Trombone 101

“When I first started teaching private trombone lessons nearly twenty years ago, I relied on a patchwork of resources—pulling from various method books, writing out exercises, and adapting material on the fly. The kind of organized, idiomatic, all-in-one resource I wanted simply didn’t exist. And it never felt fair or equitable to ask students and their families to buy multiple books just to access a few pages of truly useful material. Drawing on nearly two decades of teaching experience, I set out to create the resource I’d long wanted to use with my students.

The result is Trombone 101. Designed for developing trombonists at any stage, it brings together foundational exercises for players ready to take their playing to the next level—breathing, buzzing, long tones, lip slurs, natural slurs, major scales and patterns in all 12 keys, a dynamic control study, chromatic exercises, cool-down routines, and a section on the importance of listening. The book also includes two years’ worth of journal pages for weekly lesson notes, allowing students and teachers to track their progress as they grow.

The idea is simple: a comprehensive, idiomatic resource for trombone, written by a trombonist.

As the first in a new series, Trombone 101 represents my commitment to creating accessible, affordable, and complete materials that give players everything they need, all in one place.”

— Brian Scarborough