I just finished writing a piece featuring John Jensen on trombone. There is a very personal side to writing for the trombone. More than most instruments, I find myself writing for the person as much as the instrument. In orchestral trombone writing I generally stay in the traditional register for tenor trombone. I rarely go past a G above the staff and I only go there at a fortissimo volume. In writing jazz/ big band style solos, I really have to think of the player. In John’s case, he plays a smaller more agile horn than most orchestral guys ( He has that equipment for orchestral gigs) and his sweet spot is entirely above the staff. in this case I put his “money note” at the C an octave above middle C. He will nail that. A different player might look at that and shudder. Hopefully we will get to record this sometime this year. But I am getting ahead of myself. We haven’t even rehearsed it yet.
Writing for the trombone
by Modern Songbook Records | Mar 6, 2012 | Charlie's Blog, News | 0 comments