Play your first note!
Lesson time: (1min 22sec)
Liam Kirkman shows you how to buzz your lips and play your very first note on the trombone.
Free lesson
This lesson is part of the course pBone Stripes
Watch this lesson for free below.
Lesson transcript:
How to Make a Sound on the Trombone
So, how do we make a sound on the trombone?
Understanding the Trombone
You can see that the trombone is a simple hollow tube. In fact, all it does is amplify what we do with our lips.
Learning to Buzz
Let's learn how to buzz.
-
Start with Your Breath
- Remember to maintain good posture.
- Take a nice, deep, relaxed breath.
-
Direct Your Air Stream
- With the handout in front of you, see if you can direct your air stream onto your fingertips.
- Imagine you are blowing out candles while doing this.
-
Shape Your Mouth
- You'll notice that I make a certain shape with my mouth, which helps direct the airflow.
-
Creating the Buzz
- If I close my lips together slightly, you'll see how that breath becomes a buzz.
- When I do that into the trombone, we have our first note!
Summary
By following these steps, you'll be on your way to producing sound on your trombone. Happy playing!
About the instructor
Liam Kirkman is a trombonist who trained at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Over more than 20 years as a player he has worked across an unusually wide range of music, from Radiohead, Michael Bublé, Lady Gaga and the John Wilson Orchestra to English National Ballet, and he has played on numerous film scores and TV soundtracks. A past President of the British Trombone Society, he has taught students at the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and Trinity Laban, as well as young players taking their first steps on brass. He believes in staying versatile and keeping an open mind to every kind of music making - the approach he says keeps playing both challenging and rewarding. read more