Resources

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Available for download below are some resources that other musicians may find helpful in their practice. Included are my daily warm-up and cooldown routines which have also been adapted for bass trombone. The bass routines are available in three versions; one for each of the main independent second valve tuning systems (G-flat, Bollinger, and G). Those with a dependent valve setup can certainly use these routines but will just need to omit the exercises and marked positions that require the second valve independently.

My warm-up routine serves as a daily fundamentals check before I dive into whatever I am going to do for the day, be it practicing, rehearsals, performances, or auditions. In contrast, my cooldown routine serves the purpose of feeling relaxed before resting, especially after a long or heavy day of playing.

I subscribe to the philosophy that tenor trombonists should be capable of everything bass trombonists can do (excluding things that absolutely require a second valve) and that bass trombonists should be capable of everything tenor trombonists can do. As such, I highly recommend tenor trombonists explore the applicable bass trombone-specific exercises found in the bass trombone routines and bass trombonists explore the tenor trombone-specific exercises found in the tenor trombone routines.

The ranges of the warm-up routines are structured around the upper limits of what is found in the standard orchestral repertoire. For the tenor warm-up, the written upper limit is F5 (Beethoven, Symphony No. 5) and, for the bass warm-up, the written upper limit is C5 (Stravinsky, Petrushka). There are certainly pieces that go beyond F5 but I try to be in that kind of shape only when required. In my own practice, I have found that constantly being in that kind of shape can take away from more important aspects of my playing.

Regarding warming up on alto trombone, I much prefer warming up on tenor before touching the alto (even if I have a performance only requiring alto). After warming up on tenor, I recommend transposing a few applicable exercises from the tenor warm-up up a perfect fourth to get settled on alto. Not much extra playing beyond that should be necessary.

In both routines, each major section has a few sentences that help guide the player through the exercises and introduce key thinking points. At the end of both routines are written notes that go into further detail about the exercises and their purposes. It may be helpful to read those before working through either routine.