Review

Ron Babcock
Fifty Progressive Duets in Tenor Clef:

Denton, TX, United States
Publisher: Kagarice Brass Editions
Date of Publication: 2013

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude
Secondary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 2 trombones

Ron Babcock holds degrees from Louisiana Tech University, the University of Oklahoma and a DMA in trombone performance from the University of North Texas. He has taught at Portland State University’s School of Music since 1988 and is currently an Associate Professor. He has vast experience in a variety of styles and ensembles, from big band jazz to sackbut consorts and has also performed and given presentations at several International Trombone Festivals. His solo compact disc, Trombone Treasures, features standard repertoire not often recorded. (http://trombonetreasures.com/trombone-treasures/)
In his preface Dr. Babcock states the following:

… Playing duets in lessons or with other players can reinforce a student’s confidence and provide a more enjoyable way to practice a new clef. Using duets to learn the clef also effectively doubles the number of available exercises for the student to learn. 

The first twenty-five exercises of this collection are one-page duets. The first four, written specifically to build confidence for students new to the clef, contain no melodic skips and are in easy keys. Melodic skips including thirds and fourths are introduced in duets five through seven. Technical aspects such as key difficulty, wider range, rhythmic variety and challenging time signatures are gradually introduced through the first half of the book. Fast chromatic passages are introduced in duet number twenty-five. 

Duets twenty-six through fifty are all two pages in length. These are also progressive in difficulty although they begin at a higher level. Asymmetric time signatures, fast passages in the upper register and cadenzas are a few of the techniques explored in some of the later duets. 

A wide variety of styles and forms …include(s) renaissance madrigals, baroque inventions, theme and variations, a jazz waltz and many more. Some are original compositions and others arrangements. …My goal in creating this book is to provide a vehicle for improving reading skills as well as a source of musical enjoyment. I hope you will find playing these duets both instructive and fun. 

For those teachers that play duet material with their students, this indeed would be an enjoyable and less tedious way to learn tenor clef.  It not only satisfies a pedagogical need but is also an excellent source of musical duets in a wide variety of styles and levels of difficulty.

-Karl Hinterbichler
University of New Mexico