Quote from: Blowero on Jan 22, 2017, 07:40PMLet me add to what Dan said, which I think is good. Now don't everybody get all upset, because I'm not saying you have to hold the horn this way, and I'm not saying you can't use a brace if that's what you want to do. But I think the "traditional" grip often gets a bad rap because many players aren't doing it correctly, or don't have the levers adjusted correctly to fit their hand. Here's the "traditional" grip, from Doug Yeo's website. I think it's a good illustration, even though Doug doesn't like this grip:
If you use this grip correctly, you are most definitely not supporting the weight of the horn only with your pinkie. Most of the weight is borne between the fleshy pad at the base of the thumb, and the ring finger and pinkie at the other side of the brace. If you hold it correctly, it leaves the thumb and middle finger free to operate the levers. I think a lot of players don't understand that you are sandwiching the receiver and cork barrel between the base of your thumb and those two fingers, and that is what holds the horn up. I think many players are almost trying to make a fist, and attempting to wrap their fingers around the bottom of the cork barrel. This is not necessary, and most certainly will introduce tension into the grip. The middle finger and index finger also help support the weight. The middle finger mostly keeps the horn from sagging forward, and the index finger keeps the horn from pivoting left due to the weight of the bell. I also have a Stegman bar on my bass. I don't feel it's a necessity, but it allows my thumb to bear a small amount of the weight and enables me to hold the horn up longer without becoming fatigued.
Another mistake I think is made a lot is to position the hand too far up towards the mouthpiece. The receiver has to rest on that fleshy thumb pad, and if the thumb is too far up, you can't do that. I have converted all my thumb levers to have a shorter throw in front, so that I'm not tempted to place my hand position too high in an attempt to reach the lever. In my opinion, a lot of the bass trombones being made now have the thumb paddle too high, and the finger paddle too low.
Another alternative:
This way the index finger, 4th + 5th fingers and the pad below the thumb are all involved in holding the instrument. I use several layers of self-adhesive athletic bandage on my index finger to distribute and cushion the contact with the brace.
Works for me...try it. It is so much more comfortable and more stable than the index-finger-extended grip, especially because the Shires horn I am playing is quite heavy.
Later...
S.
