Hello all

I am trying to teach myself to play trombone at 49, from a book and youtube.

Amongst other issues, I seem to struggle blowing the F.

Bb is ok and even the higher Bb is ok.

But the F (and surrounding notes) really wants to oscillate between F and Bb lower of same F and Bb higher. It is a fast oscillation.

Is this a common beginner problem and what should I do to remedy it?

Regards

Bernt

That's not too uncommon for beginners. It takes time to form the muscle memories that control a stable embouchure. Probably the clearest thing to do is to go play in front of a mirror. As a general rule, you want a smooth transition between notes, and a mirror can be pretty handy to see if you're doing something weird in a specific range.

That's not to say that beginners understand what 'weird' means. I mean, something that is deviant from a smooth transition between your two good B-flats when you do lip slurs. That doesn't mean 'not centered' or 'too high' or 'too low' or 'too far to the left' - it *only* means a smooth transition. Everyone will have different specific motions.