Everyone`s talking about Arbans... What exactly is it? Where can I get it?

WHat you dont know about "Arband famous method for trombone?"
It is a method book originaly writen for cornet that has been transposed and modified for all the diferent brass instruments. It is a great method book with like 150 exercizes and stuff. Lots of how to play instruction. See if your band director at what ever highschool you go to has one you can borrow. let me know if you can get one and ill give you some excercizes that are "good stuff".

Arbans = trumpet/cornet book transcribed for trombone and other brass instruments. While they are great for valved horns, it is not so great for trombone, since our mechanics are so different. (just try to play the stuff in the back, pretty worthless). Especially with all the other great books out there specifically for trombones.

Erik.....worthless?
I have to disagree. I have an instructor that can play it all. He plays it at twice the tempo that is recomended and sounds like a freekin valve horn. The greatest thing about a trombone is the fact that when mastered (and i have not mastered it by any meens) it can sound just like a valve instrument and we get the added power of the true gliss. Most instructors encourage there students to make it sound like ther playing a valve horn. You know no wa or gliss between notes. so since the goal is to sound like a valve horn and the book was writen for a valve horn they fit together really well. oh by the way most of the stuff in the back that is so fast is just scales and arpegios. stuff that we all should be able to play.

Actually I meant worthless as not the best technical exsercises for the mechanics of our horns, looking at all the better books out there witten by and for specifically trombone players.

To me, the Arbans just seems like playing a Marimba concerto on Chimes. Sure, might sound neat and be fun, but worthless when trying to be the best chimes player possible.

Going through the Arban`s book has significantly increased my playing ability. My trombone instructor is the principal trombonist for the Houston Ballet Orchestra and for the Houston Grand Opera. The Arban`s book is not worthless for trombone players.

Ok, I`ll take out the word "worthless". Even though I didn`t use it like that in the first place. What I mean is that there are many many other technical books written by and for trombone players that can benefit us more than a book originally for cornet.

By the way, my former teacher played for New York Phil and San Fransisco Symphony, and played principle for San Jose Symphony and San Jose Opera. My current teacher plays for Oakland East Bay Symphony and San Fransisco Symphony. To each his own, I guess.

Anyway, my entire point is this. We don`t have a whole lot of time to put in a lot of work. We search and search for the very best equipment to play, why don`t we put the same effort into our technical study books?Why play a book written for trumpet when you can go out and get a book written for trombone? With trombone specific problems in it? A book a trumpet player would not really want to play......

We as a society of trombone players have moved to far in the past decades out of the realm of section playing and more into the realm of soloing, into that realm of the hunt for perfection. Why should we still be playing other peoples books, when finally we have so many for ourselves?

Do you play the rochout? Do you know what those are? there a vocal performars warmup transcribed for bone/trumpet.

Whaich book do you use? I have 13 diferent books and almost all arebased on the same fundementals Lip slurs air control and slide speed/control.(arbans included)

I hate to admit it but Trumpet and bone are so similar in theas atributes that a trumpet book couldnt be bad for you. I admit there are diferences between trumpet style playing and bone, and the publisher of arbans has made alowances for it by bringing in true boners to help them restructure the book.

Yes, I know what the Rochout book is, and yes, I live on it, as should all trombone players. However, The Rochout book is a book of "etudes", not "technical" studies. For Etudes, where we learn about style, beauty and control, those vocal works work out great. However, when working on technical ability, we should be focusing on books written more for trombone specifically. Blumes 36 Studies, Kopprasch`s 60 Selected Studies books 1 and 2, Blazhevich`s Clef Studies, and Charles Vernon`s Singing Approach to the Trombone are all great books that are written for the trombone, as opposed to a book written for an instrument with mechanics nothing like our own. And there are many others. Lot`s of people use the Arbans Method, and if it works, great.

Another analogy. You wouldn`t use an oboe book to learn clarinet. There are too many differences in the two instruments that would be lost in a transcription. Different fingerings, different alternates, different pretty much everything. You wouldn`t use a trumpet book to learn horn. Same thing, to many issues would be lost cause they either aren`t issues on the trumpet or are issues on trumpet and not horn. So why would we use a trumpet book to learn trombone when we have our own books that focus on the same thing, but include all the little nuances worked into our loved instrument?

I did use the Arbans for quite a while, and for a beggining player, it might work real well. But eventually, you get to a point where you no longer really benifit from it, and it is time to move on to real trombone books. Books that deal with the little problems that are only existant on the trombone. Intonation issues, movement issues, tone issues, alternate possitions, clef issues, as well as many others, just don`t get worked enough with a trumpet book. They do get worked a little, but only when it comes up in the already existant music, as opposed to books that work specifically on these and other issues that only we have to deal with. So if we have so many other books, that may be based on the same theory of work, and do include similarities like lip slurs, air support and control, and slide speed, but also have so much more for us, would we use something that only has some of that stuff?

I currently have 22 books, as well as solos, excerpts, and other random stuff, but there are only about 5 or 6 books that I read from, and only 3 that I read from daily. Arbans is no longer one of them, I no longer benifit from it.