Tip From The Top

By Kenneth Dennison

Kenneth Dennison is a Yorkshireman who has built a substantial standing in the brass band world as a trombonist, conductor, adjudicator and administrator. He played with Rothwell Temperance, Brighouse and Rastric@ and the Royal Air Force Central Band before joining Fairey Aviation in 1951. That section of trombones held fast, without change, for 17 years and playe( a prominent part in the success of Faireys in this period. Becoming Musical Director of Faireys in 1968 he continued a run of success before moving south in 1976 and freelancing with many bands throughout the UK.

Importantly, he became an adjudicator and records more than 500 assignments in the UK and on the continent. In 1978 he was awarded the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians of the City of London for services to Brass Bands. He is still active in training many bands in the west country and beyond. As an administrator, he is president of the Southern Counties Band Association and General Secretary of the Federation of British Brass Bands.

The Brass Band Movement may be considered (by some) to be the poor relation of the musical world, but I am proud of my roots and delighted in the pleasure I have gained, and hopefully provided, over a period in excess of 50 years in this field.

When I began I was initiated into the hard school of Yorkshire banding where I spent the first six years of my apprenticeship before joining the Royal Air Force Central Band in 1949.

Trombone playing at that time was very basic. Not many players had concentrated on the essential elements of tone production, articulation, intonation and slide movement. In fact it is still to some extent the same today. Of course, we have many good players now (as then), but by and large they are basically 'natural' and take constant care to regularly hone their skills and compare their performance with other professionals.

Perhaps I had natural basics but, in being taught by Ernest Appleyard (who was a top trombonist of the day), I was disciplined in the essential elements mentioned above. For almost 3 months I was not allowed to move the slide, play in the band or play any note other than F (concert) until I could actually produce properly in all the different styles from 'ballpoint on glass' to 'paintbrush'.

After that successful achievement, it was scales (at different speeds) to achieve flexibility and correct intonation. How important it is to play the scales (diatonic and chromatic) in order to perfect intonation as a result of playing intervals.

I am appalled by some players who still adopt the principle of 3rd position this side of the bell and 4th the other side. The end result is something like Les Dawson at his best. I was encouraged to exploit the use of the alternative positions to achieve smoothness. I think of Tommy Dorsey saying that he always tried to discard 1st position because of it being impossible to sharpen the note when necessary.

If properly instilled, the habits of youth remain for a lifetime. I found that ever afterward I only needed to go through these exercises on a daily basis to keep in trim. To focus on these essential elements, I would say that:

  1. Tone production is vital in order to sound like a trombone and not a foggy version of a baritone, euphonium or hom; it should be clear and full, by using both sides of the bore.
  2. Correct articulation is essential to meet the requirements of the piece being played. As a comparison, an artist would not use a ballpoint to write in Old English script.
  3. As a trombonist you have the ability (because of the slide) to play absolutely in tune. Never ignore this special skill.
  4. Slide movement is something which is free and flexible. How I shudder at the 'elbow' merchants who seem never to have realised that the wrist is even more flexible (and attractive) than the elbow. A rigid grip of the slide is no good and in fact is the quickest way of straining the metal tube and causing an early visit to the repairers. Let the slide run free between the thumb and forefinger and have the confidence to settle in a tuneful 'free zone' around the standard position.

I would love to have been one of the great trombonists, but I was (due to a business career) an amateur trying to be professional in performance.

Based on the result of my experience in some of the best bands and orchestras, my wish is that my comments will be of some value to the young trombonists of today. 

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