Seeking the King

SKU: CF.WF231

ISBN 9781491153314. UPC: 680160910816.

Styli stic Etudes for Trombone was written for intermediateto advanced level trombonists, seeking to meet thedemands of the modern marketplace for performers. AsI often tell my students, it’s simply not enough to mastera single style and fake the rest. To make a living as aperformer, trombonists are expected to play many, manydifferent styles authentically. Classical performers studyhard and devote themselves to mastering the stylisticnuances of various eras, various composers, variousforms; jazz musicians seek to accurately reflect the stylesof everything from bar-room burlesque to Coltrane; hornbands in the funk, rock, ska and hip-hop idioms mustreflect attention to the details of their influences even asthey create new paths through popular music.This etude collection is an attempt to help studentsand their teachers work on the details associated withmastering each of these various styles.In order to perform with the correct feel, articulationand sound, trombonists must first get these concepts intheir head through diligent listening and then disciplinedpractice playing in every single style. The same wayorchestral players study the symphonic literature andexcerpts, or the way a professional jazz musician mightwork on chord changes in excruciating detail, a wellroundedtrombone player must master styles by listeningto and playing with great recordings. Most of the etudesin this book are based on styles from specific orchestralliterature, jazz standards and other styles such as NewOrleans’ funk music (Meters) or the music of JamesBrown and Tower of Power.One final note: some of these are hard. On purpose. Theseare not warm-ups that you can play through mindlesslyto get your face going. These are “study pieces” in the oldfashionedsense. They are designed to challenge you asa player, to make you a little uncomfortable. Some aretougher than others, of course, but none of them are easy.If you can play through each of these well, with greatmusicianship and impeccable technique, you will be anincredibly versatile instrumentalist and be able to secureperformance opportunities that are outside the comfortzone of many trombonists.Thanks for buying this book. I hope you enjoy workingthrough these, whether you’re a teacher, student,performer, or weekend warrior. I learned a lot by puttingthese together and I hope you find them useful and helpful.
Stylistic Etudes for Trombone was written for intermediate to advanced level trombonists, seeking to meet the demands of the modern marketplace for performers. As I often tell my students, it’s simply not enough to master a single style and fake the rest. To make a living as a performer, trombonists are expected to play many, many different styles authentically. Classical performers study hard and devote themselves to mastering the stylistic nuances of various eras, various composers, various forms; jazz musicians seek to accurately reflect the styles of everything from bar-room burlesque to Coltrane; horn bands in the funk, rock, ska and hip-hop idioms must reflect attention to the details of their influences even as they create new paths through popular music.This etude collection is an attempt to help students and their teachers work on the details associated with mastering each of these various styles.In order to perform with the correct feel, articulation and sound, trombonists must first get these concepts in their head through diligent listening and then disciplined practice playing in every single style. The same way orchestral players study the symphonic literature and excerpts, or the way a professional jazz musician might work on chord changes in excruciating detail, a well-rounded trombone player must master styles by listening to and playing with great recordings. Most of the etudes in this book are based on styles from specific orchestral literature, jazz standards and other styles such as New Orleans’ funk music (Meters) or the music of James Brown and Tower of Power.How these etudes were conceived, composed and transcribed: The style or concept of the etude was thought out in my head and ear. I then improvised in that style and concept on my trombone, recording my efforts until I was satisfied with the etude. All along, my goal was to play the range of the instrument while emphasizing certain articulations, rhythms, range and, fundamentally, the intended style of the etude. The resulting etude was then transcribed by a terrific graduate student named Zach Bornheimer, who also works with many other classical and jazz composers as a copyist/arranger.Tips for working on the etudes: Seek out professional recordings that match the style of each etude to get a good idea of what the etude should sound like musically. My recording of each of these etudes is available for download and can be purchased online for a modest fee. Search for “Brantley Etudes” at either iTunes or CDBaby. Practice each etude very slowly and in segments as needed, using a metronome. Record yourself and listen for good technique, musicianship and authenticity of style with your sound, feel and articulations. Compare your own efforts to the sounds you’ve heard on recordings. Would you fit in that ensemble or band? If range is an issue, take certain notes or passages down or up an octave. Work on your fundamentals every day, including the techniques and skills needed for these etudes. Be patient! Small improvements every day result in big success over time. Always play with a wide dynamic range. Always play with line and direction. Always play with impeccable time as well as rhythm. Use a metronome to help with this. Always play in tune. You can work on this with a tuner as well as with drones. Play these for teachers, friends, peers and colleagues not only for their feedback but also for the experience of informal performance. An audience changes everything. Make music, listen to music, record yourself, play in public and have fun!One final note: some of these are hard. On purpose. These are not warm-ups that you can play through mindlessly to get your face going. These are “study pieces” in the old-fashioned sense. They are designed to challenge you as a player, to make you a little uncomfortable. Some are tougher than others, of course, but none of them are easy. If you can play through each of these well, with great musicianship and impeccable technique, you will be an incredibly versatile instrumentalist and be able to secure performance opportunities that are outside the comfort zone of many trombonists.Thanks for buying this book. I hope you enjoy working through these, whether you’re a teacher, student, performer, or weekend warrior. I learned a lot by putting these together and I hope you find them useful and helpful.Best wishes,—Tom Brantley.

ISBN 9780670026623. English. [Bruce Springsteen] By Clinton Heylin.

This book provides intimate look at one of rock's brightest stars and his legendary backing band by the UK's premier rock journalist. Before he was the swaggering, stadium-packing megastar, Bruce Springsteen was a brooding introvert, desperate to strike a balance between his nuanced songwriting and the heft of his backing band. Clinton Heylin's revelatory biography, E Street Shuffle, chronicles the evolution and influence of Springsteen's E Street Band as they rose from blue-collar New Jersey to the heights of rock stardom. The band's players---most notably saxophonist Clarence Big Man Clemons, guitarist Little Stevie Van Zandt, and drummer Max Weinberg---became Springsteen's comrades in concert, helping him find the elusive sound and sonic punch that highlighted The Boss's most creative period, including Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run, and Born in the USA. Fans will also learn another side of Springsteen, one punctuated with his clashes with studio executives seeking a commercially viable, radio-friendly album, and his temporary disbanding of the E Street Band to pursue projects like the eerie acoustic of Nebraska. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Springsteen's debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, drawing on interviews and access to new recordings and shows, Heylin paints a bold picture of The Boss.

SKU: CF.W2682

ISBN 9781491144954. UPC: 680160902453. 9 x 12 inches. Key: E major.

Edited by Elisa Koehler, Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Department at Goucher College, this new edition of Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Concerto in E Major for trumpet in E and piano presented in its original key.
The concerto by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837)holds a unique place in the trumpet repertoire. Like theconcerto by Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) it was written forthe Austrian trumpeter Anton Weidinger (1766–1852) andhis newly invented keyed trumpet, performed a few timesby Weidinger, and then forgotten for more than 150 yearsuntil it was revived in the twentieth century. But unlikeHaydn’s concerto in Eb major, Hummel’s Concerto a Trombaprincipale (1803) was written in the key of E major for atrumpet pitched in E, not E≤. This difference of key proved tobe quite a conundrum for trumpeters and music publishersin the twentieth century. The first modern edition, publishedby Fritz Stein in 1957, transposed the concerto down onehalf step into the key of E≤ to make it more playable on atrumpet in Bb, which had become the standard instrumentfor trumpeters by the middle of the twentieth century.Armando Ghitalla made the first recording of the Hummel in1964 in the original key of E (on a C-trumpet) after editinga performing edition in 1959 in the transposed key of E≤ (forBb trumpet) published by Robert King Music. Needless tosay, the trumpet had changed dramatically in terms of design,manufacture, and cultural status between 1803 and 1957, andthe notion of classical solo repertoire for the modern trumpetwas still in its formative stages when the Hummel concertowas reborn.These factors conspired to create confusion regarding thenumerous interpretative challenges involved in performingthe Hummel concerto according to the composer’s originalintentions on modern trumpets. For those seeking the bestscholarly information, a facsimile of Hummel’s originalmanuscript score was published in 2011 with a separatevolume of analytical commentary by Edward H. Tarr,1 whoalso published the first modern edition of the concertoin the original key of E major (Universal Edition, 1972).This present edition—available in both keys: Eb and Emajor—strives to build a bridge between scholarship andperformance traditions in order to provide viable options forboth the purist and the practitioner.Following the revival of the Haydn trumpet concerto, acase could be made that some musicians were influencedby a type of normalcy bias that resulted in performancetraditions that attempted to make the Hummel morelike the Haydn by putting it in the same key, insertingunnecessary cadenzas, and adding trills where they mightnot belong.2 Issues concerning tempo and ornamentationposed additional challenges. As scholarship and performancepractice surrounding the concerto have become betterknown, trumpeters have increasingly sought to performthe concerto in the original key of E major—sometimes onkeyed trumpets—and to reconsider more recent performancetraditions in the transposed key of Eb.Regardless of the key, several factors need to be addressedwhen performing the Hummel concerto. The most notoriousof these is the interpretation of the wavy line (devoid of a “tr” indication), which appears in the second movement(mm. 4–5 and 47–49) and in the finale (mm. 218–221). InHummel’s manuscript score, the wavy line resembles a sinewave with wide, gentle curves, rather than the tight, buzzingappearance of a traditional trill line. Some have argued that itmay indicate intense vibrato or a fluttering tremolo betweenopen and closed fingerings on a keyed trumpet.3 In Hummel’s1828 piano treatise, he wrote that a wavy line without a “tr”sign indicates uneigentlichen Triller oder den getrillertenNoten [“improper” trills or the notes that are trilled], andrecommends that they be played as main note trills that arenot resolved [ohne Nachschlag].4 Hummel’s piano treatisewas published twenty-five years after he wrote the trumpetconcerto, and his advocacy for main note trills (rather thanupper note trills) was controversial at the time, so trumpetersshould consider all of the available options when formingtheir own interpretation of the wavy line.Unlike Haydn, Hummel did not include any fermatas wherecadenzas could be inserted in his trumpet concerto. The endof the first movement, in particular, includes something likean accompanied cadenza passage (mm. 273–298), a featureHummel also included at the end of the first movement ofhis Piano Concerto No. 5 in Ab Major, Op. 113 (1827). Thethird movement includes a quote (starting at m. 168) fromCherubini’s opera, Les Deux Journées (1802), that diverts therondo form into a coda replete with idiomatic fanfares andvirtuosic figuration.5 Again, no fermata appears to signal acadenza, but the obbligato gymnastics in the solo trumpetpart function like an accompanied cadenza.Other necessary considerations include tempo choicesand ornamentation. Hummel did not include metronomemarkings to quantify his desired tempi for the movements,but clues may be gleaned through the surface evidence(metric pulse, beat values, figuration) and from the stratifiedtempo table that Hummel included in his 1828 piano treatise,where the first movement’s “Allegro con spirito” is interpretedas faster than the “Allegro” (without a modifier) of the finale.6In the realm of ornamentation, Hummel includes severalturns and figures that are open to interpretation. This editionincludes Hummel’s original symbols (turns and figuration)along with suggested realizations to provide musicians withoptions for forming their own interpretation.Finally, trumpeters are encouraged to listen to Mozart pianoconcerti as an interpretive context for Hummel’s trumpetconcerto. Hummel was a noted piano virtuoso at the end ofthe Classical era, and he studied with Mozart in Vienna asa young boy. Hummel also composed his own cadenzas forsome of Mozart’s piano concerti, and the twenty-five-year-oldcompo ser imitated Mozart’s orchestral gestures and melodicfiguration in the trumpet concerto (most notably in the secondmovement, which resembles the famous slow movement ofMozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467).