Best books about trombones according to redditors

I doubt it was an actual solo book, but more likely Arban's Famous Method for Trombone. A number of bassists have used this successfully. As a brass/bass doubler, the etudes in this book are a little more interesting and musical than what you'd find in the Simandl or similar bass methods.

Guarantee that if you can play the entire scope of this book, you'd definitely, one hundred percent, without a doubt, be a monster on bass. It will take tons of work, though!

Welcome to the instrument.

What you basically need is (obviously) a foundation. This is a warm-up set devised by Toby Oft, principal trombonist of the BSO. It has the dual purpose of fulfilling the desired foundation with long tones and flexibility, as well as being a warmup. Skip or simplify any of the exercises that are too hard for now - if you hammer away at this set day after day, eventually you can just breeze through them.

The next thing you need is a book on technique. I personally prefer the Arban method, but lots of other alternatives exist. The Arban is broken up into subjects: rhythmical, multiple tonguing, flexibility, etc. Take one exercise from several sections (say, five or six) per week.

Finally, choose a piece to work towards. At this level, if you're having trouble finding trombone pieces that are worth working towards, consider playing a cello piece (since the two instruments have similar ranges).

Voxman Selected Duets Volume 2 ("advanced" duets) is pretty good for high school and college-level players.

>Arban's artistic ideals, his sound musicianship, and invaluable instructive principles were perpetuated in his splendid "Method for the Cornet", which has maintained the very highest position among similar instructive works.

>Its practical superiority, as well as artistic plan, has never been surpassed and as proven by the present new transposed edition, its fundamental pedagogic principles are as adaptable and serviceable for other brass instruments as the one for which it was originally conceived.

Link to amazon page

Try to get this book if you are going to play lead:

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Lead-Hal-Leonard-Corp/dp/0793551676

No notes, minimal knowledge of music theory, no lessons.... I can't say this is a recipe for success. Can one become a poet without knowledge of words and grammar?

Now, are you willing to increase your skills and abilities in notes and music theory? If you are, I would strongly recommend (if you refuse lessons) to spend the ~$5 on a method book, like standard of excellence. This book, while full of really lame music, will give you foundational skills and information,and you'll learn to read music! Use youtube for interesting and fun things to play.

>The instrument seems pretty simple and highly intuitive, unlike a guitar for example.

Actually, I think the trombone is more like a guitar than any other wind instrument. Kind of like a guitar in reverse and you can only use one string at a time.

I don't want to discourage you from starting, but you seem to want something for nothing here. There's a reason lessons are expensive. This shit's hard, but rewarding. Open your mind to learning to read and a little theory. It's not so bad.

Hey, do you have a trombone yet?

Trombone is probably the most straight-forward instrument to learn (except for maybe the voice). My best advice is to practice in front of a mirror. My second best advice is to learn how (and when) to put it down! That might not be so easy if you're coming from a woodwind instrument.

I have some friends who are professional saxophonist/reeds who learned trombone because they also love the instrument. I will be seeing one of them on labour day. I will ask him what he thinks.

This is my favourite book to go back to and practice the basics: http://www.amazon.ca/Studies-Legato-Trombone-Reginald-Fink/dp/0825802458. The preliminary exercises are a great way to benchmark your technique. And the legato studies are a great way to get ready for the Rochut books. You can open the Fink book at any skill level and find something that's worth working on.

You probably already know everything else you need to do to get started. Just put the horn on your face and give it a go!

Since you played Euphonium and a bit of Trombone before, is it safe to assume that you can read music (and specifically the Bass Clef)?

I've always liked the 'standard of excellence' beginner method books. You can get all 3 for around $25 from your local music store or online. Having played before you may be able to skip the first one and go right to the second, but it might be a good idea to zip through the first one anyway as a refresher. After that something like the Arbans or Rubank book as well as the Rochut book are good 'intermediate' books.

As for condition - for trombone it's all about the slide. dents in the bell section don't matter at all, they might even add a little character to your sound. Dents in the slide are a big deal. You'll want to clean the horn very well in lukewarm water with just a hint of dish soap, clean the outside well with a clean rag, the inside with a slide snake (you can get these from any music store if you don't have one already), and then lube up the slide well with your favourite product (I like 'Slide-o-Mix', others are fans of Trombotine, please don't use valve oil). The slide should have almost no resistance once it's clean and properly lubricated.

If your slide is dented or out of alignment, a reputable repair shop should be able to sort it out for ~$60-100 (depending on how bad it is). I highly suggest you ask for recommendations from local musicians or the trombone.org boards before getting slide work done though - an unskilled repairman can do more damage than good on a trombone slide.

Most long tone exercises come from a book called The Remington Warm-Up Exercises.

Oh man...you just reminded me of my favorite warm-up book, the Remington Warm-Up Studies. Dang it, now I have to go find it again.

I guess they mean this: https://www.amazon.com/Trombone-Gems-Book-CD-Pack/dp/0634049224.