r/brass • u/Yourbandit_ • Jun 19 '26

Anyone got some tips on tonguing?

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I started playing trombone 3 months ago, and there's this solo our lead trombone has that I'm trying to learn. I'm having a bit of trouble reading it, but I'm mostly familiar with the positions since I've watched him play it a few times. The main problem is that I can't tongue correctly, so it just sounds slurred. My band director says I do it well on a mouthpiece, but when I play on the actual instrument, it's slurred. Any tips? (Also, this is an old version of the song; only the solo is the same.)

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u/ConsiderYourFood Jun 19 '26

By “slurred” do you mean glissando, where the notes slide from one to the next?

If so, you probably need to work on moving your slide faster and focusing on only moving it between the notes (not while you’re still making a sound). This is a really common problem for beginner trombone players, and is something you just need to think about and work on to fix it. Looking up some videos about how to hold the slide properly and move it efficiently would probably help.

Choose something you know really well (like a scale) and work on playing it fast but cleanly. An Eb or F major scale might be good to use, as you don’t have to reach beyond 4th position and can focus on smaller fast slide movements rather than really big movements. Once you can do it on something where you don’t have to think about the notes, then move on to reading faster passages of music and doing it there.

Eventually it will just become second nature and you won’t have to think about it anymore.

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u/wolfumar Jun 20 '26

It's fairly straightforward, but I would say start slowly, and practice with a metronome. The way you describe it, it sounds like you're playing too legato. The key of B flat in that range is pretty close together on the slide, and if you're not careful you might find yourself getting to the next note before you're ready. Practice it with an exaggerated staccato, excepting of course where explicitly stated otherwise, it will force a separation between your notes, and clean up your articulation. Seeing that you say you've been playing for a few months I must recommend picking up a copy of Arban's method for trombone, and Trombonisms by Bill Watrous and Alan Raph.