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LESSON 2 (continued)
thank-you to Daniel for bringing up this issue
While, generally speaking, instrumental fingering should not be a composer's main concern while composing, it can become an issue if you require specific technical effects.
With some brass instruments, phrasing can become an issue.
Horn, trumpet, and tuba are all valve instruments. Meaning that the fingers press valves or pistons that either lengthen or shorten the sounding length of the tube which makes up the instrument itself. This difference in tube length is what gives the player a different set of harmonics from which to produce sound with lip tension.
A good performer needs to learn how to "slur" across differences in lip tension as the notes go from one harmonic series to another. This is a given of performance technique.
With the trombone, however, comes a different problem: that of the slide. Fully extended, the slide gives the lowest harmonic series it can play, while pulled completely in it gives the highest. The entire distance covers an augmented 4th (before actually slipping right off the instrument and falling to the floor with a loud clatter).
This means that some notes might be playable with the slide completely out (7th position) while others might only be playable from the closed position (1st). Slurring across this wide distances, or even rapid passages requiring notes in distant positions, is one technical hurdle the performer must deal with.
It is a good idea, however, to have a chart handy with trombone slide positions and their associated harmonic series to at least get a good idea when writing technically difficult passages or glissandi. (a chart for glissandi is being prepared by Flint for use in this course, and will be posted as soon as it is available)
One thing to remember is that, as with all brass instruments, the lower the register the fewer choices of fingering or slide position there are for notes. Higher notes, on the other hand, can sometimes be played from several slide positions or fingerings.
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"Those that know, do;
Those that understand, teach."
-Aristotle-
"toute audace engendrée par l'ignorance cesse d'être une audace et devient une maladresse"
-Debussy-
In musical criticism, when issues of craft and technical consideration are set aside, what remains is more subjective. However, until technical issues are dealt with, the subjective portion bears considerably less weight.
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