I'm getting trombone lessons from my instructor and everythings has seemed to go pretty well... but... the other day when we were working on the solo I'm going to try out with for All-State Band, there were quite a few lip slurs. As I was playing them he told me that I was, "closing my throat when playing the lip slurs." He told me to while I practice to look at myself in a mirror and if my throat moved at all, that was bad.

I went back to my next weekly lesson and I still hadn't figured it out and he was angry with me and told me to have it ready by next week.

I've been trying really hard the last week but for some reason I can't do lip slurs without my "throat closing". Sadly, my lesson is tomarrow and I'm rather distressed with the situation.

If anyone could reply something to help me as soon as possible, all would be appriciated.

Thank you so much!

Someone please reply, the more I lip slur the closer I get to a breakdown. *sigh*

Someone please help...

I've really never heard of this. You need to ask him what he means and have him demonstrate so you can see. There are some other things to consider. Making sure the embouchure is set and not moving. Anyway, ask him to show you exactly what you are doing wrong.

I think I have an idea of what you are doing, if I understand correctly. A couple of my students do the same thing.

It sounds ike you are trying to adjust your air in order to change notes, and instead of using your tongue, (your working on lip slurrs, no tonguing there) you are clenching your throat to stop the air just for a second.

Here is something you can try. Look at your passage, whatever the lip slur exercise is. Play the first note, but instead of playing all the rest of the notes, just play that note long while imagining the rest of the notes and the mechanics involved. So, for example, if the passage is Bb-F-Bb-F-Bb in quarter notes, do this: Play Bb for 5 beats of a longtone while thinking the part. Listen for any change in that note. If there is, do it again until it is perfectly smooth. Next, think about what that felt like. Focus on the airstream continually pushing forward and not stopping at all. Now, add the other notes BUT continue to think about the steady, continuous stream of air. Play EXACTLY the same way you did as a longtone, only add the embouchure change to slur the notes.

It's a subconcious thing that is happening. When we first learn to lip slur, we still want to somehow stop the air, as if we needed to in order to change notes. We might not actually think that, but the mind does funny things. Just remember, it's not the air that changes, it's just the mouth area.


Hope that helped. I would really need to see it first hand to know what is going on, but it sounds like this is the issue. And remember, it might not be perfect after the first time through the exercise. Do it several times over several days.