Introductory Studies in Tenor & Alto Clef by Brad Edwards, pub. Ensemble

Item Details

"Before Blazhevich"

"Introductory Studies in Tenor and Alto Clef for Trombone is a collection of over one hundred exercises by Brad Edwards designed to help students learn to read in the two clefs.

"Introductory Studies in Tenor & Alto Clef for Trombone “Before Blazhevich” by Brad Edwards is intended to bridge the gap in the clef study literature between the overly simplistic and the overly difficult and to provide an improved introductory experience to the second section of the Blazhevich Clef Studies.

Instead of Blazhevich’s approach of studies in all clefs limited by positions, Introductory Studies uses “Guidepost” notes to help the student transfer his or her skills reading bass clef to tenor and alto clef. The staff and ledger lines D, F, C and E in Bass Clef are linked to the corresponding staff lines in tenor clef. Similar to the modern concept of teaching people to read by using “sight words,” the student is given a chance to drill the “Guidepost” notes by the first 13 studies which are limited to notes that fall on “Guidepost” lines. This smart introduction is enhanced by the incorporation of varying keys, meters and rhythms.

After the introduction of “Guideposts” the etudes get gradually more involved with the introduction of melodies with five notes ranges, leaps of increasing size, the lower register and finally shifting between bass and tenor clef. The second section on Alto Clef reading follows the same layout beginning with “Guideposts” followed by progressive studies in Alto Clef culminating in a section using three clefs."
     --  Andrew Glendening (Online Trombone Journal)

"This book combines etudes and exercises to help you master tenor and alto clefs.  As you might expect, things start out easy and become more difficult.  The more advanced etudes will hopefully serve not only as clef studies but as good musical character studies as well."
     -- Brad Edwards