50 Etudes for Bass Trombone & Tenor Trombone with F Attachment: A Review
Grigoriev, Boris Petrovich. 50 Etudes for Bass Trombone & Tenor Trombone with F Attachment, edited and arranged by Randall Hawes. Encore Music Publishers, Maple City, MI: 2011. ISBN 978-1514306529.
Randall Hawes' 50 Etudes for Bass Trombone & Tenor Trombone with F Attachment is a valuable arrangement and study edition of Boris Petrovich Grigoriev's tuba etudes for contemporary bass and tenor trombonists alike. Donated for review by Encore Music Publishers, it serves as an expansive update over previous collections, such as Allen Ostrander's arrangement of 24 Studies, including a wealth of alternate position annotations to help expand technique and sound quality on all valved sides of the trombone. For those who began their Russian etudes with Vladislav Blazhevich's Studies in Clefs etudes and Concert Duets, Grigoriev's etudes are an excellent continuation, focusing on lyricism and technical proficiency of the lower register. Acknowledging recent pedagogical scholarship, Dr. Casey Thomas' 2015 dissertation "Valve technique for the independent double-valve bass trombone: a pedagogical review and method" surveyed a range of bass trombone pedagogues, affirming that Gregoriev's materials (and this edition) are among the top five resources used to teach bass trombone (p.101) 1.
This is a fine publication and Randall Hawes' opening materials affirm the repertoire's pedagogical merits. Each etude includes concise introductory notes and many of them have recommendations for different articulation patterns. The suggested metronome markings for each etude do give a clear guide for idealized performance goals to attain and the glossary of musical terms is quite handy for some of the less obvious Italian style vocabulary, such as Di polacca (as a polonaise). The Symbols Legend provides clear criteria for the slide position naming conventions for F, G♭, and D valve configurations, affirming how this edition can be accessible for those playing on a range of valve-equipped trombones. Each etude contains a variety of alternate positions spanning all valve configurations and I appreciate Hawes' advice for alternates on the G side of the horn.
This is an excellent edition, demonstrating a labor of dedication, sharing both Randall Hawes' professional orchestral and teaching careers while expanding access to Boris Grigoriev's etudes for a broader range of bass and tenor trombonists alike.
Errata
Although the work has been in print since 2011, below is a supportive alternative slide position errata listing of publication errors that will invariably be reconciled in the work's next printed edition.
| Etude | Measure | Pitch Name | Published Alternate Position (D valve) | Errata |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etude 7 | m.1 | (B1): Low B♮ | suggested alternate of 7D | 4D |
| Etude 9 | m.3 | (B1): Low B♮ | suggested alternate of 5D (would sound B♭1) | 4D |
| Etude 19 (p. 20) | mm. 34-35 | (A♯1): Low A♯ (Enharmonic equivalent of "pedal" B♭ (played as a non-pedal alternate)) | suggested alternate of 7D | 5D |
| Etude 37 (p.35) | m.1 | (B♭1): "pedal" B♭ (played as a non-pedal alternate) | suggested alternate of 6D | 5D |
| Etude 50 | mm.15-16 | N/A | Prose suggests valve combinations for mm. 15-16, but none are provided. | N/A |
Hawes' Naming Conventions for Double Valve "D" Slide Position
Footnotes
1 Thomas, Casey Winn. "Valve technique for the independent double-valve bass trombone: a pedagogical review and method." DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, 2015. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.j3ab3and