TromboneChat

I play alto trombone for a while now (about two years) and would say I got pretty ok by now. But for now I only played the lower trumpet parts in treble clef (in a locale brass ensemble) or sometimes higher tenor trombone stuff in bass clef which is both not ideal for alto trombone I think. At home I don't really exercise the alto or just play around most of the time which is not perfect as well. Now I'm searching for some fun to play literature to improve further on my skills, range and for learning the alto clef, I'm thinking of something like bordogni (which I enjoy practising on tenor) in alto clef. Or any melodious etude book is fine. It should utilize the full alto range and should be mainly written in alto clef and should be fun to play as well. Bordogni level would be perfect so it is a bit challenging but not so hard one gets frustrated, I'm no professional, just for fun.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Viola books. Lots of alto clef there

Nomsis wrote: ↑Tue Nov 07, 2023 4:03 am I'm thinking of something like bordogni (which I enjoy practising on tenor) in alto clef. Or any melodious etude book is fine. It should utilize the full alto range and should be mainly written in alto clef and should be fun to play as well. Bordogni level would be perfect so it is a bit challenging but not so hard one gets frustrated, I'm no professional, just for fun.

Then, one thing you can do is simply play Bordogni/Rochut in alto clef. That transposes it up a 7th, which is conveniently the same as transposing down a step/reading from Bb parts, you just add 2 flats/remove 2 sharps (accidentals stay the same except # on what looks to you like E or B means natural, and natural on those notes means flat). Some of the etudes end up too high, but a lot of them would still work. For the few with already lots of flats, you can instead remove 5 flats/add 5 sharps.

Otherwise, vocal music for solo contralto or mezzo-soprano, in old editions where they still used alto clef for the voice. You'll easily find some on IMSLP.

Have a look at Cherry Classics. There’s W Grove’s alto version of Arban’s on there, as well as some Bach compiled and transcribed for alto by Ralph Sauer. I also see 2 books of Bordogni arranged as duets for alto and tenor trombone by David Ritt.

I'd highly recommend looking at the recent work from Alex Knutrud. I think he recently released a new method book on alto trombone and I'm sure there are some great etudes out there as well.

Sluchin’s book is great. It’s got alto/tenor duets and everything.

The Arban’s on Cherry Classics is great, particularly the Art of Phrasing section.

Thanks for the hints, looks very promising, from there I can choose. To sad I have nobody playing duets (especially in alto clef) with me. I think I'll go for the etude book from knutrud and maybe something from cherry classics.

I know of violas playing in alto clef but I don't think I want to go down that rabbit hole of viola literature (:

You might also want to look at the site of Mike Lake (www.altobone.com). He has a lot of books related to alto trombone and also to jazz improvisation (not necessarily on alto trombone).

Check out Cherryclassics.com. There are a lot of books and solos there for all of the Trombone family. I really enjoyed the Arbans Method transcribed for alto - really a great way to address fundamentals on the alto. Gordon Cherry, the former Vancouver Symphony Principal Trombone has created a nice publishing site for brass, with a lot of contributing composers/arrangers.

There's also a good selection of material for the alto on Hickeys.com

Jim Scott

"Sluchin’s book is great. It’s got alto/tenor duets and everything."
This has some Bordogni/Rochut in alto clef, also some Bach cello pieces. However, they are in tenor range (so not high register), but good for practicing in alto clef. Might be in the first book, check contents.