Ilan Morgenstern ed. Michael Brown: Euphonium Exercise Library Project

Oh, hello. I’m Michael Brown. You may remember me from such movies as Playing Bass Trombone Really Loud and Coming in Wrong Because I Got Bored and Stopped Counting the Rests. But did you know that, once upon a time, I was a hotshot euphonium player? Michael "The Chosen One of Whom the Prophecies Foretold" Brown, they called me. Not really, but I was pretty good. Back then, and all through school, I relied on a cocktail of great teachers,  a dash of dangerously inflated overconfidence, and a generous pour of mindless, mulish repetition in lieu of intelligent or efficient practice. While I have fond memories of constantly drilling Clark studies as fast and as loud as possible to intimidate rivals and impress potential mates in college, I wonder how much better I’d be today if I’d had a practice tool like Euphonium Exercise Library Project. At the risk of sounding like your grandpa—I recall the days when we’d all carry around a whole extra bag in addition to our instrument for our metronome and tuner and tape recorder and method books. Now that those things can be had on a smartphone, you’d think I’d be using them every time I practice. But my propensity for laziness knows no bounds, and sometimes I just can’t be bothered to open that extra app.

Enter Euphonium Exercise Library Project. In one place, I now have a comprehensive set of exercises that cover virtually every facet of technique as well as a backing tracks to play along with that anchor my rhythm and pitch.