Years ago George Roberts came to NY and stopped by a recording date to say hello. We hadn't met yet. After a few pleasantries I asked him "Do you raise the mouthpiece for the low pedals". He looked at me with surprise and said "of course.'" That put everything right for me. Alan Raph

Thank you very much, Mr. Markey!!!

Thanks, Mr. Markey! So true what you said: do what is right for your body. I believe the body can figure out the correct way of doing things if we are shown the right way. And you, sir, are showing the right way. Thanks for your video.

I'm a trumpet player, but this has helped me so much. I make some adjustments when playing low on the trumpet and I thought that I was doing something wrong or weird, glad to know that it's ok

The approach!! No dogmatic talking but wise and open! Love it!

Thanks! This was a great review and clarification of some of my notes from your masterclass at STS. It's been wonderful to learn from you!

Great advice Jim. I've come quite late to the bass trombone in my playing career and I'm finding having to do exactly what you say in this video.

Thank you, Mr. Markey!

Thanks Mr. Markey! I thought I was doing something wrong when I shifted like that. It was the only way I had to play those extreme low notes loudly with a good sound!

Thanks for these videos!

Teacher, good afternoon, I'm having a hard time playing my bass trombone. precisely on this subject. the pedal notes have been a real challenge and their tips have helped me.

I don't think I have thicker lips, per se, but I definitely "shift" or make an embouchure change to get notes below G or Gb on tenor. On bass, I can get closer to E or Eb before the sound stops. It's validating to hear about this from such an accomplished player, thank you for sharing.

I played trumpet in high school, and I found that my embouchure went off to the side as I played in the higher register. It drove my band teacher nuts, but I was able to hit the notes. Like you said, as long as it sounds good...

@jgood3781

4 жыл бұрын

Just so you know...I went to college with the Principle Trombone of the Boston Philharmonic. His embouchure was not perfect at the time, but he is a Trombone Hero!! Watch his videos, and learn a Ton!! Mr. Oft can help embouchure issues.

Within the next couple weeks I expect to receive a bass trombone (Yamaha YBL-321) purchased from an eBay listing. I play several other kinds of brass instruments, include tenor trombones and tubas. This will be something I'll want to learn on the bass trombone. I'm tempted to suggest, jokingly, that I'll just grab a tuba mouthpiece if I can't get down low enough with the bass trombone mouthpiece I already have. BTW, I can play some false tones on the tuba but can't get down to the true pedal tones. However, I've had easy success in playing pedal tones on the tenor trombones (2 slide, one valve) and baritone horns, particularly the Bb and adjacent notes.

That was an excellent explanation. Any recommendations on working the changeover between the two triggers?

This is an interesting post. It seems to me, other than the aperture discussion (with which I agree!) is the amount of lip going into the mouthpiece. I’d like to offer a slightly different point of view, that gets most of the same things accomplished. That is the direction of the air. If you want to play higher, aim the air toward the bottom of the mouthpiece. The higher you want to play, the air is focused closer to the bottom lip. Another point is the speed of the air. The higher you play, the faster it moves, and you need less. The lower you play the air moves slower and you need more. Going back to the illustration above, if you focus the air toward the bottom of the mouthpiece, using less air moving faster, the opposite is true to play lower. Lots of slow moving air aimed more at the center/slightly above the back end of the mouthpiece allows the top lip (the only one that should vibrate on trombone (tenor or bass!)) to vibrate more freely. This will allow you to play Lower on bass trombone. Do not mess with your embrasure! Focus on your air and the direction it is going. Long tones, lip slurs and scales are key, as long as you are doing them with a tuner! Ps. I am an IU Graduate in bass trombone performance. I don’t play professionally any longer, but thought an outside opinion may be helpful. PPS. This is probably old news, but my record “low note” (that was picked up by my tuner was double pedal G).

Hi Mr Markey, would your advice on the extreme low register change for tenor trombone playing? (I.e. the pedal D in Arrows of Time) Thanks!

The bottom line is that generally what works for you is right for you. I have been getting back to playing more and it's frustrating at fifty-seven to remember the pure brute force I had at twenty and twenty-one. I seriously remember being relaxed enough to (using my lips and extended slide positions) play F below double-pedal Bb. It didn't translate to PLAYING that low in concert, but it meant my Dbs, Cs and even Bs just above double-pedal Bbs were really loud. I don't know if it's possible to be that relaxed at my age while maintaining a huge column of air behind it. But I am MUCH more musically savvy than I ever was back in the late '80s. In jazz playing (or commercial playing), you pick your spots. Bass Trombone is a bear. A majority of the playing involves pumping lots of air through the horn with very little resistance.

Thankyou for this video, it answers questions I wanted to ask but hadn't yet! I'm a fairly new bass trombonist (playing in a brass band currently) and the moment I heard your album preview video I knew that's what I wanted to sound like. Trombone goals. Please can you tell us which mouthpiece you're using currently?

@Mr. Markey, your videos are always a treasure trove of great information that I often find myself rewatching. This video is the only one that troubles me; not because of your content, but because of my own abilities. I have always struggled with the extreme lows for the very reason you mentioned (about the mouthpiece being finite). In order to progress, I am able to belt out low pedals by shifting in the opposite direction, with most of my lower lip in the mouthpiece and much less of my upper lip inside. This only works down to a Cb for me, and the double pedal Bb continues to elude me. It is also so drastic of a shift that I find it very hard to play these notes in a written line, reserving them for simply effects. I have tried many times to recreate the setup you demonstrate in this video but to no avail. Do you have any additional advice?

@markeybone

3 жыл бұрын

I actually reference your situation and how you handle the low register at the very end of the video (around the last 20 seconds). While it isn’t the approach that I use, I think it is a perfectly valid way of doing things, particularly if it works for your own body. I can’t do things your way, and wouldn’t expect you to be able to do them mine! But the fact that you do something is normal. My suggestion would be to work on playing legato from one note to the next, and then back up again. Work on the transitions around what you do so that they’re fluid. And you don’t need to have a double pedal Bb for things to be working! That’s a tough one no matter how you look at it....

@olimar12345

3 жыл бұрын

@@markeybone thank you for your response. I think I was so wrapped up in trying to “correct” my situation that I didn’t consider that it was a valid approach. I think partly why I felt like my way of producing these pedal tones was not a great method was because it seemed too drastic and perhaps in turn was not as efficient as it could be. I will do as you suggested and work to make it more approachable and see where it takes me. Thank you again for your help!

Have an old Bach 50b Trombone from the 80's and it's a double trigger but not independent, What trombone would you replace it with the Yamaha or another Bach. I am looking for a double independent. What Bass Trombone would you recommend?

Nice. Advice without dogma.

Is it Bb/F/Gb Bass Trombone, right? I thought, that the low Bb is impossible! And the B1-natural can to get on this instrument?

@PokeMonMaster-ps7fo

6 жыл бұрын

Hell Warthog yes. It is TT5.5

Got a bass trombone recently and have a couple questions. How hard do you press your bottom lips against your teeth also how tight are your corners? I have been having lots of problems with embouchure in the lower range. Sometimes my corners are too tight or not tight enough. I have been experimenting with different embouchures but nothing seems to work.

@markeybone

2 жыл бұрын

Good question - and one that’s hard to answer over a written reply! But with that said, my general goal is to do as much as I need to and as little as I can. With regard to the corners, I do think they should be tucked in so that air can’t get in between the flesh around the lips and the gums/teeth (the flesh should be directly up against the latter). I think that success in the low register has much less to do with corners and more with allowing the aperture - the opening in between the lips - to get larger; we often we do this by moving the jaw a bit down and/or forward when we descend. That’s why people with very unconventional embouchures can get a great sound - they’re doing what they need to inside the mouthpiece regardless what’s going on outside. Also, remember that embouchure work requires a really balanced approach. On the one hand, we will have difficulty playing consistently without the embouchure being consistent, but on the other hand, the only reason we worry about embouchures is to play more consistently. Keeping that big picture idea is really important in any kind of work like this!

I thought Pedal Tones meant that there was some kind of valve on the trombone which you engage to achieve the sub-tones. But it appears it's mostly achieved via the player's lips?

@jamesmarkey8395

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, pedal tones are played on the fundamental of the instrument - the lowest possible note that the instrument can produce based on the length of the instrument. Typically, trombonists wait to learn about pedal tones until they have some experience playing. The valves allow you to play notes that would ordinarily be in extended positions (5th, 6th and 7th) more easily by placing the instrument at that length in shorter positions, allowing the slide to further lengthen the instrument.

@monsterjazzlicks

3 жыл бұрын

@@jamesmarkey8395 Many thanks James. And also do you mean that the trombone is slightly more favourably designed for players with lips on the thin side rather than the thick?

@markeybone

3 жыл бұрын

Hmmm...I’m not sure I’d go that far. I think that with rare exception, brass instruments are playable by nearly anyone. I think what we have to do to make it happen differs based on our physiology. There are great tubista with thin lips, and great horn/trumpet players with very thick ones. It just means that we need to do different things in order to make the sound happen efficiently.

Hi james, I noticed at 1:35 you are using second position for the F two octaves below? I could have sworn that F was in 1st position with the F valve... but it sounds like an F and you are in second position... Do you have a different tuning slide in? Is the angle of the video making it look like you are in second position, but are really using a flat 1st? My mind is melting trying to figure this out.

@jamesmarkey9638

Жыл бұрын

Hi Miles, you're correct, and it's because I'm using my Gb valve for that note! That puts the F in roughly second position. Hope this helps!

So what you're saying is, we need a magazine of different mouthpieces and a revolving chamber attached to the lead pipe?

@markeybone

Ай бұрын

Exactly! Seriously though, I’m happy to answer any well-considered question.

Great advice even for this trumpet/Horn/etc player! One question: can I write a gliss/slide from a low Bb (space below second line bass clef low C (C2)) to the C2 (a whole step up)? Does it depend on the type of attachment I have on the horn? Alternate position maybe? Thanks!

@jamesmarkey9638

6 жыл бұрын

Part of it might depend on how long your trombonist's arms are! In seriousness, different horns probably have different reliability, but using both valves should allow most bass trombonists to glissando from a flat 7th position up to approximately 4th position. There are a few times where I may use that combination for a pedal Bb (the note you're talking about). You might be more limited in the volume generated, but yes, it's possible.

@matthewdockray9745

6 жыл бұрын

From what I can work out, that’s not really possible unless the trombonist is really skilled and can do a mixture of a lip gliss and slide gliss. However I’m only talking from experience on a single plug trombone, but it may be possible on a double plug trombone

@drakegaming2819

5 жыл бұрын

Trigger 4th to trigger 1st.

I have a 1g mouthpiece, and I can’t go lower than pedal Eb in 3rd position, any suggestions to help?

@markeybone

4 жыл бұрын

Not seeing what you’re doing really hinders my ability to give advice! That said, if you’re not able to make a sound happen, it’s likely not because of the size of the mouthpiece, but by how you’re setting your embouchure. Hopefully this video will give you some ideas to experiment. Playing in the deep pedal register isn’t an exact science...more something that we discover for ourselves with guidance. The biggest thing I’d suggest is to not be afraid to experiment. Good luck!

@Capricegirl_

4 жыл бұрын

James Markey Trombone Thank you, I'll keep experimenting and practicing.

I have alto trumbone... That thing makes me jelouse ;-;

So make a Steve Buschemi face. Got it.

3:12

As someone who has played trombone for only 5 years, and a sophomore in Highschool, I have learned to go down to double pedal G. It’s funny seeing some professionals struggling with pedal D’s and so on.

@jamesmarkey8395

3 жыл бұрын

I wonder if you might reconsider this post to see if it’s really saying what you want it to say?

@Capricegirl_

3 жыл бұрын

@@jamesmarkey8395 I’m not saying just because it’s easier for me, that this video doesn’t include me. I was just saying how it’s easier for some, and harder for others.

I can't do a pedal F...

@notalily

5 жыл бұрын

kris . . . Yet.

@zaydenm

4 жыл бұрын

Can you do it now?

what mouthpiece do you use

@keyblademastersora43

6 жыл бұрын

Griego GP

@rodrigogcolunga92

5 жыл бұрын

12 v