First Habits

More than a warm-up

(232 pages)

First Habits is a collection of warm-up and fundamentals exercises covering a wide range of playing needs.

Purchase – Tenor Trombone (pdf only)

Purchase – Bass Trombone (pdf only)

Part One: First Habits Warm-Up

  • Some thoughts on warming up.
  • Plain warm-up
    • With accompaniment
    • Without accompaniment
    • Shorter Warm-up
  • Duet warm-up
  • 6-Minute Warm-Up for Younger Players

Part Two: Warm-Up Variations

Additional material designed to work with the play-along accompaniment tracks.

  • Air/Buzz
  • Easy Resonance
  • Five Notes Down
  • First Slurs
  • Note Placement
  • Musical Patterns

Part Three: Focus Areas

  • Mouthpiece Buzzing
    • 16 Legato Tunes (multiple keys)
    • 16 Détaché Buzzing Tunes (multiple keys)
    • More Useful Tunes to Buzz by Ear
  • Sostenuto
    • JND Bends / Position Finding
    • Slow scales
    • 1-5-1 sequences
    • Dynamics
    • Lip Bends
    • Tone/Tuning/Imitation Duets
  • Note Placement
    • Consistency/ Security
    • Expanding Intervals
    • Octave Scales
  • Multiple Tonguing
    • Double Tonguing
    • Triple Tonguing
  • High Range Development
  • “Happy Chops” Warm-Down

Part Four: Love Songs and Pirate Songs

  • 14 Little Legato Tunes (Love Songs)
  • 14 Little Détaché Tunes (Pirate Songs)

Free sample pages (tenor trombone)

Free sample pages (bass trombone)


Reviews (tenor version)

This is a wonderful collection of traditional fundamental material, including tuning, multiple tonguing and high range development….
This is a much-needed compendium of diverse ideas and practices, collected into one volume. It makes a valuable resource/guide for both less advanced students all the way to professional artists.

ITA Journal, June 23, 2021