Airstream on Song of India

[mlshermancpa]

Hi All:

I've been working on Dorsey's Song of India and running into a problem maintaining my airstream on those long phrases. The problem gets worse as I get tired and I tend to break up on the entrances. With my luck the director will call the chart in the third set.

I've been using a 2b or Bach 8 and have tried Bach 9, 11 & 11C mouthpieces and there is not much difference. Any advice on attack, endurance, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

[BGuttman]

Dorsey played this pretty quiet, especially with the Solotone mute. If your saxes are honking away it's going to be a struggle. See if for a change they can play pp. Also, try to play right into a microphone with some amplification.

If you are stuck trying to blast over a loud (and possibly amplified) band with nothing but your trombone, there is really no way to play it as sweetly as it's supposed to be played. Nor to play the long phrases as written.

Listen to the original tune in Scheherezade (it's not a trombone solo there -- the strings play it). Note that there is a little break between the long tone and the short descending figure. That may be a place to sneak a little breath.

Dorsey played on a tiny mouthpiece. A Bach 22 may be close, although his mouthpiece was a custom by Almont. I believe the Schilke 24D was supposed to be a copy of it. It's pretty small and if you are used to a larger mouthpiece you may find it very uncomfortable. Also, that tiny mouthpiece meant he wasn't going to be loud.

[CharlieB]

Dorsey was famous for the length of the passages he could play on one breath.
Part of that ability was due to his choice of very small equipment; both the horn and the mouthpiece.
This subject was discussed here in the "Performance" section on Dec.2, 2020.
I'm having trouble linking that thread to this message, but you should be able to find it with "search."

[Posaunus]

Dorsey played on a tiny mouthpiece. A Bach 22 may be close, although his mouthpiece was a custom by Almont. I believe the Schilke 24D was supposed to be a copy of it. It's pretty small and if you are used to a larger mouthpiece you may find it very uncomfortable. Also, that tiny mouthpiece meant he wasn't going to be loud.

It was actually the Schilke 42B that was termed the "Dorsey Mouthpiece."
Indeed tiny: 22.99mm (0.905") Cup I.D; shallow Cup; "standard" 5.95mm (0.234") Throat.
Too small for most trombonists these days.
The Bach 22 is actually a bit larger and deeper than the Schilke 42B.

[Doug Elliott]

Dorsey was a different embouchure type than nearly anybody else, and the tiny mouthpiece was appropriate for him. For most players, a small mouthpiece won't be any advantage at all and will actually make it harder.

I have heard lots of players play, or try to play, that solo line. The issue really isn't "maintaining your airstream." It's maintaining your chops steady and locked in place - and using correct form for YOUR face.

I play it with no articulation at all, even sneaking in early on the first note with no tongue. (Which is the same as Dorsey did). High C in 3rd helps with a tiny bit of against the grain for natural slurs. Glisses are fine.
Play it open - the mute just makes it harder.
Practice it as softly as possible, and also down an octave, also as softly as possible, to work on smoothness where it's easier to do.
Even with the band it doesn't need to be loud. That range projects well, even soft. And if you play soft, HOPEFULLY the rest of the band will too.
Have you listened to Dorsey's recording? It sounds like he's barely playing pianissimo.

[Posaunus]

Dorsey was a different embouchure type than nearly anybody else, and the tiny mouthpiece was appropriate for him. For most players, a small mouthpiece won't be any advantage at all and will actually make it harder.

[Doug Elliott]

[Vegasbound]

Have you listened to Dorsey's recording? It sounds like he's barely playing pianissimo.
[/quote]

Or watch some of the video’s of Buddy Morrow leading the TDO…..he takes no prisoners

[ArbanRubank]

It's been a long time since I've listened to that TD solo, but if I remember correctly - although he played softly, he somehow played with what I refer to as a fully-saturated tone. IOWs, it didn't sound squeaky, fuzzy, wispy, airy or buzzy.

[Conn100HGuy]

I joined my current band 15 years ago and had been struggling with SOI for several years before that. One of our senior members (a trumpet player) told me the "secret" to mastering the Dorsey solo (among others): play it every day (and he meant every day). Don't wait until the day before a gig and think you're going to nail it. It's a musical passage, not simply a string of notes.

[baileyman]

Having muscled my way through it a few times, and now knowing what it's like to be set to resonate in that range, I highly recommend the second. Play it every day? Sure, it can be a powerful reminder what resonance feels like there on successful completion. Unsuccess is though painful.

Whenever it gets called, I always tell the lead alto it's a foxtrot, so keep the tempo up.

Jack Redmond at well over 80 plays it frequently in one breath, unamped, from the section.