MASTERING

a to

o f all the brass inst

ern trombone has o|
referred to as the onetl
singing voice. The reason? Legat^
singing voice, the trombone has i
Every articulation—whether it be:
staccato, tenuto, or legato—must 1
without the aid of a button or key.
bone player can move from one note i
next in a smooth, uninhibited fashion,
ists sometimes use portamento, a sliding cfe
Todd L. F TO one note to another. However, outside of jazz, trombonists i
transition that way. Legato, the seamless playing of a musical line, is
fy the cantabile of the trombone. As such, it is also one of the most impor-
tant and most difficult articulations to be mastered by any player.
Most students learn tenuto articulation, long notes separated by a slight space,
as the first step toward perfecting legato. However, without sequential instruction,

Todd L Fallis is professor of trombone at Utah State University in Logan.

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 3 19
students rarely master legato style. Students should learn legato tech- partials without tonguing, build facial
Moving from tenuto to legato seems nique within the first year or two of muscles and flexibility (much like
easy enough. Simply connect all the playing. It can easily be taught right stretching for an athlete) necessary for
notes from breath to breath. But as alongside marcato or staccato tech- moving effortlessly between notes or
your students attempt to play legato, niques. By practicing fundamental intervals. Emory Remington's Daily
you may hear the following: trombone techniques, your students Warm-Up Studies is standard fare for
• smears between notes can move from playing tenuto or even all trombonists. (For more informa-
• some notes projecting better than mediocre legato to mastering true tion about books mentioned in this
others cantabile style. article, see the resource list on page
• spaces between notes 23.) It includes two-, three-, four-,
• spaces between large intervals Using Warm-Up Material and five-note slurs in all seven posi-
• differences between notes in the Legato is infinitely easier if the tions (and through triggers for F-
same partial versus notes in differ- trombonist is adept at ordinary lip attachment and bass trombonists).
ent partials slurs. Lip slurs, or moving between High school and college level players
will benefit greatly by using the slur
section of Max Schlossbergs Daily
Drills and Technical Studies for Trom-
bone, exercises 1-59. In addition,
trombonists should play the tongued
scale patterns using legato style. Most
players practice Jean-Baptiste Arban's
Complete Method for Trombone, pages
63-78 and pages 84-90 in both mar-
cato and legato style. These studies
are essentially revolving scale patterns
in major, minor, and chromatic
modes. However, a simpler scale pat-
tern can be used (see figure 1). Break-
ing up long tones using the legato
pattern in figure 2 is also helpful.

Legato as Technique
50th Anniversary Marcato can be considered the
Issue—Free! fundamental articulation of trombone
Don't start class playing. In essence, legato should be
without one! approached much like marcato. Imag-
ine marcato as a note in the shape of a
• New! Precorder & Recorder brick—a clean attack, a solid sustain
Neck Strap—Free! or middle portion of the note, and a
• New! QChord Big Book \|U^* clean release. As such, a melody line
of marcato quarter notes would
of Songs resemble figure 3. In a similar sense,
• New! Rhythm, Drums and Step Right Up! legato simply connects each of these
Percussion Instruments perfectly shaped notes (see figure 4).
• New! Suzuki Acoustic and The vertical line of each brick rep-
resents the tonguing of each note.
Digital Pianos
However, the sound is seamless. The
• New! Guitar, Amp and brick image may seem unusual, yet
Microphone Lines consider the alternative. Variations on
this theme have been heard by many
Otdet Oiclfoe teachers. Some students may play a
www.suzukimusic.com crescendo note where the attack is
weak, the center or middle portion

20 T e a c h i n g M u s i c
 use Reginald Finks Studies in Legato for
(Figure I: This pattern should be practiced at various tempos, in all keys,
land in the full range of the trombone.
Trombone as a stepping-stone to
Rochut. However, musically speaking,
this etude book is a poor choice. A
better choice is Giuseppe Concone's
Legato Etudes for Trombone. The best
choice might be the seldom-used
Javostar Cimera's 55 Phrasing Studies.
In this case, the studies are short—
',- Figure 3 one-third to one-half page in length—

a en a in various keys, and with limited

r r r r r r r r
range. Many of the etudes are sealer,
saving the more disjunct and interval-
lie etudes for later in the book. Teach-
ers should own and explore all
Figure 4
possible etude books on legato.
Regardless of the book chosen,
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 the following four steps offer further
instruction for students learning lega-

r r r r r r r r to. This example uses etude 11 from

Rochut's Melodious Etudes for Trom-
bone.

jbillows out, and the release is abrupt, larly the beginning section of Arban's Step I
hers may play a decrescendo note Complete Method for Trombone, pages First, have the student play
where the attack is clean or even over- 17-43. In addition, consider Oscar through the first phrase of number 11
iccented, the middle portion fades Blume's 36 Studies for Trombone or 36 (figure 5) in marcato style. This will
nth a lack of sustainable air, and the Studies for Trombone with F Attachment. familiarize the student with the notes
Release is nonexistent. You might even Practice etudes la-m, 5, and 6. and rhythms of the etude before con-
ar a note whose sound is banana- centrating on legato style.
aped, most easily described by say- Performing Legato Style
ling the nonsense word "bu-wah." Most teachers assign Johannes Step 2
INone of these alternative variations Rochut's Melodious Etudes for Trombone, Second, eliminate the slide vari-
Ion the marcato theme are correct or transcribed from Bordogni's Vocalises able by having the student play the
|conducive to performing a smooth for singers, as the definitive book for rhythm of the phrase in perfect legato
l&to style. mastering legato. Although this is a style on one note (see figure 6). Pick a
Again, master the brick-shaped fine book, it is often too difficult, note that lies in the middle of the tes-
[•marcato first. Refer to Schlossberg and beyond the first dozen exercises, for situra of the phrase.
JArban for tongued exercises, particu- many young players. Many teachers If the student cannot play con-

Figure 2: Make the sixteenths as smooth as possible, and work with this routine in the high, middle, and low
range of the instrument.

etc.

etc.

December 2003 21
 Figure 5

Etude II from Melodious Etudes for Trombone, edited by Johannes Rochut© Carl Fischer. Reprinted with permission.

Figure 6

*-! 1 0 1 0 1 0-1 1
*—1f —1 * ) P~~l
\
1*
«.
1
f /

^
Figure 7

T = tongue S = slur G = gliss

nected repeated tones correctly, he or tongued note. Refer to this as the "puff 1. The player moves from one note to
she will certainly not be able to exe- per note." It is important for the player the next in the same harmonic or
cute legato between varying pitches. to concentrate on puffing the air in partial. For example, F-E, E-D,
The key to this step lies in the play- conjunction with releasing the tongue C-D (on staff).
ers ability to articulate the repeated so that the tonguing action does not 2. The player moves from one note to
tones as lightly as possible with a create a space between notes. Although the next across harmonics or par-
quick release of the tongue. The the airflow is continuous, it is rarely tials. For example, B^-C, F-G,
tonguing syllable for legato should be consistent. A burst or puff of air must A-D.
"da" as opposed to "ta," which is be conceptualized and coordinated
often used for marcato playing. The with the tonguing of each note. Move With the first possibility, a gliss
"da" tongue will help the player avoid to step 3 once the student has connect- results if the tongue does not articulate
too much tongue pressure, keeping ed the repeated tones on a single pitch each note. With the second possibility,
the tonguing action light and smooth. in the rhythm of the phrase. a slur results if the tongue does not
By saying "da," the player will place articulate each note. When playing
the tongue correctly on the ridge of Step 3 legato, these two note-to-note possibil-
the mouth, directly behind the teeth. Consider that in legato, two possi- ities "play" very differently In the first
In addition, the player must burst bilities exist when playing connected case, legato is completely the players
the air through the horn with each tones: responsibility In the second, the natu-

22 Teaching M u s i c
 al slur is or can be a "friend" in the
empt to connect the notes. To find Try These for Tron^bne Legato
ut how these two scenarios operate ArbarvJean-Baptiste. Complete Method for B^ibone. New York- Carl Fischer, 1936.
ithin legato, consider the following. Blume, Oscar. 36 Studies for Trombone. New York: Carl Fischer, 1962.
Ask your student to perform the Blume, Oscar. 36 Studies for Trombone wftf) F Attachment New Yorlc Carl Fischer, 1962.
Ifirst phrase of the etude in rhythm Bordogni, Marco. Melodious Etudes for Trombone. Edited by Johannes Rochut.
•with no articulation beyond the initial New York Carl Fischer, 1928.
attack following each breath. From Cimera, Javostar. 55 Phrasing Studies. Miami, FL: Belwin, 1950.
-A will be a natural slur, from A-G a
Concone, Giuseppe. Legato Etudes for Trombone. Edited by John Shoemaker.
Igliss, from G-F a natural slur, and so New York Carl Fisher, 1969.
Ion (see figure 7). Listen to how the
Fink Reginald H. Studies in Legato for Trombone. New York Carl Fischer, 1969.
Missed notes are obviously connected,
Remington, Emory. Datty Warm-Up Studies. Edited by Donald Hunsberger. Athens,
lyet the naturally slurred notes are
OH: Accura Music, 1980.
islightly broken or spaced. Essentially,
I the player automatically increases the Schlossberg, Max. Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trombone. New York
M. Baron, 1947.
I airflow or puff per note for the gliss.
' (The trombonist should not slide over
i the gliss. Instead, he or she should tongue and resulting in a gliss. need not be broken down in this fash-
I blow through the microtones.) But, Instead, the student should hold the ion. But as the pkyer progresses, more
often the player will cheat and use the note preceding the skip for its entire difficult passages can easily be broken
:, natural slur as a "friend" and conse- duration and move the slide at the down into these four steps, which may
quently not increase the air when con- last possible moment. To accomplish help to eliminate or at least isolate each
necting the notes between partials. this, mentally subdivide each beat of the variables involved in performing
Have the student try the exercise into sixteenth notes and make the legato style.
again, this time concentrating on change only after reaching the last Perfecting legato style on trom-
increasing the airflow for the naturally sixteenth note. This works exception- bone is a long process, but it's well
slurred notes. The connections will ally well with large interval skips. worth the trouble in the end. Mastery
strengthen and become smoother. of legato takes concentration and
AFTER LEARNING LEGATO INITIALLY, complete attention to detail and air
Step 4 a student can use this four-step process volume. The result, however, is noth-
Once the student is continually only as needed. In short, every phrase ing short of cantabile at its best. ^
increasing the airflow (refer to this as
an air crescendo) through the slurred
and glissed phrases, he or she is ready
The MUSIC LESSONS series is comprehensive Music Theory and Ear Training software
to try legato. Step 4 essentially com- that's easy to use, pedagogically proven, and so flexible that it works with beginning through
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gliss connection has not yet been Reference, detailed record keeping for unlimited users, and more.
addressed. In theory, totiguing should
MUSIC LESSONS I Fundamentals covers Note
MUSIC
eliminate the gliss, resulting in a
smooth connection. But if it were that
easy, trombonists would not need to
I
MUSIC
LESSONS I
Reading, Circle of Fifths, Key Signatures, Major
and Minor Scales, Modes, Jazz Scales, Scale
Degrees, Intervals, Note and Rest Durations, and
Ear Training in Intervals and Scales.
work so hard at legato. The key lies in LESSONS II
controlling the airflow as with the MUSIC LESSONS H Chords and Harmony
helps you learn to NAME chords you see; WRITE
slurred notes. First, a burst or puff of chords on the music staff; PLAY chords on the
air needs to be conceptualized and built-in instruments (piano/guitar or MTDI); and
coordinated with the tongue. Always HEAR and identify chords in the ear training drills.
increase the air while playing (air "The software is effortless to manage, easy to manipulate,
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December 2003 23