Current Students

I’ve created this page so that all of you have extra material and tools to practice and learn at home. If you have suggestions for other information here (websites or handouts we use during lessons, etc.), email me!

South Jersey Band and Orchestra Directors Association (SJBODA) Audition Info 2022-23

All of my students who auditioned this year made it into their respective honor band – Congratulations!!!

• Junior High
  • Info
  • Requirements
  • Solo (from Rubank’s Concert and Contest Collection)
    • Trombone: Rimsky-Korsakov Allegro Vivace (p.24, mm. Meas. 1-54)
    • Baritone: Clerisse Andante & Allegro (p.6, beginning through middle of line 8)
• High School
  • Info
  • Requirements
  • Solo
    • Trombone: Guilmant Morceau Symphonique (Bass clef edition or original edition with tenor & bass clef)
    • Bass Trombone: Lebedev Concerto in One Movement
    • Euphonium: White Lyric Suite mvmts. II & III

New Jersey Association for Jazz Education (NJAJE) Audition Info 2022-23

Audition Info

Tools:

• Metronome Online
• MusicTheory.net – Helpful lessons, exercises, and tools (see below for exercises)
• Apps – A lot of students ask me about the apps I use during lessons. Here are some of my favorites:
  • ForScore – iPad music reader
  • iBone – Handy for visualizing the harmonic series
  • InTune – Intonation practice
  • Notion – Notation software
  • Tenuto – MusicTheory.net’s exercises in a handy format
  • Tuners
    • Bandmate – A fantastic tuner for beginners because it shows you what note you’re currently playing on the staff
    • Tonal Energy – My favorite tuner/metronome/recorder combo
• Harmonic Series & Position Chart
• Circle of 5ths
• Warmups
  • Trombone
    • “Beginner“
    • “Intermediate” (A)
    • “Intermediate” (B)
  • Baritone/Euphonium
    • “Beginner“
    • “Intermediate”
• Guide to Slurs (Trombone)

Theory Practice:

Note Identification

• Staff lesson/recap
• Lines only (Good Burritos Don’t Fall Apart): 
• Spaces only (All Cows Eat Grass): 
• Lines & spaces
• Extending Range
  • Below the staff (Tuba/Bass Trombone)
    • B1-F2 
    • F1-F2 
  • Above the staff (Trombone/Baritone/Bass Trombone)
    • B3-F4
    • B3-B4
• Full Range (per SJBODA)
  • Trombone/Baritone
  • Bass Trombone
  • Tuba
• Accidentals Recap
• Full Range w/ Accidentals
  • Trombone/Baritone
  • Bass Trombone
  • Tuba
• Key Signatures Recap
• Full Range w/ Key Signatures
  • Trombone/Baritone
  • Bass Trombone
  • Tuba
• Advanced Clefs
  • Tenor
  • Alto
  • Treble
  • All

Key Signature Identification

• Major
• Minor

Media:

• Bone2Pick (video) – Michael Davis, a well-known trombonist, interviews all sorts of successful brass players and others.
• Bulletproof Musician (blog/podcast) 
• The Brass Junkies (podcast)– Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke interview the world’s greatest brass players.
• Digital Trombone (blog)
• The Entrepreneurial Musician (podcast) – Andrew Hitz empowers musical entrepreneurs by providing the tools needed to succeed in today’s music business.
• Jay Friedman (blog) – Long-time (40+) principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony discusses all things trombone & music.
• Norman Bolter (blog) – Former 2nd trombone of the Boston Symphony & renowned teacher/soloist, Norman Bolter, discusses a variety of topics. A very unique voice in the trombone world!
• Tim Smith (blog)
• Will Kimball (blog) – Professor at BYU who collects tons of information about the history of the trombone and its use.