I’m currently in training to play that beast of a trombone solo in Ravel’s Bolero with the Musikfreunde orchestra. It’s not all that long, but it’s very high, and it occurs three times in the piece, plus the even higher bit right at the end. It’s a challenge even for professionals, and pretty daunting for us amateurs.
Our conductor had the decency to ask me if he could add it to this season’s programme, meaning I had time to think and to take up the gauntlet. Since then, I’ve been building up my upper register, practising more frequently than I have in a long time, focussing first on building up my embouchure, and now beginning to get a grip on the music itself.
As Dion Tucker, the jazz trombonist with his YouTube channel, The Chops Shop mentioned in one of his videos, musicians are athletes of the small muscles - and there’s a certain satisfaction in feeling the embouchure muscles firming up and becoming more stable as I continue practising and rehearsing.
