Review

Ernest H. Clarke
Method for Trombone:

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

Primary Genre: Study Material - method
Secondary Genre: Study Material - etude

In a time where one can walk into a music shop and find a shelf full of trombone study books, each focusing on their own aspect of trombone playing, it is fascinating to delve into a comprehensive method that was one of the first of its kind. The Clarkes were a musical family whose most prominent member was Herbert L. Clarke, cornet player, bandmaster and brother to the author of this method, Ernest H. Clarke (1865-1947). Ernest was a highly thought-of performer and teacher who played with many of the leading bands and orchestras of the era. He ended his career teaching at the Institute of Musical Arts, New York City, precursor to the Juilliard School of Music, from 1922 until his death in 1947. His Method for Trombone was first published in 1913, and 100 years later, has been re-printed by Cherry Classics Music.
 
One of the most striking features of Clarke’s Method for Trombone is its simplicity. There are no bright pictures or eye-catching diagrams. As the foreword admits, it may seem dry by today’s standards but Clarke’s clear and concise explanations more than compensate for this. He offers memorable thoughts on all aspects of playing: from breathing, “The breath is the life of the tone… The player should not blow for the tone, but breathe for it,” and tonguing through to practice habits, whilst also offering pearls of wisdom too easily forgotten in today’s pressure for achievement, “THOROUGHNESS should be the student’s motto.”
 
The studies are progressive. The first 33 exercises are all in the key of C. After these, groups of exercises alternate between sharp and flat keys through to six sharps and six flats by the end of exercise no.155. Although there are no exercises devoted to minor keys each one passes through a minor section thereby introducing minor modes as a part of music rather than as a separate beast. Reaching from E to a-flat1, the range of the studies is far from prohibitive and is ideal for intermediate players. However, the introduction of seventh position B as early as exercise no.3 and the need for a working range of over an octave by exercise no.6 suggests that absolute beginners may require preliminary learning before or in conjunction with the Clarke Method for Trombone. Though there are aspects that seem outdated (Widely available metronomes or metronome apps might be more reliable than foot-tapping for staying in time!), this gem of a book from Cherry Classics is just as relevant and informative to trombone study now as it was a century ago.

-Jonny Watkins
London, UK