Jazz Trombone F.A.Q.
8) How can I learn to make all those strange and
wonderful sounds with the
plunger?
Sam Burtis: Same answer over and over and over again.
Listen to the masters, then
practice.
Jeff Adams: Yes! Listen and practice!
Sam Burtis: Also, ask questions when you get a chance to talk
to someone who can do
it well. (That goes for ANY skill.)
Alex Iles: Listen and experiment. Every player who has
learned to use the plunger
most effectively has sought a unique way to express
him/herself. Listen to and
compare Duke Ellington's great plunger 'bone
soloists, Tricky Sam Nanton
and Quentin "Butter" Jackson.
Chris Smith: People have been emulating Joseph “Tricky Sam”
Nanton, the father of
trombone plunger artistry, for over 60 years, and no
one has ever come very close to
sounding as plaintive or eerie as him.
Check him out on Ellington recordings from the mid
'30s to '46 (when he died of a
heart attack).
Note: One of my favorite
recordings of his is the Duke Carnegie Hall Concert from January, 1943 (Prestige
2PCD-34004-2)
Alex Iles: Also check out Count Basie's Al Grey, NY
freelancer Ed Nuemister,
Wycliffe Gordon (from Wynton Marsalis's band), and
the great solo artists
Steve Turre and Ray Anderson. All the players I
listed are all different, all distinct.
[Check out Al Grey's book on plunger techniques].
You might want to experiment
with the NASTY quality of a modified trumpet
straight mute [or trombone pixie mute] in the bell.
When you use a plunger in
conjunction with the extra little mute, you can
further enhance the "talking" quality
of the plunger.
Chris Smith: Using a mute w/the plunger gives a much more
mysterious and vocal
sound, but also increases the difficulty of playing
by about 200 percent. Intonation,
back pressure and volume all become a problem. Be
prepared to be frustrated for a
long time if you’re gonna confront this combination.
Alex Iles: With or without an added mute in the bell, start
by just getting used to holding
your horn with the bell resting on the bottom of
your left hand, with the
plunger half way over the bell [at about a 45 degree
angle from the front of the bell].
Try blowing a little this way for a while. Then you
can experiment with opening and
closing the bell opening with the plunger. You will
find different qualities to
the sound with the plunger at different
distances/angles from the bell [I find the
sound varying from "oom" to
"ahh" with about four or five stages in between].
You can try a popular effect sometimes referred to
as the "gobble", used by players
such as Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams. Do this
by double tonguing really
fast while opening and closing the mute SLOWLY.
Chris Smith: Tricky Sam also used the technique of playing while
singing, or singing
while playing. The resulting “plunger multiphonics”
made chills run down people’s
spines. I know that whenever I use this “trick” in
my own playing, people go ape.
They can’t believe the trombone can make these weird
sounds.
This brings
me to a point about equipment: if you want the added
expressiveness of using a mute in combination with
the plunger, you need to
find one. What are these mutes, and how does one
find them???
The mute most commonly used
w/plungers is a Humes and Berg Pixie (made
for trombone). This is a very long mute which
extends much further into the bell
than a normal trombone mute. Al Grey, Steve Turre
and Wycliffe Gordon all use this
one with excellent results.
But Ellington's trombonists
(and most "authentic" plunger artists today)
use(d) a trumpet mute called the Magosy and Buscher
Nonpareil. There is a
modern "copy" of this mute sold by Tom
Crown, but it is NOT an exact copy.
The dimensions are actually a bit different, and it
doesn't sound at all the same to me.
But it does give a decent sound.
There was also an old Harmon brand straight mute for
trumpet which works
very well.
I have all four of the above-named mutes, and in
terms of expressive
capabilities I'd rate them:
1. old Magosy and Buscher Nonpareil trumpet straight
mute
2. old Harmon trumpet straight mute
3. new Tom Crown trumpet straight mute
4. new Humes and Berg Pixie trombone mute
although this brings me to another caveat:
With the trumpet mutes
(1,2,3 above) you have to completely close the
plunger over the bell to get notes below around Ab
(top line in the staff).
And the slide positions on many other notes have to
be altered to get them
in tune.
With the Humes and Berg Pixie mute, you can get
reasonable facsimiles
of most pitches through the lower range of the horn,
but with similar pitch
adjustment needed.
So, in my opinion the
trumpet mutes sound better, but you can really only
use them for the mid to high range. The Pixie
doesn't sound as good to me
(my personal opinion only), but it is more flexible.
You can play lower with it.
And then there's the issue
of availability. You're likely not to be able to find the
old mutes, unless you’re willing to search for them
for years in antique stores, old music
stores, Internet auction sites, etc.
The Tom Crown and H & B Pixie mutes can be
ordered from most music stores.
There is a necessary cork
height adjustment to mutes for use with plungers.
The trumpet mutes need to be "corked up",
while the Pixie mute needs the
cork height trimmed or shaved down.
A few more things I’d like to add are these:
There is nothing more
important in learning jazz style
than to thoroughly absorb
the music aurally.
If you are spending a good amount of time on
listening to and working on developing
the specific technique of playing with a plunger,
then the "secrets" of plunger playing
WILL start to reveal themselves to you.
There is no other way for this to happen than to put
in the time.
More tips:
You should make about a 1/2" hole in the end of
your regulation toilet plunger*(see
NOTE)
where the handle would go if it was used in the
bathroom. The hole allows air
(read: notes) to escape when the plunger is completely
closed over the bell.
Without the hole in the plunger, you'll "stop
yourself up". Though if you use the
Humes and Berg “Trixie plunger” (this is a red and
white soft rubber plunger made
for trombone use), the sound of a completely
stopped-up horn can
be pretty interesting.
Practice singing along with
recordings of plunger virtuosos like Nanton,
Jackson, Tyree Glenn, Turre, Gordon, etc. Really.
Try to get as close an approximation of their
trombone sounds with your
voice. When you are getting close, go to the horn,
pick up the plunger, and
try to form your mouth and tongue movements in
exactly the same way ***as
you are playing the trombone***.
Some guys use a "wah-wah" sound. Others
(Nanton, especially) combine this
with an alternate "yah-yah" sound which
REALLY gives a vocal quality.
Articulating with the
plunger is more difficult. Much of the time I use
it, I unconsciously switch to "lip
articulation", because it's almost
impossible to tongue while making
"vocalized" plunger sounds.
Try saying "Tah" and "Yah" at
the same time. It's pretty hard unless you
REALLY emphasise the "Yah".
Spend twice as much time
listening to plunger artists playing as you do
practicing. Keep the GOOD plunger sounds in your
mind. Think about playing
it when you don't even have the horn in your hands.
If you know of, or can find
a jazz trombonist in your area who can play
the plunger with authority, see if you can spend
some time with them. Take a
lesson, attend a concert, hang out and talk about plungers.
Everyone around you
will think you’re both crazy!
*NOTE- Don’t attempt to cut a hole in the Humes
and Berg red and white plunger.
It’s not possible, because of the finger ring on the
end.
Go back to the Jazz
Trombone F.A.Q.
Go
back to Christo’s Home Page