A Resource Rich Age

[VJOFan]

Even if all a kid did was listen to Steiner play these exercises as a model of sound it would be a huge benefit. My university lessons were basically this live: play exercises with someone who sounds great and try to sound like that.

I don’t know when I will stop being amazed by how easy life is today in terms of getting information and models, but it is amazing. There is nothing that is hard to find out about. So why are there still dumb or incompetent people?

[ghmerrill]

There is nothing that is hard to find out about. So why are there still dumb or incompetent people?

Possibly because so many of them are flooding the metaverse with dumb/incompetent "resources" that others then make use of? Also, there are always various forms of laziness to blame. And then, of course, simply having access to "information and models" doesn't by itself make anyone less dumb or incompetent. You can lead a horse to water, but then developing a good embouchure is all on him.

[WilliamLang]

What a cynical question. I've found that 99.99% people need guidance at some point in their lives. If they haven't received it in the ways that they need, that doesn't make them dumb or incompetent, it just means they have unrealized potential.

[VJOFan]

What a cynical question. I've found that 99.99% people need guidance at some point in their lives. If they haven't received it in the ways that they need, that doesn't make them dumb or incompetent, it just means they have unrealized potential.

Fair point. I was trying to sound more amazed than grumpy.

My view comes from, as a youth in the 1980’s, having so many questions and so much desire to find things out, but at the time geography and economics meant it took years instead of hours to piece it all together.

The stumbling block in today’s world Is probably discernment between what is helpful and not helpful. That’s where teaching is still likely needed.

I can see in the resource I posted that the “pedagogical” comments are not what is most valuable. The sound, pitch and rhythm models are. I also have a pretty good idea where and when to slot something like this into a day or week of practice. Someone with little experience might even be bored by the video, or take it as a full practice routine.

It still stands that there is no reason not to find answers to questions. Are they the best answers is the tough part I guess.

[BrassSection]

Being basically self taught, I’m a learn it when you need it kind. Ran into a song in Mixolydian mode a year or so ago, I’d never heard of it or encountered it before. Did some research and once again increased my musical knowledge. Never too old to learn something new, I always say “I may be dumb, but I ain’t stupid…You can’t fix stupid!”

[GGJazz]

Hello all.

Well , for sure listening to a player such Peter Steiner playing these exercises can be inspiring for every trombone players , in particular for students .

Then , what the others benefits could be ? If a player miss the high register because he is playing in an incorrect way , you think that he can be able to improve it just playing what Peter Steiner is showing in this video ?
No at all ; right in the middle of the first exercise , he will start to have problems , of course. No high notes coming out of the horn if by magic ..

Maybe this video can be useful for an already very good player , that can give a try to something different from his usual routine .

There are hundreads of good videos , from excellent players : Joe Alessi , Toby Oft , Christian Lindberg , Ian Bousfield , Bill Watrous , Marshal Gilkes , Peter Steiner , etc , etc .
I think that all this stuff can be more useful for teachers , than for students or players trying to improve.
Teachers will thus find different things to offers in their lessons .

Basically , the things that are showed in this Peter Steiner video ( and in all the others great players videos) are nothing new at all , in my opinion . One octave arpeggio legato going up by half step when descending ; flexibility on root / 5th/ octave of root ; octave jumps legato .
You can find this kind of stuff in every early books as Schlossberg , Remington , Colin , etc , just with some slightly varations. And I think also that almost everybody here have already listen things as "stay relaxed" , " be careful with intonation" , "use your air" , " take time to breath" , etc , etc.

So , in my opinion , all this informations that we can find on YouTube etc of course are very good , but are not so important as they appear to be. Learn music , and how to play an instrument , is not how to learn math . Even if you could have a private lesson face to face every day with Peter Steiner or Joe Alessi , do not assure you at 100% that you will really learn how to play your horn...

Regards
Giancarlo

[ghmerrill]

Learn music , and how to play an instrument , is not how to learn math .

Yes, while we can concede the intellectual (and practical) importance of music theory -- which is at least "like math" in certain ways as an intellectual discipline -- learning how to play, even in the broad sense of this term, is something different. I have always seen a strong analogy between music and sport, and how excellence in the one is achieved in very similar ways to achieving excellence in the other. At times, and in certain respects, this relationship is very striking. And it isn't unreasonable to say that learning music (in the sense, certainly, of performing it) is a kind of sport.

[GGJazz]

Hi Gary !

You are right . I think that there are similarities between the way we train our body performing a sport , and how we train our embouchure , breathing , posture , etc to play the trbn .
An also similarities between math and how we read Music .

I think that Music is a set of physical , intellectual , instinctive , perceptive , and spiritual components.
And , of course , many others things for sure ..!

Regards
Giancarlo

[ghmerrill]

I think that Music is a set of physical , intellectual , instinctive , perceptive , and spiritual components.
And , of course , many others things for sure ..!

Definitely. Perhaps surprising to a lot of people, so is math. See George Lakoff's Where Mathematics Comes From for an exposition:

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Mathematic ... C87&sr=1-1