Review

Shelley Denny
Developing the Upper Range One (Half) Step At a Time:

Coventry, , United Kingdom
Publisher: Warwick Music Publishers
Date of Publication: 2012
URL: http://www.warwickmusic.com

Primary Genre: Study Material - method
Secondary Genre: Study Material - etude

This method book includes a wide range of inventive exercises, lip slurs, and original compositions in a variety of styles. This is not a how-to book, but, rather, a collection of stimulating instructional material that includes original music in classical, hip-hop, jazz, and other genres. Denny includes chord changes that make many of the tunes suitable for improvisation. As befits a well-rounded trombonist, the material is written in bass, treble, alto, and tenor clefs.

Denny, a widely-respected trombonist, bassist, and educator, proceeds upward, to f2, note by note, in a creative, idiomatic fashion. Somewhat unique among trombone studies, he devotes particular attention to style and tempo markings, provides admonitions on how to play correctly and challenges the performer to fully realize the characteristic qualities of each musical type. Denny has authored a major addition to range-building in particular and trombone pedagogy in general. This book provides a huge stimulus to those seeking to increase their range by both technical and musical means.

-Joel Elias
Sacramento State University