Review

Anton Slama
66 Etudes in All Major and Minor Keys for Trombone:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2013
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

45 pages

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude

Anton Slama (1804-1881) was the professor of bass at the Vienna Conservatory. Sauer makes a reference in the preface that these studies were from “the first etude book” that he used with Emory Remington, his teacher at the Eastman School of Music. There have been many editions of this book prior to the new Ralph Sauer edition, but in this particular version, the print is easier to read and looks cleaner as compared to older editions. Every key is presented in five to six technical, progressive etudes. The first etude is a basic scale and arpeggio study beginning in the major key, modulating to the minor, then back to the major. Each etude that follows focuses on a specific scale or arpeggio pattern, intervals and articulations. Each new key consistently presents an etude a little more melodic and tuneful than would be found in a technical study. The formatting is helpful as it is nice to practice an etude without awkward page turns that appear in the middle of the study. I have found myself adding these studies to my own daily practice routine. Sauer’s updates are a great supplement for advanced high school students through undergraduates who are ready for additional materials in related keys. It is a fresh look, bringing new life to a classic trombone method.

-Matthew Driscoll
Cornell and Central College (Iowa)