Trombone Lessons: Intonation and Tuning 

MajorasMaskMailman We are in the same boat.

Absolutlely. There are plenty of ways to practice this without wanting to off yourself in the process. If you play along with a drone it fixes most things without you even knowing, so definitely give that a shot if you can. You can also play along with a song you like on the radio, or kind of improvise around the melody of the song so it's closer to what you're trying to accomplish. This way you'll be trying to sing a melody rather than play notes, and this also will keep you in tune because you'll be trying to match the pitch of the song (which hopefully is in tune!) Good luck!

The biggest reason of a "pinchy" tone is that you may be closing your throat as you play. This effectively cripples the airflow and will give you a pinchy, small sound. Focus on keeping your throat and embouchure open and relaxed as you play - you'll find it's easier to use more air and hold notes steadier. Most of the people I meet with pinchy sounds are closing their throats and tensing up because they feel self-conscious - assuming you're a trombonist, never be self-conscious. If the band director can hear themselves think over your self-confidence, you're doing it wrong.

Practice alone. Sing loud like on opera singer. LAA LAA LAAAAAA. Then play loud like joe alessi. Sing loud. Play loud. Big loud and relaxed.

It's actually very simple to make that transition. No valves = 1st position 2nd valve = 2nd position 1st valve = 3rd position 1&2 valves = 4th position 2&3 valves = 5th position 1&3 valves = 6th position All 3 valves = 7th position 1st position w/trigger is the same as 6th position (aka valves 1&3) 2nd position w/trigger is the same as 7th position (aka all 3 valves) That should get you pretty far!

Christopher Bill Idk if you will reply. But is that the same for a valve trombone or is it different?

Abit late but yeah, Its also the same for baritones and euphoniums in Bb