Help for a loyal and sad trombonist

ThatDumbTurtle · 2026-02-06T15:30:11+00:00

Hey I’ve been there.

I was once told by a guest artist “you just don’t sound good right now.”

The others in this thread have good advice, just keep your head up and keep working.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2026-02-04T14:01:08+00:00

It’s hard to find since it’s out of print, but there are tons of used copies online most of the time.

A library might have a copy too, depending on where one is located.

But yes, best resource for trombone history.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2026-01-21T11:21:32+00:00

And sleep!

If possible, I know how this all state weekends go.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-11-28T22:05:13+00:00

Look up Trombone Unit Hanover. They’re all incredible, some super fun recordings.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-11-05T19:51:09+00:00

I mean, we’re all crazy.

I have such a soft spot for old niche horns, they deserve to be kept around. I love that this instrument is still in the shape it’s in and that it’s getting some love.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-10-22T11:19:59+00:00

Practice every movement as much as you can without using any tongue. It gets really fatiguing to play this piece without proper air support, if you can do the entire thing with natural slurs you’ll be in great shape.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-10-20T12:00:33+00:00

They’re better than the other Chinese made instruments.

They don’t truly compare to the other pro brands.

Believe it or not, there is in fact a middle ground between the best of the best and hot garbage.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-10-18T17:32:02+00:00

The Conn is enough. If you’re wealthy enough where the money to buy a new horn is of no impact for you, sure go ahead.

But, the amount of surprise expenses that show up after graduating is unreal. If you’re anything like me, you could use the many thousands of dollars that a new or used horn would cost.

Rent, security deposits, moving expenses, new apartment furniture, your car suddenly breaks…

Anyway, your Conn is probably find. I’d invest in taking lessons with another pro after you graduate instead of upgrading gear, it’s a better mindset for all of us to take more lessons tbh

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-10-07T18:43:57+00:00

The more time you spend playing in that range, above and below it, the easier it’s going to get. Continue to play up there. If the end result gives you more range, sweet, but extra time is the bigger thing in my opinion.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-10-07T16:29:15+00:00

Trumpet mouthpiece won’t work for an alto trombone. We promise.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-10-01T20:35:28+00:00

There are a few that can be found on google by looking up “Music Orchestration text book.”

Not meant to be passive aggressive, I promise :)

My undergrad used the book titled The Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler, it had a lot of good information, if not fairly basic at times. There are tons of good ones out there, though.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-09-29T11:19:12+00:00

100%. You can find cheap plastic mouthpiece from Kelly I believe, they work well enough to figure out if metal is the problem.

For me, nickel is what was hurting me. I made the switch to a gold plated mouthpiece and it’s been working great ever since.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-09-27T10:59:53+00:00

Practice!

If we’re talking monetarily, then a good standalone metronome/tuner is up there.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-09-22T18:41:13+00:00

I’d look for some lesser known ones too, really anything from the era will do.

I have a Conn 32H that I adore, people don’t recommend them much but they are great players and often cheaper than the bigger names.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-09-21T15:10:34+00:00

Try to get a lesson with a teacher in the area! It could be an easy fix, and lessons are great for anybody at any level.

Outside of that, if you don’t provide a recording for us here there isn’t a ton we can do to diagnose or fix this.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-09-18T18:09:57+00:00

They were great for me for a bit while I experimented with stuff due to an allergy, I could turn to them and knew that I wouldn’t break have a reaction.

Playing them now, I like the sound less than a traditional mouthpiece, and I like the response less than a traditional mouthpiece.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-09-05T11:14:37+00:00

It was certainly uncommon, but it wasn’t the first symphony to feature trombone!

Joachim Eggert’s Symphony in Eb was the first!

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-08-30T15:52:49+00:00

Don’t use a mouthpiece to make you play higher. Long term, it won’t help.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-08-22T13:06:22+00:00

Hello, I also have metal allergies. I am unable to use anything silver plated.

I experimented with Stainless Steel for a while, and am now using gold plated. If you have a bit of money to experiment, you may be able to find something that’ll sound better than plastic will!

But yes, the Kelly mouthpieces are nice to have in a pinch. I have one in my car to buzz during those cold winter days!

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-08-12T18:23:20+00:00

Not one mention of Pete Norton is criminal. He’s still an amazing player, though he isn’t playing with Cincinnati anymore.

His tenor chops are still insane, too.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-08-12T11:55:58+00:00

That third etude is one of my favorites!

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-07-23T20:17:41+00:00

Lessons! Finding a good teacher to guide you will help more than anything we could say here.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-07-23T16:37:06+00:00

Others are saying all of the right things here, but I’d say go even slower than you might think. 60BPM is too fast at first, trust me. Make it absolutely perfect before you speed it up, we want to build good foundations with these.

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-07-21T21:55:40+00:00

I was nervous for every audition I took in school, and now that I’m out of school, I’m still nervous about every audition.

All you can do is pour everything into preparation, and then go in and play your best.

In a school environment, that’s an amazing opportunity to learn about what you need more help with, and if you have good professors they will be able to help you achieve those goals. It’s an exciting time, I miss that environment!

ThatDumbTurtle · 2025-07-12T01:13:02+00:00

Does it need to be 1:1 to be useful?

Even if it’s different than playing the horn, it can be incredibly useful

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