Daily Warm-Up Exercises for Jazz Ensemble, Volume I: 1st Trombone Book

This book cuts through the noise of generic warm-up routines by treating the ensemble as a unit from the very first exercise. Lewis and Bullock understood that individual practicing alone doesn't teach a section how to find its collective voice, and these studies demand that trombone section listen to each other while building foundational jazz articulation and phrasing together.

Purposeful and direct. These exercises strip away the noise and ask you to lock in with your section on fundamentals: clean attacks, accurate intonation, and the rhythmic precision that jazz demands. There's satisfaction in nailing a simple phrase together when everyone's ears are tuned to the same frequency.

First trombone players in beginning to intermediate jazz ensembles who need focused material that builds accuracy and jazz vocabulary without requiring years of experience. Directors looking for a structured approach to ensemble warm-ups that develops listening skills and collective sound rather than relying on improvisation or loose jamming.

• Listen critically to your own intonation against the section. These exercises are short enough that you can repeat them multiple times in one rehearsal and track your progress toward consistency.
• Pay attention to articulation markings and style cues. Jazz warm-ups are not classical etudes; the way you tongue and shape each note sets the tone for everything that follows in rehearsal.
• Use the 1st trombone part to anchor the section's sound. Your role carries melodic responsibility, so commit fully to each exercise rather than treating it as background material.

Open every jazz ensemble rehearsal with one or two exercises from this book before moving into repertoire. Five minutes spent together on these studies will improve how your ensemble sounds for the entire rehearsal and make your students more aware of what good ensemble balance actually feels like.

• Jazz articulation and tonguing technique
• Listening for and matching intonation within the section
• Playing with ensemble blend and balance
• Reading and executing jazz rhythmic notation
• Precision in ensemble attacks and releases
• Foundational jazz phrasing and style