TromboneDo - the way of playing the trombone

I am pleased to present my first exercise book TromboneDo.

TromboneDo represents something like the lowest common denominator of the most important exercises for trombone playing.

Since it is easy to lose track through the large number of warm-ups, routines and other trombone exercise books, I have tried to limit TromboneDo to the essentials.

Essential means for me the things I always have to fall back on in my everyday life like:

- Sound

- connecting notes (be it lip slur or legato) and

- attack

This reduction of the material to be practiced has the great advantage of being able to concentrate entirely on the one thing.

In my practice I have made the experience that the more concentrated and attentive one works on the basics, the more progress one makes.

Whether beginner, advanced or professional: TromboneDo is suitable for everyone.

TromboneDo – Do is Japanese for “way”. Japanese Arts such as Karate-Do – the way of the empty hand, Judo – the gentle way, or Sado – the way of tea, express a connection to Zen Buddhism by including the “way” in their name. In Zen Buddhism, meditation as the purest form of practicing mindfulness is of utmost importance. Thus, the deeper meaning of exercising the aforementioned arts does not lie in the art itself but rather in their use for practicing mindfulness. Therefore, you can consider these arts forms of moving meditation.

For over 10 years now, I have been engaged in the martial arts and in this time, I have come to know the significance of mindfulness and discovered parallels to music. The playing and listening to music, as well as practicing music or musical building blocks lives from the deliberate concentration on the present moment. What counts is always just the current phrase, the note that is being played right now. This is why, in my experience, attentive and mindful practice, even if it is just for 10 minutes, is more efficient than practicing for two hours in front of the TV. Playing music and practicing mindfulness not only complement one another, they are two sides of the same coin. For that reason, I have chosen TromboneDo – The way of playing the trombone as a title for this method. The exercises in it should not in themselves be seen as “the way”. But rather, they should present examples, with which you can grasp the underlying idea.