Learn to Play Trombone, Baritone B.C.! Book 2: Baritone Book

Gouse builds genuine musicianship from the ground up rather than rushing toward flashy repertoire. The emphasis on tone production means your students develop the habits that will carry them through decades of playing, and the rhythmic grading keeps them engaged with material that feels achievable without being trivial.

The progression feels methodical and purposeful. You move through material that gradually expands your rhythmic vocabulary and tests your ability to shape tone across new registers, all while maintaining the confidence that comes from graded, logical advancement.

This book serves baritone players in the early-intermediate stages (typically after Book 1) who are ready to deepen their rhythmic understanding and expand their tonal control. Students benefit from instruction that refuses to separate technique from musicianship, building habits that translate immediately to ensemble playing.

• Record yourself playing through a section, then listen critically for consistency in tone quality across the range you're exploring. This trains your ear to hear what your director hears.
• Work the exercises at a slower tempo than written if a new rhythmic pattern feels unstable. Speed comes naturally once the pattern sits in your fingers and ears.
• Isolate the longest note values in each exercise and practice them with full air support. This foundation makes the faster passages cleaner.
• Practice breath marks as part of the music, not as afterthoughts. Breathing in the right places shapes phrasing from the earliest lessons.

Assign this as your primary individual practice material for baritones progressing through their second year of study. The rhythmic and tonal foundation it builds directly strengthens their contribution to band ensembles, so pairing concurrent band repertoire with focused work in this book creates immediate musical payoff.

• Consistent tone production across the baritone range
• Rhythmic stability in simple and compound meters
• Breath control and phrasing awareness
• Reading fluency in treble clef
• Intonation sensitivity through listening and adjustment