They are roughly in order of difficulty and/or importance. Some of them will interest you more than others: do those that you enjoy! The activity is good for both musicians.

Note: the most important factor in learning is that it be positive experience. Students (or you yourself) are unlikely to stay long in a learning project that is not fun. Take your time, lots of time; be patient and have fun!

On your instrument(s), or vocally, call/response, echo, playback short patterns, rhythms, short melodies, beginning with very simple material and eventually getting longer and more complex.

Ask each other questions, either from a keyboard or with other instruments (no peeking):

What KIND of scale is this?

What INTERVAL is this?

What kind of TRIAD is this? (Chord quality–major, minor, diminished, etc.)

What (4-note) chord type is this?

Here is a C (or some other given pitch); now what pitch is this next one? (Sometimes higher, sometimes lower.)

Here is a C (or other); now what triad is this? (Save inversions for a little later.)

Here is a C (or other); now name the following pitches as I play . . .

Note: Midrange is easiest for most students, or their vocal range. After you get good at a type of question, explore RANGE.

(More …) Here is a melody you know well (tell me if you don’t know it) in the key of __. I will play a wrong note someplace–you tell me what the wrong note was, and what it should have been.

Now write down this melody. (Note that melodic dictation requires knowledge of written manuscript, including rhythmic notation. Notation will be important. Notation can be a good tool in learning to play by ear, but it is not the SAME as playing by ear. It is very valuable of course, but it is time-consuming. Quicker progress in Playing By Ear might be achieved by temporarily postponing written dictation skills.)

What is a II-chord in the key of A-flat major? Spell it.

Compete, always in a friendly way, to see who can memorize the most new tunes in a week. Play them for each other.

Listen to a recording together. Listen. Don’t talk. Notice things you like (or dislike). At the end of the track, discuss what you noticed. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Listen deeply.

Frequently compliment each other’s progress. That’s great!

Teach your friend a new song. Learn a new song, aurally, from your friend.

Collect several Play-Along recordings, in a variety of styles, and share/swap them with friends.

Most young jazzers find Play-Along recordings physically and mentally tiring at first. You will have more fun, and make quicker progress, if you practice with a friend. Alternate choruses, or alternate tunes, or trade 2-chorus solos, or 8-bar sections. It is Okay to stop, laugh, discuss, begin again. And it is Okay to skip a track you do not yet enjoy.

Continually encourage each other to maintain non-jazz practice of scales, technical work, etudes, drills, solo literature, band parts, etc. It is not wise for young jazz enthusiasts to over-concentrate in jazz. Play legit duets and trios. Trade scales and technical patterns. Legit technical work never hurt anyone’s jazz.

As soon as you might be ready, do find a place to play jazz for an audience.

Transcribe some solos together, cooperatively.

Make a game of this: How many keys can you play “_______” in without stumbling?

With Play-Along albums, practice playing together, with one of you playing the melody and the other playing harmony, countermelody or responsive melody (in the spaces). Trade jobs on alternate choruses.

Encourage each other to develop more and more skills at the piano. It will help you in more ways than you know.

Give each other jazz-related gifts for Christmas, birthdays, graduations and on any occasion–Play-Along albums, jazz texts, albums by your heroes, fake books, etc.

If ready, discuss with your friend the harmonic analysis of some standard that interests you both. What key are we really in at this point? What would be the significant accidentals to employ in the new key area? How do we know this is a temporary key–what makes it so? Discuss: the lengths of the phrases, lyrics, rhythms, deceptive cadences, whatever you see.

Keep after each other to learn a good variety of tunes–ballads, latins, waltzes, Dixieland, jazz standards, old bounces, originals, new tunes by contemporaries, etc.

They are roughly in order of difficulty and/or importance. Some of them will interest you more than others: do those that you enjoy!

Note: the most important factor in learning is that it be positive experience. Students (or you yourself) are unlikely to stay long in a learning project that is not fun.

Play many simple tunes by ear, in easy keys and easy ranges at easy tempos. Select only tunes you know at first: Christmas carols and nursery rhymes are probably familiar. Usually this is not taught in school music programs or in private lessons; make it a do-it-yourself project.

Often, before you play a tune, sing it. This will refresh your memory, help your ear, and help you to complete the song. Instrumentalists must not be shy about using the voice.

Also play those simple tunes at the piano. This is more important than many non-pianists realize.

Transpose (playing) simple tunes into many keys. First do some other easy keys, and then later you will play the same tunes in every key you know. It’s fun! Also in addition to tunes, play various “head patterns” such as broken thirds, triads, scale fragments, arpeggios, etc.

Get a little pocket sized spiral notebook to carry with you and begin to draft several lists of tunes:
Tunes I Know
Tunes I Am Working On
Tunes I Want To Learn
As the list of Tunes You Know grows longer, eventually break it down into sections: Ballads, Jazz Heads, Bossa Novas, Rock, Dixie, Waltzes, Christmas Songs, Show Tunes, Old Swing, etc. If you think one section of your list is too short, go learn some more. All working jazz musicians should maintain this valuable list. Keep the list in your instrument case. With it you will always have good ideas of what to practice; without it, many students cannot think of what to work on, or what to play next. Photocopy your list for safety.

Begin to embellish the tunes you know. Add grace notes. Play in rubato style. Add vibrato and jazz elements. Use swing rhythms. Add chromatic passing tones, scalar passing tones, lower neighbors, and pickups. Use stylistic devices like short trills, glisses, falls, etc.

Read the following excellent books: Coker, How to Practice Jazz; Coker, Jazz Improvisation; David Baker, Jazz Improvisation; Dan Haerle, The Language of Jazz; and Jamey Aebersold, any of the text in the books that come with the albums.

Listen to jazz almost every day. Find things you especially like and listen to them over and over, dozens of times, until you are truly familiar with the material and can hum or whistle it. You will absorb it, it will influence you, and you will probably learn to play it. This listening is necessary.

Later you will listen to a wider variety of music, some of which you may like a bit less, but still need to learn about.

Keep learning tunes. Never stop! This will help you play better lines, and all good musicians know a lot of tunes. Many students neglect repertoire.

You should own some fake books to help you learn many tunes correctly. But learn the tunes and their harmonies by memory. Try not to be one of the players who must have his book along.

Take some jazz improvisation courses or lessons. A good teacher/coach can guide you to many shortcuts and save you years! Jazz has never been entirely self-taught.

Know music theory quite well, at least through scales and chords, basic Roman numerals and simple analysis, common functional harmony, jazz chord symbols, treble and bass clef, modes, secondary dominants and principles of transposition.

Learn how to write music down on paper. Do this almost every day with fairly neat manuscript. This actually will help your ear, and it is a form of dictation. A musician who cannot write music is missing out on a lot. It will also help your reading and your rhythmic skills. When you are able, transcribe all or part of a solo from a recording.

Be quite familiar with II-V-I in major keys (and then in minor). Get the idea, and because this progression is basic in jazz and common in almost all American popular music. Make up many different little melodies that will fit this very common harmonic cadence.

Periodically record yourself. Perhaps play a ballad with no accompaniment. Play another with a recorded rhythm section (Aebersold et al). Listen to what you’ve played. It won’t sound as good as you do, unless your recording equipment is very good, but this is tremendous help in developing style and refining technique. Take pride in the good things and develop them further; remedy that which is not-so-good.

Take one tune on which you can improvise and play it to death, perhaps for an hour or more, really! Saturate yourself with it. When you get bored by your playing, use your intellect to escape the rut (see the attached page titled “This Time I’m Going To _______”). Design new licks, new rhythms. Discipline yourself to play (for instance) more repeated notes, or more ascending passages, or more long notes, or more spaces (rests), or more short phrases, more pickups, or more sequential material.

Pick tunes you know (start with one) and harmonize it at the piano. See Alan Swain’s books on this, but do it often. Then discover more possibilities with reharmonization.

Continue to work, always, on your basic instrumental (or vocal) techniques. Maintain a great sound. Good legit workouts and plain technical work have never hurt anyone’s jazz. First be a good craftsman; it will not stifle your genius.

Be sure to continue work on your ranges: high and low, loud and soft, fast and slow.

Compose a new song (with or without lyrics).

Compose a countermelody to some song you know. Do this on paper, with or without the piano as a tool. It could be rhythmically near-unison, or it could be rhythmically very different, complementary, or near-opposite. It could be very imitative. (You’ll probably find the nicest sonorities (sounds) if you mostly use the intervals of sixths, thirds, sevenths and tritones away from the original melody.) Doing it on paper, with your instrument handy, slows the process and gives you more time to think and to imagine, with interesting results.

Build endurance on your instrument, so you have the stamina to play or practice quite awhile. Play until you feel fatigue (but avoid exhaustion).

Be sure to develop the strength to play loud enough. A solo that is too soft might as well not have been played. Do some loud practice each day.

Learn and use jazz-flavored “ornaments” and stylistic devices such as trills, shakes, falls, scoops, rips, doits, et al.

“How should a teacher (college, trombone) approach the student whose primary interest is jazz?”

This will not be a step-by-step syllabus, it wouldn’t fit. Most of it will apply to any wind instrument. I do have a printout of “Teaching Jazz Trombonists, An Overview” which I will snail-mail if you write or email me directly/privately (not the list!) with your request and your snail address. It’s a chart and won’t go into email. Let’s please use, for this, ervint@u.arizona.edu

On rereading this, much of it is addressed to the student also.

I think:
1. The best way to learn this instrument (slide trombone) is still, primarily, the legit (non-jazz) exercises and etudes. Scales, arpeggios, flexibilities et al, keys, reading, endurance, good sound, etc. They won’t hurt your jazz at all. “First be a good craftsman; this will not stifle your genius.” Playing (manipulating) jazz trombone is very similar to nonjazz trombone. (This is less true on guitar, bass, and maybe saxophone.) On trombone we still do not have a fully-developed library of jazzy pedagogical materials — it’s coming. I mean, you/he/she cannot learn to play jazz trombone by only working on jazz material.

2. The two best books that a college student should read to learn about jazz are both by Jerry Coker and available from Aebersold: “How to Practice Jazz” and “Jazz Improvisation.” These are concise (dense, compressed) and may require frequent re-reading. There are other good books also.

3. Listening is the best single teacher, focused listening. The serious student listens to, get this, players by whom he (she) wants to be influenced, Many Times!until the licks and styling are internalized and memorized (and imagined and copied). This will usually continue forever until you are old and jaded. Start with, I guess, JJ, Frank Rosolino, Bill Watrous, Carl Fontana and John Allred for mainstream; but there are many more! TAP Music Sales is maybe your single best (largest) source 1-800-554-7628 for an important brass catalog. However, just listening is not enough of course.

4. The student Must first learn to play familiar tunes in virtually any key. The kid has no business aspiring to jazz, if he cannot yet play Happy Birthday, or White Christmas, in Any Key at the drop of a hat. If you hear a melody in your head, you can play it. If you hear a lick on the radio, you can copy it (if it’s within your technique). Go ahead on work on other jazzy things also, even if you/he cannot do this well. But you Will need it! This is prerequisite, I’m not lying.

5. It will take about as much time and effort, to become a fluent jazz player, as it did to learn your instrument in the first place. Ask any fluent jazzer. If the student is an “ambitious jazzer” (beyond curious) he’s going to need to practice almost as much as the embouchure can stand. So much to learn!!

6. See Rob Boone’s fine article on Practicing Jazz (trombone) in the Summer 95 ITA Journal.

7. Gotta read! Huffnagle and Paisner, Alan Raph “Dance Band Reading” and several more but start there. Better learn to read concert treble fluently also.

8. Take, pass, ace Freshman and Sophomore theory. Do not slight eartraining and sightsinging, as so many do — they try to escape it, for heaven’s sake! Learn to write music by hand, legibly and correctly. Finale will be valuable later, but might get in the way of your trombone also.

9. Sing in a choir; make music with your body.

10. Note most trombone improvisation is above the bass staff; build range and endurance. Note most of it is legato; clean that up and develop quick clean legato. Note that most jazz comes at you pretty darn fast; it is not deliberate and careful like (most of) the legit trombone literature. Work at quick thinking.

11. The Aebersolds and other play-alongs are some of the best money you will ever spend. And (I think) you’ll get the Most from them by using them with a friend or two. Start, I guess, with any from albums 1, 54, 3, 12. CD is the only way to go any more.

12. Memorize tunes and the changes (chords). And the form. Know all the facts. Use the memory and the brain. Escape the print asap.

13. Technique (fast accurate playing) must be developed and kept that way. Without remarkable technique the improviser must continually Edit (Edit Out) some of the best licks and replace them with something simpler. This takes valuable time from the process, and is also a pity.

14. The Blues is one important dialect of jazz. Blues is critically important historically, and very valuable today. I see a frequent problem however, when students Start with the Blues. Blues is (seems) relatively easy to accomplish and manage, and for many students who start in Blues, they get that (“I can play The Blues in Both Keys!”) and never go beyond. I propose you might be wise to postpone concentration on Blues. (Boy, that may start a fight if the jazz eds hear it…)

There’s so much I might say…

For the non-jazzer teacher, let me see…coach the trombone playing technique, and tell the student What You Hear as a musician and as a trombonist. Coaching is tricky even in legit stuff; it is more tricky in improvised music.

If I aspired to taking orchestral auditions, I simply must study that material with an expert (or someone else will certainly win the audition). The jazz student also needs time with jazz experts, champion players, skilled jazz educators. The non-jazz teacher cannot become this person, probably. Jazz camps and clinics are usually very good. This kid is going to learn more (jazz) from jazzers than he is going to learn from his legit teacher.

There are probably dozens of approaches you Can Use in your teaching studio…try this, if the student will cooperate with you. On a certain Aebersold track (got CD playback in your studio?), very familiar to the student, ask him to play with Intent….Plan….

“Now try this: This Time I am Going To _________” and fill in the blank. This time I am going to (choose one, only one at first):
play longer phrases
play shorter phrases
play more ascending phrases
play more descending phrases
imitate myself more often, rhythmically or melodically or both use more accidentals
lay out until Those Chords Come and cover them better
sing instead of playing (rest the chops)
play like I was just now singing
push myself technically and play faster
use more triplets (intermittent, mingled with eighths)
use more sixteenths or double-time
employ more pickups, play into downbeats
Not play so many 2 or 4 bar phrases
avoid the tonic
avoid the roots
vary phrase lengths
play better in tune
play JJ licks
play like Carl
play like Frank
play like Ray
play with my eyes closed
Play with eyes wide open, reading hard
play more strictly in time, “giusto”
play more loosely with the time, lazily maybe, rubato
play louder
play not so darn loud
use more syncopations
start off the beat oftener
end phrases with short notes off the beat
stop doing “That” (whatever) so much
mind my embouchure, or my hand position
(add to this list at any time)

Playing with Intent, intention, on the same track repeatedly, will grow the student into more possibilities and get out of the rut.

There is real danger in the jazz life. Increased danger of flunking out of school, hanging out with the Wrong People (you Will be influenced by those you hang with). Careful there, kid. Good luck. (Why do you think they call it Dope?)

Finally, for the teacher again, be Supportive. Praise almost always works better than disapproval. But do maintain your standards and your musical opinions, be the teacher, and don’t lie to the kid. If he ain’t practicing, this is not going to work.

A student requested advice on college auditions. 2 cents here. This is my 27th year, gosh, of teaching college trombone.

1. Practice more than you eat. Every day, or you are not going to be a competitor.
2. Make a tape of your Best Playing. Please don’t cheat with many splices; the tape should be a true representation of your Best Work. It does not have to be done in recital; a studio or living room is fine. But I recommend the tape, over a live audition, because you can fix a tape and make a better first impression.
3. Nothing bad on the tape, of course. And the Best Stuff First.
4. What literature? Might depend on the professor you hope to impress. From incoming freshmen,we are used to hearing Voxman and other All-State etudes, Rochut, Blazhevich etc. Accompanied solo literature is not absolutely required, but we are favorably impressed IF the ensemble (togetherness) is excellent, both players played great, and the piano is in tune (with the player, too).
5. Show a variety of style(s) in Not Too Long a tape. (Some years we get 30 of these; 20 minutes should do it.) A half-page of this, half page of that, plenty of keys, ranges, tempos, variety of articulation and musical flavors.
6. Select the best material you can really Play Well; don’t over-reach and Crash.
7. It is not easy to make this tape (for most folks). Give yourself time, start early, start now, many sessions, to get many selections “in the can.” Then assemble the casette master and make duplicates.
7a-insert. Send the tape to the prof (or the right address) of several schools in Plenty Of Time. November/December/January (for a fall start) works best in this part of the USA. We do Most of our recruiting work, and scholarship work, in the Spring. The applicants who “have the act together” early can get an early offer. Thosewho show up in April will likely wait for leftovers, on a list. I suppose that calendar may vary in other states; you find out. It is quite all right to phone the prof 2 weeks later to learn if the tape was received safely. (It is wise to apply for “admission” to that school at the same time. Early. There are schools which will not consider tapes, or at least will not offer scholarships to students who have not yet applied for admission. We have few awards to give, really, and if, for instance, the high school grades are abysmal, much time is wasted…
8. How will it be judged? Same way you’d judge it, usual things. Good voice to the instrument, clear articulations, solid rhythm, nearly spotless intonation. Control. No (unintended) smears or holes in the legato. Accurate execution. Dynamics and nuances may be hard to record well, but go for it.
9. Include orchestral excerpts only if you know how they go, please! Indeed these are the standard fare for orchestral auditions of course. But I’d advise students not to volunteer these parts if you are still scuffling. 10. Utilize vibrato cautiously, and only if it is clean and tidy and gets many compliments from your teacher. Some teachers, only a few, have some very strong thoughts about vibrato (When, How, etc.). No teachers want to hear much nasty vibrato, irregular and out of control, out of tune . . . lotsa ways to offend someone here.
11. Don’t include duets with a friend, or a quartet with yourself playing lead (or bass) (or second). Go naked. Even a brass quintet, it’s just too hard for the listener to make the judgement.
12. I don’t mind jazz on an audition tape… If it is Good! Only a very few high school players (will this start a fight, I hope not) play trombone well enough, technically, to play jazz at Audition Level. Solos I mean, improvisation. And there are some professors still, who don’t want to hear your jazz at all, even if it Is Good.

Now, the live audition, either for scholarships/admission (in advance) or for ensemble placement (once you’re on board).
1. Be in shape, fit, best you’ve ever played.
2. Be warmed up. All Ready To Go.
2a. Much deep breathing and self-talk will help your confidence. Learn to do this; do it often, it is a valuable tool often ignored by youngsters. 3. Bring in music you would like to play, and then knock their socks off,
politely! (Ideally) this should be music that you have prepared for weeks or months, recorded often, and played in Pretend Auditions for your teacher and parents and buddies repeatedly.
4. Probably you will be asked to sightread. Honest sightreading of music you have never seen before. Practice doing this, every day between now and then. Reading duets is good practice too.
5. Clean instrument, clean mouthpiece. Clean clothing, shoes with socks, clean shirt probably with a collar. I think coat & tie only if you are comfortable in them. Girls, anything nice.
6. If you prefer to stand, stand; sit, ask to sit. Want the stand higher, adjust it yourself. Water your slide.
7. Probably (if not behind a screen) you will introduce yourself, so practice doing that (name etc. and a good First Impression). If you are not used to doing this, it may contribute to some nervousness.
8. Don’t talk too much at first; I mean Too Much. Simply get on with it, play well! The longer you delay, the harder it might become.
9. Likely this will not be your “best take” of the music. Expect a stumble or two, smile when they occur, just keep playing. Don’t say Damn, just play on. Thanks.
10. Don’t spit on my floor without asking. Probably there is a wastebasket or a rug or a rag . . .
11. Be ready to answer questions. What would you ask a kid? Where you from, what school, what teacher(s), how long ya played, what books and literature are you working on (have worked on), what plans do you have for a major field, what do your parents do, have you applied for admission, have you been admitted, what brings you to this school, etc. And then, Do you have any questions you need to ask? (One earlier reply cautioned profs not to ask questions about the family, or money/income, since that might imply that decisions were being made based on other things than merit and quality. Maybe, good point. But I do hope to “get to know” the person a bit.
12. Know what Questions You Have to ask. (Not: how did I do?) How often and how long will my lessons be, What opportunities are there for financial aid (or where can I find out), any feedback, how can I meet my academic advisor to decide what courses to enroll in, where is the bathroom, can I go now Really, ask them if you get the chance. Ask the prof for a card or his/her number so you can follow up if needed. Be sure he/she has your numbers for future needs. If you have e-mail, offer it. Have it all printed on a card to leave.
13. Your applied teacher is one of Only A Few with whom you will meet alone, weekly or so. Start immediately to build a good relationship with this mentor.

Surely I have left some things out.

Let me append some short thought on taking lessons.

We have a deal. My job (in a nutshell) as your teacher is to show you everything I can about the instrument, the literature, the business, exercises, your own playing, etc. Your job is to prepare the assigned materials (so Neither Of Us dreads your next lesson) and Much More. Preparing the assigned material (3-4 etudes and some solo?) is less than half of your task. You really must practice Loads of stuff, regularly, that you will not perform (probably) in your lesson, If you wish to develop as a player:

Scales and arpeggios. Sightreading. Power. Flexibility. Sheer speed. Long tones. High range. Endurance. Special exercises. Yes, plain technical work. And focused listening. And reading books, mags, journals.

If/when the student does not practice diligently, expect the teacher to resent it and perhaps give less.

Gotta go practice.

If you practice the trombone for 2-3 hours weekly (six half-hours, whatever), you will slowly learn the notes and some rhythms. You can develop a fairly nice midrange sound if you simulate a good example, like a teacher. You can have fun. Many beginners, junior high trombonists, and some high school players practice this way.

(And I’m not counting ensemble rehearsal time in this. It does not really count. Well, yes it might build your endurance, you can memorize the field show, and you learn a lot about playing with other musicians, how to act, how to follow a conductor maybe, how to take directions. But this is not the same as the skills gained in the practice room.)

If you will practice 5-6 hours a week, you can actually make some slow progress if you manage that time very carefully. You will probably find time to do a more comprehensive warm-up routine. You can actually, probably, get material Ready To Play in a lesson, learn the studies well enough to play them with no reading mistakes, no hesitations, few errors. You may find time to work on the band parts. There may also be a little time available to truly Practice some of the Plain Technical Work, maintenance, that we should all try to do: extensive flexibility routines, scales and arpeggios galore, the weird keys, dynamic workouts, etc.

If you can get the practice hours up to ten, week after week (40 a month), you will notice some important and valuable developments in your playing. You will become more “fit.” You can handle 5 or 6 books at a time, or more. There will be more time to regularly address things the Little People often neglect: air exercises, tunes by ear, high and low range, some jazz, recording yourself, clefs, the outside keys, real sight-reading, duets with peers, tough etudes, audition materials, orchestral excerpts, jury solos, vibrato, quality time with pianists. Your reading will really improve! You won’t be sore the day after a big blow. You can use the metronome, mirror and tuner properly. Do dozens of routines of flexibilities, scales, arpreggios. If you find something really hard, there is time to work it out, and work it up. There will be time to solve any bad playing habits. You will be thinking about trombone while you sleep! You’ll be quite proud of your playing and your progress. You will deserve to Get Some Work.

If you will develop the stamina to really practice 15-20 hours a week, then you get All Of The Above PLUS you’ll tear through the literature much quicker, build a repertoire after a while, learn tunes and the changes, progress quickly with unusual techniques, review old material, be a serious competitor at professional auditions, and much more.

If you cannot do this . . . well, the benefits will be elusive. Know that there are students all around the country practicing 20+ hours a week. You will meet them, at the audition. There will be one winner.

(Some other instrumentalists will find these numbers a bit low; and maybe they are low. Ambitious pianists and string players devote much more time to practice, because they can.)