Review

Paul Faulise
The In-Line Double Valve Bass Trombone – “Daily Warm-up and Valve Exercises.” :

Woodcliff Lake, NJ, United States
Publisher: PF Music Co. Publications
Date of Publication: 2008

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

This well-designed book is loaded with excellent exercises for bass trombone players to better acquaint themselves with rarely used valve combinations and slide positions. As a follow up to his first book titled The Basics – F G-flat D In-line Double Valve Bass Trombone, Paul Faulise expands upon a few of the same exercises while adding many more advanced ones for players to master. The exercises here are intended for a bass trombone with two independent valves, pitched in F and G-flat. Specific attention is paid to the use of the G-flat valve by itself and the new set of positions it requires.

The exercises include long tone studies and advanced flexibilities that require the use of both valves independently as well as together. Because this is a bass trombone method, there is extensive work below the staff in the valve and pedal registers, specifically addressing the issues of tone, intonation, and articulation. There are also etudes designed to introduce new valve combinations and slide positions into the major, minor, and chromatic scales. Also of interest is the “quick warm-up” section that includes the method’s main exercises in a condensed form. One note of caution: Mr. Faulise describes trigger register positions exclusively in terms of lowered standard positions, regardless of which valves are used: ¯2, ¯3, ¯4, ¯5, and ¯7. Other texts often use positions that give a closer approximation to where notes are actually located: ≥5, ¯¯7, etc.  However with practice and a tuner, this can be worked through in a short amount of time. Consult Mr. Faulise’s other books, The Basics – F G-flat D In-line Double Valve Bass Trombone and F & D Double Valve Bass Trombone for additional study materials by one of New York’s most legendary studio bass trombonists.

-Eric High
St. Norbert College