First Habits

First Habits (tenor or bass trombone)

More than a warm-up

(232 pages)

First Habits is a collection of warm-up and fundamentals exercises covering a wide range of playing needs.

Free sample pages (tenor trombone)
Purchase – Tenor Trombone (pdf only)

Free sample pages (bass trombone)
Purchase – Bass Trombone (pdf only)

Part One: First Habits Warm-Up

  • Some thoughts on warming up.
  • Plain warm-up
    • With accompaniment
    • Without accompaniment
    • Shorter Warm-up
  • Duet warm-up
  • 6-Minute Warm-Up for Younger Players

Part Two: Warm-Up Variations

Additional material designed to work with the play-along accompaniment tracks.

  • Air/Buzz
  • Easy Resonance
  • Five Notes Down
  • First Slurs
  • Note Placement
  • Musical Patterns

Part Three: Focus Areas

  • Mouthpiece Buzzing
    • 16 Legato Tunes (multiple keys)
    • 16 DĂ©tachĂ© Buzzing Tunes (multiple keys)
    • More Useful Tunes to Buzz by Ear
  • Sostenuto
    • JND Bends / Position Finding
    • Slow scales
    • 1-5-1 sequences
    • Dynamics
    • Lip Bends
    • Tone/Tuning/Imitation Duets
  • Note Placement
    • Consistency/ Security
    • Expanding Intervals
    • Octave Scales
  • Multiple Tonguing
    • Double Tonguing
    • Triple Tonguing
  • High Range Development
  • “Happy Chops” Warm-Down

Part Four: Love Songs and Pirate Songs

  • 14 Little Legato Tunes (Love Songs)
  • 14 Little DĂ©tachĂ© Tunes (Pirate Songs)

[concerning the tenor trombone version]
This is a wonderful collection of traditional fundamental material, including tuning, multiple tonguing and high range development….This is a much-needed compendium of diverse ideas and practices, collected into one volume. It makes a valuable resource/guide for both less advanced students all the way to professional artists.

ITA Journal, January 2022

[concerning the bass trombone version]
The best thinkers in the trombone world like Kleinhammer, Yeo, Marstellar, Slokar, Bousfield, van Lier, van Dijk, etc. established the idea of what a daily routine should contain. Brad Edwards stands on the shoulders of these greats and adds an enormously useful, one volume text that covers an amazing amount of exercises for bass trombone. His gift to the serious teacher and player are his concepts and suggestions that will assist us in finding our own personal routine. The devil, as we all know it, is in the planning and organization of our sacred practice time. His logical approach to organizing our time is worth the price of the book!

ITA Journal, July 2022