It looks similar to a fragment of a minuet from Brahms. I recognized it from an elementary study book of mine (Suzuki vol. 2 for violin). It gave me nostalgia and I had to find it…
So, because it’s in an elementary study book (assuming it is easy for trombone as well), maybe the joke is that when practicing alone you go for easy things that you like instead of what you should be practicing.
You can slur any 2 notes on a trombone with good tonguing and a fast hand.
On a trombone, you always tongue with “Ta” and “Ka” sounds for a good articulation, but when you slur with notes that have different positions you tongue with “Da” and “Ga” sounds instead. During the brief moment where your air isn’t moving you snap your hand to the next note’s position, and the result sounds similar to slurring between fingerings on a trumpet.
That totally works for legato, but if you are going for that “mwAAAAAAaaaaaa” it wouldn’t really work. I may be mixing up my notation though - am I thinking glissando?
Edit: Also I know it’s common usage of “ta-ka” and “da-ga” but it reminds me of my trombone teacher who died in a car crash on the way to my lesson. Grant was awesome and the first teacher to tell me I was good at my horn. I miss him and think about him every time I warm up my horn.
Edit edit: here’s my eulogy I wrote for him (I’m drunk at an airport and emotional)
There is something special about the language of music- it is universally understood. Even if the time signature is foreign and the key signature is strange, it still is accessible to all who take a moment to hear it. It is a love language, and one that Grant was fluent in.
I met Grant by wonderful accident. I had played trombone for many years having been self taught. Lessons scared me as I had memories of frustrated sighs and angry faces telling me that I was not meeting some standard. But when I met Grant, it was apparent there was an understanding. He knew that music wasn’t about proving yourself a virtuoso in the Chicago Philharmonic, it was about emotional connection. It was about love.
We worked together to not only build on fundamentals that I missed, but to grow into the avant-garde. We broke the form together and made discoveries with use of my looping pedal and menagerie of instruments. This fit so well with his history. He would reminisce about his time in Chicago, just a few blocks away from me where he worked at a little known music store called the “Warehouse”. Many may not know the significance of this place, but in the 80’s it was a place of revolutionary music. It was the birth of house music, and he was there at the beginning
He knew music in the bravest way. He was not afraid to put himself out there- his brass funk group had videos that you can see where he was filled with happiness and the spirit of fun. He shared that fun with me. Possibly the greatest gift he gave me was the confidence to know that I was a compitent player. He was the only teacher to say he was impressed with my progress. What made him a great teacher was that he taught from a place of love, he made sure that I looked forward to practicing, that I was not afraid of the one thing that gave me the most joy in the world. That patience and caring showed through- I am confident many can attest to this as well.
Grant spoke the language of music fluently. He knew the syntax, the phrasing, and the love that built the connections to all those he touched. He poured his heart into mine with every lesson. I will cherish that learning and will fill others with his legacy. I will miss him, but every time I pick up my horn and take that meditative breath, I know he will be there telling me “relax Alex, find the tone, feel the music, you will do great”.
What about those 4 and 0 over the Es? Do they make sense for trombone?
Because for violin they look like fingering hints. You can make that E with either the 4th finger on the A string or with no fingers on the E strings. You can see the same 4s on my picture. I think my book wanted to use this piece to teach when to use the 4th finger and when the empty string.
The trombone starts at 1st position (slide all the way in) in my experience, so yeah you’re probably right about the marks being for violin, where I presume 0 means open/no fingering?
It looks similar to a fragment of a minuet from Brahms. I recognized it from an elementary study book of mine (Suzuki vol. 2 for violin). It gave me nostalgia and I had to find it…
So, because it’s in an elementary study book (assuming it is easy for trombone as well), maybe the joke is that when practicing alone you go for easy things that you like instead of what you should be practicing.
Whole piece for reference:
That is it, but my joke is only about the face in the middle of the picture.
You know, violin makes more sense- half of those slurs make 0 sense on trombone.
That’s not trombone, that sheet music is treble clef, trombones are bass clef.
I don’t see where the post shows treble clef. I’m still on the fence on the slurs, although I could be mixing up glissandos.
You may be referring to the comment, but that wasn’t what I was referring to.
You can slur any 2 notes on a trombone with good tonguing and a fast hand.
On a trombone, you always tongue with “Ta” and “Ka” sounds for a good articulation, but when you slur with notes that have different positions you tongue with “Da” and “Ga” sounds instead. During the brief moment where your air isn’t moving you snap your hand to the next note’s position, and the result sounds similar to slurring between fingerings on a trumpet.
And now that understand why trombonists get all the girls.
That totally works for legato, but if you are going for that “mwAAAAAAaaaaaa” it wouldn’t really work. I may be mixing up my notation though - am I thinking glissando?
Edit: Also I know it’s common usage of “ta-ka” and “da-ga” but it reminds me of my trombone teacher who died in a car crash on the way to my lesson. Grant was awesome and the first teacher to tell me I was good at my horn. I miss him and think about him every time I warm up my horn.
Edit edit: here’s my eulogy I wrote for him (I’m drunk at an airport and emotional)
There is something special about the language of music- it is universally understood. Even if the time signature is foreign and the key signature is strange, it still is accessible to all who take a moment to hear it. It is a love language, and one that Grant was fluent in.
I met Grant by wonderful accident. I had played trombone for many years having been self taught. Lessons scared me as I had memories of frustrated sighs and angry faces telling me that I was not meeting some standard. But when I met Grant, it was apparent there was an understanding. He knew that music wasn’t about proving yourself a virtuoso in the Chicago Philharmonic, it was about emotional connection. It was about love.
We worked together to not only build on fundamentals that I missed, but to grow into the avant-garde. We broke the form together and made discoveries with use of my looping pedal and menagerie of instruments. This fit so well with his history. He would reminisce about his time in Chicago, just a few blocks away from me where he worked at a little known music store called the “Warehouse”. Many may not know the significance of this place, but in the 80’s it was a place of revolutionary music. It was the birth of house music, and he was there at the beginning
He knew music in the bravest way. He was not afraid to put himself out there- his brass funk group had videos that you can see where he was filled with happiness and the spirit of fun. He shared that fun with me. Possibly the greatest gift he gave me was the confidence to know that I was a compitent player. He was the only teacher to say he was impressed with my progress. What made him a great teacher was that he taught from a place of love, he made sure that I looked forward to practicing, that I was not afraid of the one thing that gave me the most joy in the world. That patience and caring showed through- I am confident many can attest to this as well.
Grant spoke the language of music fluently. He knew the syntax, the phrasing, and the love that built the connections to all those he touched. He poured his heart into mine with every lesson. I will cherish that learning and will fill others with his legacy. I will miss him, but every time I pick up my horn and take that meditative breath, I know he will be there telling me “relax Alex, find the tone, feel the music, you will do great”.
Need to find me a trombone player for a good tonguing and a fast hand
What about those 4 and 0 over the Es? Do they make sense for trombone?
Because for violin they look like fingering hints. You can make that E with either the 4th finger on the A string or with no fingers on the E strings. You can see the same 4s on my picture. I think my book wanted to use this piece to teach when to use the 4th finger and when the empty string.
The trombone starts at 1st position (slide all the way in) in my experience, so yeah you’re probably right about the marks being for violin, where I presume 0 means open/no fingering?
I think as the orb meme trend fades, we should come in with trombone posting.