Trombone Masterclasses

John Fedchock & Jen Wharton

 

Day 1: Basic Trombone Skills – Breathing, warming up, sound concept, flexibility and tonguing.

Day 2: Practicing Scales & Chords – Practical application of trombone-friendly scale/chord patterns conducive to jazz phrasing and contours. Study of parent scales & modes and how they relate to the key signature.

Day 3: Basic Improvisation Skills – Creating melodies using simple ideas, repetition and conversational melodic approaches. Finding a commonality between tonalities within a standard tune. Exploring rhythmic ideas and discussing the importance of accents and syncopation to create authentic jazz phrasing.

Day 4: Techniques Exclusive to the Trombone – Special articulation techniques, Advancing Slide Technique, Practical Application Of Alternate Positions, Building The Upper Register, Expanding Technique On The Bass Trombone (or single-valve tenor trombone).

Day 5: Last Day Wrap-Up, Q&A, and Repertoire – Addressing any questions or clarifications regarding earlier discussions. Discussing the fact that not all jazz tunes are easily executed on the trombone and some may need to be approached in special ways to accommodate these issues. A discussion about creating a special sound and giving of a list of players to follow for examples of everything discussed over the week.