EMERALD for trombone by HA Vandercook. Performance, slower versions for practice, and tutorial

EMERALD, by HA Vandercook (pub. Rubank, 1938) is one of his gem-stoned titled pieces and is a wonderful trombone solo. In New York State, this piece is rated as a level two, which means it should be accessible to most 2nd and 3rd year players. That said, there is no reason a young trombonist can’t learn to play it musically!!! In this video, we begin with a performance of the piece with the CD accompaniment. This is followed by practice videos of each of the sections. Notice that these are played with a metronome and there are no retardandos or accelerandos. This is followed by a tutorial section, where you’ll see and hear explanations of individual sections and will also see demonstrations of how they are played both at a basic, notes-only level and at a strong performance level. (IMPORTANT- The demos are short and may require repeated viewing. I think the information they contain will be worth the effort.) The video ends with a short discussion of the Extendabone. This is a wonderful and inexpensive tool that helps trombonists play all positions when their arms may not be able to reach the farther ones on their own. To learn more about it, please visit Extendabone.com. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].