Review

Douglas Yeo
An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player:

Arranged by Illustrated by Lennie Peterson


Lanham, MD, United States
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Date of Publication: 2021
URL: http://www.rowman.com

Hard cover textbook. 190 pages.

Primary Genre: Study Material - book

As stated in the forward, inspired by numerous trips as a boy to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, “… it was in the museum’s musical instrument galleries that my imagination took flight.” This book is the culmination of a lifetime of experience. Yeo’s world travels, relationships with professionals, and teaching and performance experience provide insight into history and current instruments, their manufacture and pedagogy, and the relevant people.

Discussed in the foreword, whittling down the enormity of these topics to 675 was possibly the biggest challenge. On the selection of persons to be listed: “Individuals will be considered for inclusion for a stand-alone entry if they significantly changed the path of the instrument’s performance, pedagogy, repertoire, research, or manufacturing.” To simply list all of the topics covered in this dictionary is not practical; however, suffice it to say that if a topic is not covered in this dictionary, it might not be worthy of investigation. The “mouthpiece” entry includes 27 unique illustrations with an excellent historical review of its evolution. Oddities such as the seven-bell, six-valve trombone by Adolphe Sax or the superbone are illustrated and defined both in their manufacture and historical context. The entries of “race” and “gender” are sensitively and eloquently stated; historical and relevant information is presented in a concise format with respect to the issues both words address. Lennie Peterson’s illustrations are engaging and accurate and he is a world-renowned visual artist and musician.

This is an excellent first step for reference or research. There are exhaustive references to outside sources for further study and the 13-page bibliography is perhaps the most comprehensive resource available. This is one of the books that should be on every teacher’s shelf and in every academic library.