Trombone Notes: Play-Rest-Play-Rest Exercise by NorlanBewley

One of the first exercises to practice is to play a note for 4 counts and rest for 4 counts. Use each note from the Low-Middle-High Warmup one at a time and play it over and over again with 4 counts of rest in-between. Do this 20 times or more. It is often best to do Low first, Middle next, then High. Feel free to start in the order that works best for you.

If you play a bad note, KEEP GOING. Rest for 4 counts and make the next note better. There is no need to stop if you mess-up, because you are just going to rest for 4 counts and play another note. Keep the tempo, keep playing, and try to make each note better.

If you play a great note, try to do again each time. Stop when you get tired.

You will find that as you play the notes more and more, they get easier to find and they sound better and better. This will help you find the notes faster so you don’t have to hunt for them as much. It will also help you know them better so you can get a better tone on them.

The Play-Rest-Play-Rest exercise is often one of the first, if not the first lesson in many band and individual instrument method books.

Copyright NorlanBewley 1999