Materials for Low Brass Methods Students
Course Syllabus
General Topics
"Brass Instruments: General Topics"
Additional Articles:
Tips for Low Brass Players Who Want to Major in Music...or Just Want to Get Better! School Band and Orchestra June 2025.
Understanding Brass Instruments. The Instrumentalist June 2020.
A Short Guide to Maintaining Piston and Rotary Valves. The Instrumentalist September 2018.
Five Truths about Breathing. The Instrumentalist October 2017.
Five Principles for Range Development. The Instrumentalist September 2016.
Build a Better Brass Warm-Up. The Instrumentalist March 2016.
Getting Started with Multiple Tonguing. The Instrumentalist December 2013.
Trombone
Reading
Daily Routine, Scales, and Arpeggios *This will be used in class for each playing day on trombone.
Chromatic Slide Position Chart
Overtone Series Chart
Relative Locations of Tenor and Bass Trombone Slide Positions (diagram)
Additional Articles:
The Nuances of Alternate Positions. The Instrumentalist August/September 2021.
Fast Trombone Slides. The Instrumentalist March 2018.
Demystifying Trombone Legato: A Simple Approach. School Band and Orchestra March 2016.
The Role of the Bass Trombone. The Instrumentalist May 2014.
Euphonium
Reading
Daily Routine, Scales, and Arpeggios (Bass Clef) *This will be used in class for each playing day on euphonium.
Daily Routine, Scales, and Arpeggios (Treble Clef) *This is also the routine for cornet or trumpet.
Chromatic
Fingering Chart (Bass Clef)
Chromatic Fingering Chart (Treble Clef)
Overtone
Series Chart (Bass Clef)
Overtone Series Chart (Treble Clef)
Additional Article:
Quick Euphonium Tips. The Instrumentalist September 2014.
Tuba
Reading
Daily Routine, Scales, and Arpeggios *This will be used in class for each playing day on tuba.
Chromatic Fingering Chart
Overtone Series Chart
Additional Article:
Tips for Beginning Tubists. The Instrumentalist December 2014.
Additional Materials
Daily Routine, Scales, and Arpeggios for Horn
This routine is written so that the sounding pitch for the horns is "a fifth off" from the rest of the brasses. This is so that horn players will be able to warm-up in *their* middle range, rather than straining to play too high or too low for the sake of keeping the entire group in unison. I have provided this routine here so that, if desired, you will have a "complete set" of my warm-up exercises for beginning brass players to use in the classroom.