good trombone solos in 7/8 or 7/4 for intermediate trombone player?

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stein
Posts: 1
Joined: Feb 05, 2024

by stein »

sup. im choosing a classical solo for one of my exams and im a bit stuck on what to choose. last year I did los toreadors because, yknow, fnaf, but this year i can't really seem to find any ""funny"" songs, so I figured i'd just go for a 7/8 or 7/4 song since i love funky time signatures. ive been playing trombone for about 6 years now, and i recently secured myself a trigger trombone so im cool with low notes. any recommendations?
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AndrewMeronek
Posts: 1487
Joined: Mar 30, 2018

by AndrewMeronek »

Songs in 7 are kind of rare. It's just not a very common dance meter or feel in a lot of classical music, or Western music generally. I'd recommend that you seek out non-classical stuff that can translate easily to a trombone solo. Vocal arrangements for male vocalists often work really well, especially if you're willing to do the work and figure out how to implement the vocal ornamentations that singers of the original recordings do which often aren't notated specifically into the music. Maybe someone knows of a good arrangement for voice and piano of "Money" by Pink Floyd?
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harrisonreed
Posts: 6479
Joined: Aug 17, 2018

by harrisonreed »

I don't think they're in that strict meter, but if you want "classical solo funny songs" in rare meters, none of which are actually "songs":

Sulek, "Sonata Vox Gabrieli"

Peaslee, "Arrows of Time"

Mackey, "Harvest Concerto"

Rouse, "Concerto" (11/16 15/16, anyone???)

Larsson, "Concerto" (whatever meter that cadenza is in)

I might take on a few of these as an intermediate player. The Rouse, ummm, nothing in it is unplayable per se, but playing it in strict time is, ummm... That is to say, wrapping your head around the meter is, ummm... Funny! The composer might have got a Pulitzer prize for it, but anyone who has played it live should get a Nobel Prize for achievement in the field of Physics for folding space-time.
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Doug_Elliott
Posts: 4155
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by Doug_Elliott »

There is lots of Greek music in 7. I don't know about trombone solos specifically.
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stewbones43
Posts: 333
Joined: Oct 25, 2018

by stewbones43 »

The 2nd movement (slow movement) of the Launy Grondahl Trombone Concerto is in 7/8 and 6/8 time. Not easy but a super piece of music.

Cheers

Stewbones43