Antonio Noriega Brass Methods II 3/22/13

Full Lesson Plan - Trombone

1. Playing Position a. Stand to sit Before we learn how to play the trombone, we are first going to learn proper playing position. Stand up tall in front of your chair at about shoulder width apart. Think about how straight an elevator goes down. Sit straight down without changing your upper body. Make sure as you are sitting down that you do not push your bottom out. You can then adjust your legs according to your height. b. No body part touches another As you sit down and adjust yourself according to your height, keep in mind that none o f your body parts should be touching another. Keep your arms away from your rib cage, and legs separate. c. Floating Heads Keeping the previous steps in mind, make sure that your head is lifted and tall. d. Soft Bodies When working with previous steps, you want to make sure your entire body remains soft, relaxed and free from any tension. e. Gently push back toward the stomach The last step is to push your back gently toward your stomach causing your body to create a tall and lifted appearance.

Assessment: Now that we have gone over playing position, can you demonstrate the five steps we discussed?

Transition: Now that we have learned about playing position, you may now grab your trombone case.

2. Trombone Assembly a. Set the case on the ground label faced up, bell side of case to the left Set your trombone case in front of your feet, on the ground with the label facing up. Latches and handles will usually be located on the bottom part of the case. b. Open the case Once you are sure the case is oriented the correct way, unlatch the case using both of your pointer fingers and open it. c. Grab the slide with the right hand Grab the slide with the right hand and the receiver towards you and the leadpipe away from you. Set the slide on the rubber stopper located at the end of the slide. d. Grab bell by the bell branch with the left hand Then grab the bell by the bell branch with the left hand. e. Position trombone angle Afterwards position the trombone slide and bell at a 90 degree angle. The trombone should resemble an L shape. f. Tighten the receiver Once the position is set in place tighten the receiver. g. Grab mouthpiece While securely holding the trombone in one hand, reach for the mouthpiec e in the case. h. Insert mouthpiece in the receiver Insert the mouthpiece into the receiver.

Assessment: Ask student to assemble the trombone.

Transition: Now that we have gone over trombone assembly, we are going to discuss the parts that make up the trombone.

3. Trombone Anatomy a. Explain the anatomy of the trombone such as the Tuning slide, Bell, Bell branch, mouthpiece, braces, outer slide, inner slide, slide lock, counter weight, and water key On the trombone there are several components that you need to know. This is the. (Lists and points to all the parts listed in step d)

Assessment: Ask student to identify parts of the trombone.

Transition: Now that we have gone over the parts that make up the trombone, we are going to discuss hand position.

4. Trombone Hand Position a. Left Hand Make your left hand into an L shape. Place thumb under the brace and rest your pointer finger on the shank of the mouthpiece. Rest your remaining fingers on the bottom of the slide. (Teacher demonstrates before asking student to perform task) b. Right Hand Take your right hand and place your thumb, middle, and pointer finger together. (Teacher demonstrates before asking student to perform task)

Assessment: Ask student to demonstrate hand position.

Transition: Now that we have gone over hand position, disassemble instrument and store it in its case.

5. Walking around with the trombone in the case a. Explain how to walk around the classroom with the trombone in its case. (Teacher demonstrates how to walk around the classroom with the trombone in its case) When walking around with the trombone in its case, make sure that you do not bump into anything such as a chair, table, door, etc.

Assessment: Ask student to walk around the classroom without bumping into anything.

Transition: Now that we know how to walk around with the trombone in its case safely, we can move on to the next topic.

6. Normal Face, Breathing, First Vibration a. Make a relaxed face as though you were watching T.V. (corners of mouth stay towards teeth. b. Then bring your pointer finger up to the middle of the mouth breathing through the corners of the mouth. c. Place the mouthpiece on various parts of the students face to make sure they are not reacting I am going to take the mouthpiece and place it on various parts of your face. The goal is to not react to me place the mouthpiece on your face. d. Exhale using the poo syllable Bring your pointer finger up to the middle of your mouth again and breathe through the corners of your mouth. Exhale using a poo syllable like this: (Demonstrate poo syllable to student) e. Next lick your lips.

f. Bring the mouthpiece to your face keeping everything normal (mouthpiece goes on the middle of the mouth, 2/3rds on top and 1/3rd on the bottom) and use poo to try to let a vibration happen (do not let the lips change). (Teacher then demonstrates the visual aid for the lips with both hands.)

Assessment: Ask student to demonstrate a first vibration combining all the elements discussed in this step.

Transition: You may now set down your mouthpiece in the case and grab a piece of paper so that I may explain the concept of note shapes.

7. Note Shapes a. Draw note shapes on paper and explain them I will now draw what I call a note shape. A note shape is basically a sound sustained for a long duration of time. b. After making a first vibration, put the mouthpiece on instrument and bring it to playing position. (Remind the student of posture, licking lips and poo syllable) I want you to bring the trombone your face and just let the vibration happen using the poo syllable we discussed earlier. (teacher demonstrates visual aid for the lips with both hands) c. Use faster air while using the poo syllable to make a note shape. (send air, dont push!) d. Then sustain the note shape for a long duration

Assessment: Ask student to draw a note shape based on multiple sounds that I model for them. Then have the students play a note shape.

Transition: Now that we have a basic understanding of note shapes, we can now discuss the centering process.

8. Centering a. Define centering playing with a vibrant, resonant tone with maximum efficiency Allow me to first define the process known as centering. Centering is playing with a vibrant resonant tone with maximum efficiency. b. Think of a radio dial and the different frequencies by the movement of the dial. We all have our favorite radio station with a certain frequency or waves traveling through the air. When the dial is above our favorite station the sound becomes distorted. We can see this as being above centered. When the dial is below our favorite radio station the sound also becomes distorted. We can see this as being below center. Once we finally reach our favorite radio station, the sound becomes clear. We can relate that to getting the centered sound we want. c. Demonstrate above, below, and centered sounds. I am going to demonstrate above, below and centered sounds. d. Ask students to give you adjectives concerning above, below, and centered sounds. I want you to come up with adjectives that describe each sound that I demonstrate for you on this piece of paper. e. Have student play a centered note making sure to let the lips touch softly so they can vibrate freely. Now that you have heard me demonstrate a centered sound, I want you to play a note shape, but add more air making sure you keep your corners firm, tongue soft and low, and posture as relaxed as it can be. f. Change different variables of centering such as horn angle, and aperture to center a sound. That was a great first attempt at a centered sound. Now let us try a couple of things to tweak your sound. g. Try different variables to center the students sound until the desired sound is reached. Variables to Centering:

Oral Cavity Jaw Placement Air/Wind Trombone Angle Tongue Position Mouthpiece Placement Firm Lip Corners Above Center Adjectives: Pinched, Small, Tight, Sharp, Bright Center Adjectives: Beautiful, Vibrant, Full, Loud, Resonant, Clear Below Center Adjectives: Airy, Fuzzy, Saggy, Shaky, Weak, Flat

Assessment: Have student demonstrate a centered sound.

Transition: Now that we have demonstrated a centered sound, we can move on to articulation.

9. Articulation a. Define articulation the way we tongue or slur Articulation is the way we tongue or slur. b. Say too or thoo over and over again and have the student copy you. I am going to say too a couple of times. Repeat after me.

c. Demonstrate too too too too on students hand and have them blow it back on your hand. Raise your hand in front of me. Now I am going to blow at your hand while saying too too too. Now I am going to raise my hand and I want you to blow too too too in it. d. Check to see if the tongue is moving up and down and the air is connected e. Model poo too too too for student (unregulated articulation) (find center then unregulated articulation) I am going to model poo too too too with my trombone and I want you to give it a try afterwards. f. Have student repeat after you poo too too too g. Make sure all the notes are connected

Assessment: Have student demonstrate unregulated articulation.

Transition: Now that we can have you articulate with a good sound, we are going to move on to the next step in the sequence.

Side notes on articulation (great tools): o o o o o o o o Make sure students are not pulling back their tongue hara hara Tongue should stay soft Tongue needs to return to its natural position Tongue does not stop air, it only interrupts it Tongue movement is continuous Tongue where the back of the top teeth and gums meet (incisive papilla) Tongue touches same place every time Last Resort: Clare Johnsons Hamburger Exercise Gently hold the back of the tongue with molars. Next let the tip of the tongue move up and down and say too too too too too. Helps to isolate the movement up and down of tip of the tongue

10. Lip Slurs a. Requires three steps (all low to high): 1. Air suddenly goes faster After I model faster air with my centered sound on my trombone, I want you to try it. 2. Let the lips touch closer Keeping step one in mind, I want you to try letting your lips touch a little closer make your aperture or the small hole on your mouth smaller. Let me demonstrate this first. 3. Say ah for the lower note to ih for the higher note The first two steps are pretty good. To complete the lip slur, change your syllable from ah to ih as you go higher. b. Go through each step one at a time c. Go through all steps simultaneously (at the same time)

Assessment: Have student demonstrate a lip slur going from low to high and high to low.

Transition: Now that we have gotten a grasp on lip slurs, I want you to demonstrate a few key points I have taught you in this lesson.

Side note on lip slurs: Relate steps 2 and 3 to a water hose, if you want to squirt your friend who is several feet away, you cover the end of the hose with a thumb. The smaller aperture causes the water (air) to increase in frequency with little effort. Slur sounds need to be centered! As you slur low to high, send the air more downward and practice changing air direction on your hand.

11. Assessment: a. Student will demonstrate: 1. One good note shape 2. One good centered note 3. Unregulated Articulation 4. One Slur (Ascending and Descending)