Role of the Trombone, articulation & aggressive music styles

Trombone Articulation and the Youngblood Brass Band

Introduction
Hi there! This is Matt and Joe from the Youngblood Brass Band. Today, we're going to discuss the role of the trombone in our band and focus on articulation, especially in more aggressive styles of music.

The Trombone's Role in Music

• Aggressive vs. Non-aggressive Sound
  In many styles of music, particularly big band and classical settings, the trombone is often not seen as an aggressive instrument. As Joe pointed out:

  "You usually have to apologize for the volume of the trombone."

• Youngblood's Style
  In the Youngblood style, which is a spin-off of the New Orleans style, the approach is quite the opposite. Our music is:

  • Parade music
  • Street music
  • Focused on filling up space aggressively

Some genres, like salsa music and Cuban timba, treat the trombone with more aggression and articulation, while in big band jazz, it often remains subdued.

Articulation Misconceptions

We want to clear up some misconceptions about articulation, especially in our popular song, "Brooklyn."

Part 1: The Rhythm

• The rhythm we focus on is:

  "Bad up but up ba ba da ba da."

Many bands misunderstand this and play it as a swung rhythm:

"Bad up but up ba ba da ba ba da da ba da."

However, as Nat, our sousaphone player, taught us, it's about:

• Microdynamics
• Aggressive trombone playing that doesn't always mean high volume.

Quiet Intensity

In fact, the second time we play this part, it's quite quiet while maintaining full aggression. We can describe this as:

"Quiet intensity."

Call and Response Section

Next, we move into the call and response section of "Brooklyn." Here, it's crucial to perform with an attitude:

• This is my call; their response.

I often notice trombone players trying to "sneak into" their parts, but that's not the approach. It's about:

• Inflection
• Selling your attitude

We transition from a background part with quiet intensity to the soloist section.

Approaches to Call and Response

There are two main approaches:

1. Matt's Call:
   When I do the call, I have a lot of liberty. As you heard, I vary my articulations and sometimes even the notes.

2. Congregation Response:
   The rest of the band usually sticks to the main script, occasionally adding a twist or poking through. For example:

   "Ba da ba da ba da ba de ba da ba ba ba ba ba da ba da ba."

In some traditional New Orleans tunes, the band mimics the caller's exact phrases, but in this tune, we often stick to the script while allowing for inflection.

Conclusion

It's not just about volume. With five of us in the frontline, intensity is key. We incorporate:

• Little rips
• Stings
• Slide actions
• Glissandos
• Mini dynamics

This makes our play not just loud but full of character and energy!