TromboneChat

I have been play alto trombone for a dozen years. Just got a new alto. Playing well and everything is sounding great and things are good.

Until.

I tried to play bass clef with the alto.

I guess there is not much alto trombone without using alto clef.

I think I just look at the note and play it without naming it. I have been reading bass, tenor, alto, treble and treble Bb for 4 or 5 decades on my Bb horns. but this Eb alto on bass clef and tenor clef is not right.

I am 63. I usually learn new stuff good. But this is a fail. Do I need to buy a box of name tags? Or just keep plugging through and beat it with a bigger stick.

I have found it useful to think constantly about what note you're playing, and the position for it.
Of course the end goal is to have an automatic response and just play what you see, but as you have found out that doesn't always work. At least for a while, ALWAYS be aware of the note name and position. In every clef.

In general, for learning a clef I recommend concentrating on just 3 notes, whatever 3 notes are most useful to you on the staff. Gradually fill in your recognition of the other notes, one at a time, until you know all of them.

That same approach will work for this.

While I was getting used to my alto (Conn36H) I would take it to community band rehearsal and play my 1st trombone parts on it. Helped a lot.

Note that Harison Reed's alto method started in bass clef. He reasoned that learning a new clef and a new instrument at the same time was too much.

My new version will give you the choice to eventually just give up on alto clef and read the repertoire in a transposed tenor clef. You'll have to pay a bit more for that extra thick edition, but it will be an option.

The repertoire is limited for alto, so you literally can have it all in one spot, transposed a variety of ways.

The normal version will have the whole repertoire, edited and in a clean format. You can just show up with it and be ready to play 99% of any paying alto gig.