did the best you could. -Paraphrased from a lesson with Will Baker
3. Usually I try everything I hear, but I already have a general idea what works for me and what doesn't, so rule out some obvious stuff. The best rule to go by is how much respect you have for the adviser and what credentials they have. My teachers and role models, for example, all have long resumes and demonstrated their capabilities through the students they taught, all before I met them and got to know them. After that, I got the sense of trust and therefore learned to trust their advice more and more. Then there are those on this forum who have shown to be very trustworthy and knowledgeable, and I generally accept and try to catch on to the things they teach.
This was occasionally coupled with shouted phrases and copious amounts of hand motions and pointing but I think you get the gist. No matter what I'm doing, from marching band, to performing a solo in front of thousands of people, I'm always playing beautifully and trying to be expressive. Any time you spend messing around and half-assing your playing, someone else is practicing and getting better than you.
2. I'm not technically a pro (though I have been paid on numerous occasions) but there are a few pieces of advice that have made a big difference to me:
-Refer to answer #1
-Be reliable, on time, ready to perform. Don't put too much on your plate.
-(Referring specifically to auditions but applicable elsewhere) Control every aspect you can, and let everything else go. No amount of last minute antics will change anything, you are as prepared as you can be and it's best simply to warm-up as best you can, and go in there knowing that you did the best you could. -Paraphrased from a lesson with Will Baker
3. Usually I try everything I hear, but I already have a general idea what works for me and what doesn't, so rule out some obvious stuff. The best rule to go by is how much respect you have for the adviser and what credentials they have. My teachers and role models, for example, all have long resumes and demonstrated their capabilities through the students they taught, all before I met them and got to know them. After that, I got the sense of trust and therefore learned to trust their advice more and more. Then there are those on this forum who have shown to be very trustworthy and knowledgeable, and I generally accept and try to catch on to the things they teach.
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ttf_Dombat
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- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 12:42 pm
Two questions
1. Speak with your instrument. We get taught at a young age that music is made up of question and answer phrases. Go deeper, find the meaning and how the inflection of your rhetoric defines your music. Find not just the question marks and full stops but every emphasis on every sylable, the other punctuation and the flow of the sentence. Define the meaning of every single note, don't just play it.
2. The classic - if you are early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, you're fired.
In an orchestral situation ocassional bad playing can be excused if you are professional and collegial. Most people will forget a wrong note here or there -turning up late to a rehearsal, having your phone ring in a rehearsal, speaking negatively about a colleague can stay with you for an entire career.
2. The classic - if you are early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, you're fired.
In an orchestral situation ocassional bad playing can be excused if you are professional and collegial. Most people will forget a wrong note here or there -turning up late to a rehearsal, having your phone ring in a rehearsal, speaking negatively about a colleague can stay with you for an entire career.
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ttf_NYPhil
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Two questions
Re #1, best advice i got was that a good sound comes first. Playing in a section, on a paid gig, fancy pyrotechnics are rarely needed. If you want to called back, u need to play in tune with a good sound, and blend in nicely to support the final result.
Re #2, (Somewhat tongue in cheek)... I was on a gig, hanging out with the other trombone players before the baton dropped. One of the grizzled older trumpet players pulled me aside and said (these were his exact words): "Kid, don't bother making friends with the other trombone players. If a good gig comes to them, they are gonna keep it to themselves. Hang out with the other musicians to make connections, and be called first".
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ttf_Rockymountaintrombone
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Two questions
Both of these come from Ed Herman, former NY Phil. Principal, and my teacher at MSM and Juilliard:
1. Quality over quantity (I'm paraphrasing here). Other trombonists/brass players and even conductors notice tone, tuning, time first, along with attention to dynamics and articulation. Great technique and range, and flashy playing are not bad things, but should never be at the expense of those qualities, and won't get you anywhere on their own.
2. The best sections will do their best work with little verbal communication. The more you have to talk about what's happening musically as a section, the less you're likely to get on the same page. As a Principal, try to encourage an atmosphere where listening is key.
I've found myself in situations over the years where I didn't feel like I could follow the second point as much as I wanted to, and upon reflection, realize that he was really right. Resorting to verbal instructions seldom helps make players that aren't listening suddenly start to do so. An occasional clarification of what part of the orchestra that I'm using as my gauge for time, etc. is enough to help settle things with players who are listening as a matter of course.
One bonus tip - "The best relationship you can have with a conductor, is when he has to refer to you by your part (1st Trombone) because he has no idea what your name is."
Jim Scott
1. Quality over quantity (I'm paraphrasing here). Other trombonists/brass players and even conductors notice tone, tuning, time first, along with attention to dynamics and articulation. Great technique and range, and flashy playing are not bad things, but should never be at the expense of those qualities, and won't get you anywhere on their own.
2. The best sections will do their best work with little verbal communication. The more you have to talk about what's happening musically as a section, the less you're likely to get on the same page. As a Principal, try to encourage an atmosphere where listening is key.
I've found myself in situations over the years where I didn't feel like I could follow the second point as much as I wanted to, and upon reflection, realize that he was really right. Resorting to verbal instructions seldom helps make players that aren't listening suddenly start to do so. An occasional clarification of what part of the orchestra that I'm using as my gauge for time, etc. is enough to help settle things with players who are listening as a matter of course.
One bonus tip - "The best relationship you can have with a conductor, is when he has to refer to you by your part (1st Trombone) because he has no idea what your name is."
Jim Scott
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ttf_trombonemetal
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Two questions
1) there are two mantras that help me enormously. They stand for larger concepts.
"Time, Tune, Tone." This is about the mental goals, execution, and analysis of making music.
and
"Do less." This is about the physical.
"Time, Tune, Tone." This is about the mental goals, execution, and analysis of making music.
and
"Do less." This is about the physical.
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ttf_anonymous
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- Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2018 10:09 pm
Two questions
1) Always use the right sound for the music you are playing.
2) N/A
3) I wish I knew for sure how to do this ... I
2) N/A
3) I wish I knew for sure how to do this ... I
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ttf_savio
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- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:58 am
Two questions
Quote from: hyperbolica on Dec 04, 2016, 05:26PMFirst, what has been the best advice or direction you've received from a teacher regarding making music with your instrument?
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
1 and 2;
For me its not one advice but more the hole attitude from teachers. Also just listen them play has given me a lot to find my own way to play. Or listen any great player. And see how they behave among other musicians and people in general.
Good advice or bad advice? I try to be open, but I ususally listen more to great teachers and players with lot of experience. Its a bit difficult because we all need different input sometimes. And its not easy to understand always what I need my self. But generally I trust experienced teachers and players.
Still I remember even my mother told me things about my playing I learned from....
Leif
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
1 and 2;
For me its not one advice but more the hole attitude from teachers. Also just listen them play has given me a lot to find my own way to play. Or listen any great player. And see how they behave among other musicians and people in general.
Good advice or bad advice? I try to be open, but I ususally listen more to great teachers and players with lot of experience. Its a bit difficult because we all need different input sometimes. And its not easy to understand always what I need my self. But generally I trust experienced teachers and players.
Still I remember even my mother told me things about my playing I learned from....
Leif
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ttf_savio
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:58 am
Two questions
Quote from: hyperbolica on Dec 04, 2016, 05:26PMFirst, what has been the best advice or direction you've received from a teacher regarding making music with your instrument?
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
1 and 2;
For me its not one advice but more the hole attitude from teachers. Also just listen them play has given me a lot to find my own way to play. Or listen any great player. And see how they behave among other musicians and people in general.
Good advice or bad advice? I try to be open, but I ususally listen more to great teachers and players with lot of experience. Its a bit difficult because we all need different input sometimes. And its not easy to understand always what I need my self. But generally I trust experienced teachers and players.
Still I remember even my mother told me things about my playing I learned from....
Leif
Second, for the folks who make most of their living with a trombone, what has been the best piece of professional advice you've had that has influenced your career.
And because I can't count, how do you distinguish good advice from bad advice?
1 and 2;
For me its not one advice but more the hole attitude from teachers. Also just listen them play has given me a lot to find my own way to play. Or listen any great player. And see how they behave among other musicians and people in general.
Good advice or bad advice? I try to be open, but I ususally listen more to great teachers and players with lot of experience. Its a bit difficult because we all need different input sometimes. And its not easy to understand always what I need my self. But generally I trust experienced teachers and players.
Still I remember even my mother told me things about my playing I learned from....
Leif