The Bordogni vocalises have been used by generations of low brass performers to learn legato technique, phrasing, endurance, bel canto style, expression, and breath control. They sound beautiful and are fun to play!

Ran Whitley has beautifully arranged another ten of the Melodious Etudes, numbers 41-50 for Trombone Quartet. All in bass clef, these are appropriate for intermediate to advanced performers. The entire melody line is in part 1 with parts 2, 3, and 4 accompanying.

The Clef Studies by Vladislav Blazhevich, composed in 1925 are a staple of the Trombone repertoire. Their quality is superb, not only for teaching the clefs, but solid technique and musical style as well.

Karl Lyden has brilliantly arranged Three Studies for Trombone Quartet inspired by the Blazhevich Clef Studies for Trombone based on numbers 56, 54 and 65 (subtitled Five Etude having a funk feel to it). They are very musically interesting, rhythmically challenging and fun to perform.

Here is a description of the Three Studies by arranger Karl Lynden:

"The seed for the Blazhevich Three Studies for Trombone Quartet came from my desire to write for my trombone quartet during undergraduate studies at Nebraska-Lincoln. I was tinkering with study No. 64 from Blazhevich?s Clef Studies for Trombone book and began to imagine pulsating trombone chords and ostinatos. The original was in 5/8 so I dubbed that arrangement ?Five Etude?.

Several years later, I had similar experiences with two other works from the book (No. 54 and 56). For the latter No. 56, I originally imagined it as a mournful duo between trombone and cello. I then flushed out the implied harmony to allow for four trombones.

No. 54 is more harmonically dense with an active bass line. It should be played majestically but come to rest in a subsided manner.For all three studies, I deviate slightly from the written form. However, the melody always remains constant as a means of generating new textures, harmonies, and rhythms. My hope is that trombonists in quartets will experience these familiar etudes in a new light."

Ciacona (original key of F minor for organ) has been beautifully arranged for trombone quartet in C minor by Mark LaFratta. It is probably Pachelbel?s second most famous work, after the Kanon in D. As is typical for a Ciacona (Chaconne), there is a short simple tune in triple meter over a repeating bass ostinato that provides a vehicle for variation, ornamentation, and melodic invention. It is somewhat similar to a passacaglia. There is a passage or two that even have hints of Bach's great Passacaglia, which didn't appear for many years in the future.



Pachelbel's Ciacona states an opening theme followed by 22 variations, the last of which is an almost exact repeat of the opening theme.



This fantastic 8-minute arrangement is appropriate for advanced performers and is scored for: alto trombone, 2 tenor trombones, and a bass trombone

A simple arrangement of the classic Herbie Hancock "cool" tune. The melody get's passed around the quartet and allows for improvisation, with a Bass Trombone and 1st Trombone solo in the middle. Aimed at amateur ensembles with an intermediate range, with solos that explore the harmony of the tune without getting too crazy.

As recorded by Super Bone on YouTube.

Beautifully laid out in A4 size, the score and parts are easy to read and available NOW for digital download. We suggest you print on 80gsm paper, to ensure that the copies last longer in your bands library. If you're printing on letter size paper, please fit to page when sending to the printer.

This instrumental quartet version was created with ensemble practice in mind for beginning music school students who want more contact with baroque music, ideal also for liturgical performances in churches, since it is a sacred work. This version lasts 3:19 minutes with the original melody adapted with the harmony divided between the voices of the performers.

Jesu joy of man's desiring or Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe (I am happy to have Jesus) is a chorale from the cantata 147 "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" or "Heart and mouth and deed and life" from the B. W. V 147 catalog composed by Johann Sebastian Bach around 1723, where the same music in different stanzas of a chorale closes both parts of the cantata.

A charming and timeless melody that seemingly everyone knows. Arranged in a straightforward for Trombone quartet with score and parts, this is a superior version with different harmonisations and a little more in it for an advancing quartet. Check out my other trombone quartets and duets here: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/publishers/andy-derrick/6773.