Title: Lydian Detour
Style: Medium-up swing (straight 8ths possible, but feel the implied triplet swing)
Key: Ab Lydian (concert) → shifts to B mixolydian b9 (bar 6)
Time: 4/4, with one 2/4 bar
& 4
-------------------------------------------------
| G B D F# | Eb C Ab F | E G Bb Db | A C# E G |
| <-- ascending 7th chords (Abmaj7#11) -- alt. voicings with guide tones -->
| F Ab B D | Bb Db E G | Eb Gb A C | D F Ab Cb |
| (descending whole-tone fragments, then tritone sub resolution)
| G7alt (F# Bb D Ab) | C-7b5 (C Eb Gb Bb) | B7#9 (B D# F# A C##) | E-Δ7 (E G B D#) |
| ...play each chord as a broken 4-note pattern, swing eighths -->
3. The "Slide Logic" Technique
The biggest barrier to sight-reading on trombone is the slide. Unlike a trumpet player who can press a valve combination instantly, we have to physically travel distances. jazz sight reading trombone
When you scan a chart for the first time, look for Slide Traps:
- The Break: Are you moving quickly from low Bb (1st position) to F above the staff (1st position)? Easy. But are you moving from Bb (1st) to B natural (7th)? That requires a fast arm movement. Identify these wide intervals before the count-off.
- Alternate Positions: Good sight-readers cheat. If you see a fast passage around F, D, and Eb, using alternate positions (F in 6th, D in 4th, Eb in 3rd) allows you to stay in the middle of the slide rather than jerking back and forth to 1st position.
- Glissando Management: In jazz, we love a good gliss, but not when it’s accidental. If you see quick scalar runs, plan your positions to avoid smearing into the next note.
2. Harmonic Awareness (Chord Symbols)
Jazz trombone parts are often minimal. You might see a staff with slashes (///) and chord symbols (Cmi7, F7, Bbmaj7) written above. The sight reading test isn't just playing the slashes—it's improvising a walking bass line or rhythmic hits that fit those chords.
You must be able to spell a chord instantly. For example: F7 = F, A, C, Eb. If you see F7alt, you need to know the altered tensions (b9, #9, b13). If you can't spell the chord, you cannot sight read the chart. Title: Lydian Detour Style: Medium-up swing (straight 8ths
Recommended exercise approach (for repeated reading):
- Clap the rhythm of each line before playing.
- Sing the intervals (or buzz on mouthpiece) first.
- Read with a metronome on beats 2 & 4 only.
- Transpose the whole piece up a half step (to A Lydian) for advanced training.
Would you like a play-along audio file (MIDI) of this piece, or a cleaned PDF version with standard jazz notation and chord symbols above the staff?
10 Minutes: Key Signature Zeroing
- Jazz uses "flat" keys: F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db.
- For one week, only read etudes in Bb concert. The next week, Eb.
- Use the Bordogni Vocalises (the trombone bible) but swing them. This bridges classical legato to jazz articulation.
8–12 bar sight‑reading excerpt for tenor trombone (in bass clef)
Tempo: Quarter = 96, swing eighths
Key: F major (one flat)
Range: Bb2 to F4 (comfortable slide positions)
Articulation: Mix of legato and staccato; one short slur group
Dynamics: mf with a short crescendo to f in bar 6 and back to mf in bar 8
Notation (each bar = 4/4):
- | F2 (quarter) — C3 (quarter) — A3 (half, staccato)
- | D3 (dotted quarter) — C3 (eighth) — Bb2 (quarter) — C3 (quarter)
- | F3 (quarter, legato) — A3 (quarter) — G3 (half, staccato)
- | C3 (half) — D3 (quarter) — Eb3 (quarter, slur to next bar)
- | F3 (quarter, tied to next) — F3 (quarter, tied) — A3 (quarter) — C4 (quarter)
- | D4 (quarter, crescendo) — C4 (quarter) — Bb3 (quarter) — A3 (quarter, f)
- | G3 (half, descending scale feel: G3–F3) — E3 (quarter staccato) — F3 (quarter legato)
- | C3 (half) — D3 (quarter) — F3 (quarter, return to mf, fermata on final F)
Performance notes:
- Read swing eighths (long–short).
- Keep slide shifts efficient; prioritize intonation over extreme slide positions.
- Maintain steady tempo; use the slur in bars 4–5 to demonstrate legato control.
- Watch the short crescendo into bar 6 to show dynamic contrast.
If you want this as standard notation (PDF) or altered difficulty (easier/harder), tell me which and I’ll produce it.