Review

Jean Baptiste Arban
Selected Studies and Scales:

Arranged by Wade Goodwin

Bass trombone (or tuba)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2021
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Method book. 134 pages.

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

In his Selected Studies and Scales, Dr. Goodwin has chosen his favorite exercises from the famous text by Jean Baptist Arban, reorganizing, expanding upon them, and presenting them in a version for bass trombone and tuba. For reference, any mention of the “original version” in the following description refers to Arban’s Famous Method for Slide and Valve Trombone and Baritone, edited by Charles L. Randall and Simone Mantia (copyright 1936 by Carl Fisher, Inc.).

As this method is not intended for a beginning trombonist, Dr. Goodwin has chosen to skip all but four of the “First Studies” in the original text and instead begins with some of the later exercises consisting primarily of scale patterns, numbers 37, 39, 40, and 49 from the original, in the first section he calls “Fundamentals.” In addition to presenting the etudes in their original form, Dr. Goodwin has transposed each one down a perfect fifth and down an octave, ensuring that the trigger and pedal registers are getting the same attention. Transposing the original exercises lower and lower is a common theme in this text and students would be encouraged to continue the practice while exploring more challenging keys. The “Fundamentals” section concludes with the first two exercises from the “Preparatory Studies for the Gruppetto” chapter in the original text, in both the original form and an octave lower.

From there the text moves on to exercises from the “Studies in Dotted Eighth and Sixteenth Note” and “Studies for the Slur” sections of the original book, continuing the pattern of presenting the original key, then down a P5 and further down a P8. Some exercises in trill preparation follow as a logical extension of the slur studies, and then a substantial amount of space, over 50 pages, is dedicated to scales.

Dr. Goodwin has augmented the major scale portion of the original by focusing on just two scale patterns, numbers 1 and 4 from the original, but presenting them in every key and in two octaves. He also recreates exercises 42 and 43 from the original, pairing up enharmonic spellings of scales, also in two octaves. The section on minor scales has been significantly expanded to include the same two scale patterns used with the major scales (pattern no.1 for six different keys and pattern no.4 for the remaining six keys), but all three forms of the minor scale are given, also in two different octaves. This is substantially different from the original Arban text where only one page was dedicated to minor scales.

Following the extensive scale portion of the text, Dr. Goodwin offers selected etudes dedicated to arpeggios, intervals, and multiple tonguing. Continuing in the same manner as the previous exercises, most of these are presented in their original form as well as lowered both a P5 and P8. Interestingly, Dr. Goodwin has chosen to start the “Multiple Tonguing” section with double tonguing while the original Arban’s text introduces triple tonguing first. The book concludes with one of the original “Characteristic Studies,” no.6, given in the original key, down a P5, and again down a P8.

In sum, Dr. Wade Goodwin has chosen the exercises from the original J.B. Arban’s Famous Method for Slide and Valve Trombone and Baritone that he finds most beneficial and presented them is such a way to help bass trombonists work on those skills in the original keys as well as moving progressively lower into the valve and pedal registers. As an added bonus, he has inserted helpful quotations from many of his teachers throughout the book, encouraging players to approach the music differently or try new things. Dr. Goodwin has also published another text of selected Bordogni etudes for bass trombone and both books are available in hard copy or downloadable PDF formats from cherryclassics.com.