I Should Have Practiced This 20 Years Ago

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I'm a piano Noob starting at 65 years of age. I joked all my life that I was born with two left ears, and now I'm geeking out. I never knew what you have to do with the trombone, and this was fascinating. Really cool.

[@T83Music]

Great video, Shawn. I just turned 40 and only started playing again this past year. Based on a previous video of yours, I made it a goal this year to play in tune and in time with no excuses and few exceptions. I think the importance of mastering the basics before feeling pressured into playing like one’s musical heroes (to paraphrase) is hard to overstate. I’ve made more progress focusing on that this year than in all my younger years trying to catch up to the advanced players around me.

[@king0fthecurses]

I have been playing for about 3 years now am about to start high school and have been looking for ways to improve. Thanks for the advice and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[@Oscar_Dakota]

Excellent message.

[@suezofchak]

Shawn you’re awesome thanks .

[@mustafa1name]

Back in the day, a tuner was a two-pronged metal fork, and a drone was the sound the conductor made when begging us to play in tune

[@BANDLDR]

Great content as usual. Thanks for sharing!

[@TracksWithDax]

This is WICKED good Shawn, I used to be a horrendously out-of-tune player and using a drone helped - I haven't done it in years though and I can hear now that I'm getting back into playing that I have a LOT of room to improve. Amazing tips! And best yet, my current practice routine can incorporate all of this seamlessly.

[@carlbouchaux]

Great video and advice, thanks.

[@johndowson7929]

These drones, just recently have been mentioned to me by a friend. I'm going into it

[@danielcarlheister680]

Hey Shawn thanks for the content. I am a freelance trombonist. I have been playing professionally for 30 years +. There was a book my college instructor turned me on to. It was called "The Inner Game of Tennis" by Tim Gellway. It used to be a well known book. It probably still is. You may have heard of it but it was a game changer for me in terms of performing. Thanks again.

[@ShawnBellMusic]

I couldn't agree more about the inner game of tennis. It was one of the resources I checked out when I was working through some of these issues.

[@jamieharris8075]

Shawn: Thanks for this video. Really helpful information, especially for an amateur who never went to music school. Regarding performance anxiety, I recommend the book Effortless Mastery, by Kenny Werner. It was recently suggested to me and after just reading and thinking about the concepts of fear and mastery focused practice techniques, it has already helped. I expect even more benefit from seriously practicing some of the mindfulness practices he describes.

[@ShawnBellMusic]

What's up Jamie! Good to hear from you. I totally agree with you on Effortless Mastery. It was one of the resources I checked out when I was working on that aspect of my musicianship during the time period I mentioned in this video. That book along with The Inside Game Of Tennis really helped shape the way I think about performing and practice.

[@djmileski]

I’ve been working on single note acoustic jazz guitar for about 4 years now. Even though this is geared towards trombone, this is helpful for me. Any suggestions on what 50s/60s jazz trombonists to check out? Hearing the trombone solos in blue train is a great variance to hear after the trumpet, etc.

[@ShawnBellMusic]

I love JJ Johnson and Slide Hampton. For JJ albums, I like "Trombone master" and "The Eminent JJ Johnson Volume 2". For Slide I like "Exodus" and "Live In Copenhagen". The second one is a Dexter Gordan album that Slide plays on.

[@williamchan1414]

Hi Shawn, about your patreon page. I have been wanting to join for a while. May I ask: after I joined, where should I start looking at? Also, I play trumpet, do you think the materials will be helpful as well?

[@ShawnBellMusic]

Thanks for reaching out. A few things to consider. The handout material on my patreon is currently all in bass clef. That may not be as helpful as a trumpet player; however, the practice sessions that are available would likely be helpful. We work through some of the concepts that I present in the KZbin lessons in a more detailed, often slower, fashion. One other bit of information that you may want to know, I am going to change how I offer material on Patreon in January. There will likely be more free material and still some material that is for paying subscribers only. I will likely start offering handouts in treble clef/other transpositions. This would give you an opportunity to check things out at no cost. I am also going to make the Patreon stuff more organized (hopefully). A number of other players have asked the "where to start" question. Right now, the content is only organized by the week that I release it which isn't super helpful for people jumping in. Stay tuned to the channel, I'll describe some of the changes in the first new video of 2024.

[@nathan11044]

Could you recommend some recordings to use to develop that blues "sensibility?"

[@ShawnBellMusic]

Here are a few that I really like. "After hours" on the Sonny Stitt album sonny side up "Bring It On Home" on the Roy Hargrove Album Ear Food "Bud's Blues" on the JJ Johnson Album Quintergy: Live At The Village Vanguard I also really like transcribing vocalists to connect with this aspect of playing. I love Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder. When transcribing vocalists, it is all about getting every bit of subtlety. Trying to match every bit of inflection, vibrato, and ornamentation can be challenging as an instrumentalist, but it can really get you connected other avenues to "playing the blues" aside from just the notes.

[@djmileski]

9:53 ah, so this is how I can proceed to get better at playing the changes? But, would u say there is a less blusey way to do this?

[@ShawnBellMusic]

That is a big question for sure. If you want a less blues oriented sound, I would focus more on building melodies from arpeggios with some passing notes rather than approaching an entire section with the blues scale or minor pentatonic. That concept can get you going in the right direction towards a more "change playing" approach.

[@djmileski]

@@ShawnBellMusic thanks