Review

Jaroslav Cimera
55 Phrasing Studies:
Tuba (Bass Trombone)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 1958 / 2020
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Method book. 21 pages.

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude

Jaroslav Cimera’s 55 Phrasing Studies for Tuba (Bass Trombone) is ideal for the development of a legato singing style in the trigger register. These short etudes are full of beautiful melody and basic harmonic structures. The music in each study encourages ease of playing and sweetness of tone. Cimera’s book is appropriate for those beginning their studies on bass trombone and those seeking to refine melodic concepts.

Most of the short etudes consist of three or four lines of music broken into easily identifiable phrases. The original melodies are made up of scale patterns and broken arpeggios. Occasional wider leaps do occur. The book utilizes a variety of time signatures and key areas. Major and minor keys are both present, with some mode mixture within selected studies. Chromatic lines are used sparingly. Etudes connect the trigger register with the notes in the bass staff, typically staying within two octaves. The book's register lies between pedal BB-flat and f in the bass staff. Interesting, the 55 Phrasing Studies for Tuba (Bass Trombone) includes 60 studies. I will be using these studies with my tenor and bass trombonists alike.

Jaroslav Cimera was a professor at Northwestern University for over thirty years. An in-depth biography appears in the ITA Journal, January 1997 (Vol.25, No.1).