In Tommy Dorsey's tutor book, there are photographs of him sitting and standing playing the trombone. When young, I thought this strange, however I now realise how important it is to sit up correctly. In order to facilitate full control of the air channel, you must sit upright and stand upright, relaxed and allow the air stream full access, with breathing controlled from your diaphragm. These are fundamental tips but nonetheless vitally important.

I am often asked about playing in a section. It doesn't matter what kind of section or music it is ... jazz, straight, dance, brass, chamber ... the same rules apply. Follow your leader and hone into the way he or she is doing it, i.e.: phrasing, weight, tuning, intonation. It also means listening to the others in the section and blending. All chairs are important in the section, so if you are playing 3rd, 4th or even 5th, play with that same intensity as if you were playing 1st trombone.

As fundamental as this may seem - all of us have been doing it since the day we were born! - it is still one of the most neglected aspects of competent brass playing.

We members of the valiant breed of Nanki Poo have our own particular cross to bear. Not only are we called to produce a Wagnerian fortissimo that cuts wood at two hundred paces, we also have to produce pianissimo that is so soft it makes the MD weep!

In brass bands we regularly inflict upon ourselves the masochistic pressures of contesting and on these occasions it is the quiet, sustained passages that cause problems. On the contest platform we are surrounded by an audience of experts, each one sitting on the edge of his seat waiting for you to split that top D or muff that all important entry. All this produces severe mental pressure. Breathing becomes uneven with consequent deterioration of tone, tuning and articulation.

In such a situation, you have to concentrate on keeping your breathing as even and as relaxed as possible.

If you can take in air gradually but fully over at least three bars before an important entry, you will find that not only is the air circulating through the instrument smoothly, but will also help the tense muscles in the diaphragm and upper chest to relax.

In both ensemble and solo work, brass band musicians swear by simple hymn tune playing to help develop good breath control. Sustaining long phrases with an even quality of tone, paying attention to filling the whole instrument from the diaphragm at all times.

It's hard work, but the resulting tone quality and development of stamina is well worth the effort. Not only does constant support from the diaphragm improve overall tone quality but it also helps eliminate 'squeezing' and tightening of the embouchure in the upper register.

So, if you're looking to improve your tone and ease the pressure of performance stress, do what we do in brass bands - put on your cloth cap, take the whippets for a run and breathe in some good north country air!

Soon after joining the Philharmonia as 1st Trombone, a colleague of mine remonstrated with me, "No need to practise, there's only one way to go now - that's down! " Well, I do still practise, and try not to get too cynical. But sometimes I get the impression that there are those who believe so-called top players have reached the dizzy heights by some kind of formula or magic. Are there things that they do that could help others to beat our common adversary, the trombone, into submission?

Whilst it may be true that one small tip at the right time on the right subject could literally transform a person's playing, it would have to be very specific and personal. Advice can be good or bad depending on whether it creates or disturbs a balance and is therefore rarely universal. In fact, quite contrary to current trombonist's wisdom, my wife was once able to resuscitate my flagging embouchure during a particularly taxing solo recording session!

It may be useful to mention some of the factors that I think have been significant in the development of my career. Firstly, I had a yearning to recreate some of the marvellous trombone sounds I heard as a youngster. Secondly, I think I was fortunate enough to be in the right places at the right times, not only for opportunities but for beneficial influences. Thirdly, there must have been a small amount of talent and a large amount of patient, hard work. I should point out that ambition was not a factor because not until I found myself actually working professionally did I totally abandon the idea of becoming a teacher.

What I do feel to be important, was the motivation to give others the same pleasure from hearing the trombone as I had experienced. And I think that if you've never been duelled by the sound of this creature you will find it difficult to do yourself. Although the style of playing I heard in my formative years was largely inappropriate to my present situation, it had tremendous character and excitement. By trying to emulate that sound, I was learning to use the most important part of a musician's equipment - the ear.

Although the idea behind this series of articles is for remedies or exercises of a technical nature, I feel that they would be useless without that vital aural feedback mechanism. Only by careful comparison of the sounds you hear, with the sounds you want to hear, can the minutest muscular adjustments be made unconsciously.

If you find this either totally obvious or completely incomprehensible, here are a few more tangible things to think about. Play a middle register note mezzo forte. Is it a reasonable note? If it is, then there are only a few things you have to do to play the trombone well: maintain the same quality - higher, lower, louder, softer, longer and shorter! If this seems like a criminal over-simplification, remind yourself of it when you're grappling with what seems like an almost impossible passage. Now, try developing the idea a little further: think about what we mean by a good or bad 'sound'. Once upon a time a player would be praised for his fine 'tone', but now we would be impressed by his 'sound'. I actually find it useful to use both terms. Regard the basic timbre, after a note has begun and before it ends as the 'tone', then consider anything added to it in terms of any kind of articulation, accents and legatos as producing the 'sound'.

There are many benefits in this kind of classification. It can help you to hear exactly how you need to improve your sound. Is your tone really poor or are you messing it up with sloppy articulation and ugly bulges? Then there can be benefits to ensemble when exact matching of accents, staccato or sostenuto can produce impressive results. And what about the beautiful ringing or cantabile sound your favourite player produces? Is it something to do with the way he ends or joins his notes? In fact when you consider the infinite number of ways you can alter the shape of any given note for musical and artistic reasons, you realise that this tip has beneath it an iceberg of gigantic and fascinating proportions!