Ian Bousfield: Unlocking the Trombone Code Ian Bousfield | Page 8

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later in the book is the one that I devised for myself, and used to develop my articulation. It is an
exercise that I still use today.
Another difficulty I faced concerned sound quality in my middle and lower registers. It was quite
thin and direct. I was very fortunate that Mahler’s Third Symphony never turned up in any of
the orchestras in which I played until I was twenty seven years old. I came under considerable
peer pressure at that point for making too small a sound. With hindsight, I tried to go too big,
too soon: I tried to go on to bigger mouthpieces, and bigger equipment, and my embouchure
just wasn’t ready to deal with that. My advice to myself now would have been to change my use
of air, be patient, and let time do the work. The danger is that you can develop an embouchure
break, which, of course, I did. My advice to young players now is simply to make as nice a sound
as possible, relax and let time do the rest. Over-manipulation of the embouchure in pursuit of a
“big” or “dark” sound is not healthy and there are plenty of very successful players who make a
bright sound.
From the Hallé Orchestra, I went on to become principal trombone with the London Symphony
Orchestra, which had a very loud, heavy and exciting brass section. Maurice Murphy, Principal
Trumpet, was at the peak of his playing and we were all young and enthusiastic around him,
having a great time. I was still very much shaped at the time by the British style of playing: a
very fast slide arm; lots of air attacks to go along with the tongue; and lots of separate air pushes
coming from the diaphragm. There was also an obsession with clarity, something that I hold very
dear to this day. I think part of this was developed by working with Maurice, whose sound and
articulation was crystal clear. This style of playing held me in very good stead when I went to
play with the Vienna Philharmonic, who prize clarity highly. Clarity of articulation is one of those
things that seem to have disappeared in trombone playing over the last couple of decades, and it
is greatly to our detriment.

It’s been an honour to play with some amazing trombone sections over the years.
This one certainly takes some beating.
With Lindsay Shilling and Bob Hughes, in Amalfi in 1994
Unlocking the Trombone Code