TromboneChat

Could anyone help me find some solos? I currently don’t have many as I’m taking lessons and looking to improve and have some prepared incase I ever need them for a gig. I have been playing for 6 years and take private lessons. Going into end of high school year to start in college soon. If anyone could help me find some it would be greatly appreciated.

I would start by asking your teacher to recommend something. I have no idea how you play, but your teacher does. I could recommend a pile of solos, but some may be too hard and others may be too easy.

If you are looking for "improv" solos, you need to listen to a bunch and copy one you like. Improv solos are usually done "on the fly" and are rarely (if ever) written down.

Depending on your skill level you might consider this book:

https://bettermusic.store/trombone-store/p/bookofsolos

I have no affiliation with the site or Dr. Lasch, but for $40 you get 30 popular solos in one place. Contents include:

Bach – Cello Suite I “Prelude”
Bach – Cello Suite V “Sarabande”
Barat – Andante et Allegro
Berlioz – Recitative and Prayer
Brahms – Vier ernste Gesänge
Büsser - Pièce en mi bémol
Cesare – La Hieronyma
David – Concertino
De La Nux – Concert Piece
Galliard – Sonata III
Galliard – Sonata V
Gaubert – Morceau Symphonique
Gräfe - Concerto
Guilmant – Morceau Symphonique
Marcello – Sonata in F
Massenet - Meditation from Thaïs
Mozart, Leopold - Alto Trombone Concerto
Pergolesi – Sinfonia
Pryor – Blue Bells of Scotland
Pryor – Thoughts of Love
Rachmaninov - Vocalise
Rimsky-Korsakov – Concerto
Ropartz - Pièce
Sachse – Concertino
Saint-Saëns - Cavatine
Schumann - Romances
Stojowski - Fantaisie
Telemann – Flute Fantasy X in A
Wagenseil - Alto Trombone Concerto
Weber – Romance

This is a conversation to have with your teacher, he/she knows your playing and we do not.

Peter Moore for example won the BBC young musician at age 12 and the ass LSO job at 17? (Someone will correct)

Have a lesson with the trombone prof at the college you hope to go too

You might find this site valuable: https://auditionsolos.com/index.htm

This is not a topic that I have any knowledge of but the site is run by Brad Edwards who has an excellent reputation.

Many universities with good music departments have websites that are dedicated to the trombone studio. Often those sites have solo repertoire suggestions, including suggestions for audition repertoire for students hoping to audition for their program. That would be a great place to find some suggestions. I would also say that if you have a teacher, he/she is the best source fr this information, since they know your playing well. Also, the best choices for a student hoping to go on and study music would be pieces that present a challenge, but are achievable to you now. As someone who has listened to a lot of university auditions, I am always more impressed by a student who really shows what they can do now, rather than what might be more appropriate, with work, in a couple of years.

Jim Scott

Everything in the trombone book of solos is public domain. Just type the pieces into imslp.org and you can get them for free. For undergraduate auditions I would recommend picking among the following, and, maybe more importantly, reaching out to the trombone professor for either an in-person or zoom lesson.

David - Concertino
Saint-Saens - Cavatine
Barat - Andante et Allegro
Grondhal - Concerto
Guilmant - Morceau Symphonique

WilliamLang wrote: ↑Tue Jul 12, 2022 5:12 pm Everything in the trombone book of solos is public domain.

I absolutely didn’t realize that. Thanks, for the heads-up!

pompatus wrote: ↑Tue Jul 12, 2022 12:49 pm Depending on your skill level you might consider this book:

https://bettermusic.store/trombone-store/p/bookofsolos

This book represents the core of the standard repertoire for university undergrads from at least the 1970’s through to… I guess the end of the century? My last recital was in 1997 or so, and even then I had a couple more contemporary pieces.

There are some things not in this book, but it is a great place to start if the audition panel is all in their 60s or older. They would have cut their teeth on at least some of this. The David is still called on the occasional orchestral audition, so there’s that.

But there has to be music written in the last 40 years that has come into the repertoire for freshmen and sophomores…