I'm now 60 and almost all my practice is now without sheet music. I think it's easier to listen to yourself if you are not busy reading at the same time.
When I was studying music I did that most by reading music and of course that's important to be a good reader. It was important at the time and did make me a good reader too, but since the last ten years I've dropped the sheet music more and more and concentrate to learn the music without the sheets as fast as possible. The first music I used when I learned this was on easy classical play-along records. Then I started to use Swedish folk songs for this because I needed more focus on my own part and the accompaniment shattered what I was picking up from my playing.
What my practice sessions look like at the moment (since some months and probably the rest of this summer):
1. (1-5 min) I start with bending notes from low Bb to Gb on first and I do that in every position (1 to 7). This is to loosen upp and check the aperture and sound production. I find the factitious notes help me a lot with this. I also play factitious notes with articulation. This warmup can be 1-5 minutes. Sometimes I play some fast chromatic runs from middle register to high register too, as the final part of this short warmup routine.
2. (20-30 min) I play 15 Swedish folk songs. The same songs in the same sequence. I play the same songs but I vary the articulation. Placing beams at different places to experiment with this on theese tunes, sometimes I also play a tune all legato. Sometimes I play the articulation as close as possible to the text. Sometimes I try to play the whole song with no pause and use circular breathing. Sometimes I breath after four bars, sometimes after eight. I experiment with nuances too to make the air last. It happens I stay longer on one song and play that same song in many different keys. Each song is between 1 and 2 minutes.
3. (30 min) I play Bach Cello Suites. I've managed to memorize the first suite (7 movements with repeats, inspired by the playing of Yo-Yo Ma). I usually start with the Sarabande or the Minuetto I or Minuetto II and wait to play the Prelude until the end. Sometimes I also play them in their right order. I have listened to the Yo-Yo Ma version and I have also bought the Cello edition to study. The version I play is the one by R.Katarzynski in bass clef which is a fourth higher than the Cello edition. I think it fits the tenor trombone better, especially since I like to play on a tenor without a trigger.There are many changes in the edition that's made to make it playable on a trombone but I think several of them destroys the flow. I have experimented with this and done changes to make the lines better (what I think). It's obvious the editor has tried his best to include as much as possible of what's in the cello ed. but due to compromises because the need to breath and the lack of plaing more than one note at the time some phrases just loose the point. In those cases I have experimented and made my own solution and version. Sometimes that means I have added notes and sometimes I have changed some notes or I have removed notes.
When I learned them I took small parts of them to concentrate on. It could mean I learned the last eight bars first without sheet notes. As I learned I concentrated on one movement at a time. It took me at least a year to learn all the 7 movements and to be able to memorize them completely. If I do an error it's not because I don't know the piece, it's often because of air issues. Some of the movements needs to be played fast because of air issues. I'm not a big person so I run out of air if I play to slow
4. (rest of the day) I sometimes add a little practice with a minus-one record after this, with or without sheets, classical or jazz or I could find a Tommy Pederson etude with/without sheet music or some other repertoire. I could change the trombone to another horn from my collection. I could also do some etudes or scales on the bass trombone.
Often I strech this last session of practice over the whole day. Each time I return to the horn, after pause (long or short) I go for the music right away. I do not play some notes just to remind me. This is to practice the real concert situations where you sit cold and count your rests for minutes where after to be ready to perform cold. This has made me less dependant on warmup before a concert situation and also more confident. What I do after a pause is to blow warm air through the instrument. That makes a difference, and I make sure I blow that warm air also through the triggers. At 60 I'm now the best version of me as a tromboneplayer, so I'm confident that this is a much better way to practise than what I used to do.
Whish you all a nice summer and many good hours with your horns.
/Tom
