Glossary

So because we don't always take time to explain ourselves, here's a little glossary of some terms used in this blog that might not be intuitive. We will be updating this as necessary.



Anime / Animu -- Japanese animated television shows or films, usually created for an adult audience rather than American-style "cartoons".

AWCB, The -- The "Award-Winning Community Band" that Jon and Lauren share a stand in. This is a code name. The actual band is the East Winds Symphonic Band.

CJ -- Stands for "Cantankerous Jazzer", a loving nickname for a member of the trombone section of the AWCB.

Embrace the dissonance -- Self-aware catch phrase from the AWCB trombone section, acknowledging both the musical dissonance that happens in our collective parts, and the probability that dissonance coming from outside the section may be unintentional, but also unavoidable.

Hamsters in the mugs -- A reported event that we're not sure is true or not, especially a very unusual event reported in the midst of otherwise mundane discussion.

Fries and pie -- Required post-concert fare, not necessarily consisting of fries and pie.

Gig -- A concert or a performance of any type.

Gliss -- From "glissando", meaning to move the trombone slide while playing without tonguing. Also called a "smear".

Joe -- Lauren's trombone teacher at the RLMU and purported giver of Trombone Jedi Training.

Jon -- An author of this blog. Male. 30s. Chemist.

Lauren -- An author of this blog. Female. 20s. Linguist.

"Like a blind trumpet player at an IHOP in Albany" -- To have no idea of the relationship of the people you're with, and to not be entirely sure that you want to know.

"Like a jazz trumpet playing priest" -- To handle a difficult or impossible situation with dignity and grace, if not complete success.

Pedal tone -- The extreme low range of the trombone. Playing in this range usually requires the player to disengages their jaw and pray... or maybe that's just us.

Pennsylvania Tractor School -- The university where Jon spent his undergraduate years.

Part -- The specific music given to members of the band. Everyone has a different part, although multiple players may be on the same part.

Partial -- By changing the configuration of the mouth and air speed, a brass player can create a series of notes in the same fingering combination or position. Each of these different notes is on a different "partial". Also known as "harmonic".

Position(s) -- Locations on the trombone slide where notes are played. There are seven of these, the most perilous being the fifth position. Some trombonists refer to the "eighth position", which is when you accidentally push the slide out so far that it falls off.

Relax and blow -- Advice given to Jon by a very famous jazz trombonist that seems to be applicable to most of his trombone playing difficulties, and many of those of other people.

RLMU, The -- The "Ridiculously Large Midwestern University" where Lauren spent her undergraduate years in college. This is where she went to music school.

Shoujo-ai / Shonen-ai -- Genre of anime or manga depicting same-sex romantic relationships between girls (shoujo-ai) or boys (shonen-ai).

STFU -- "Shut The F@#$ Up", a common dynamic penciled into our trombone parts.

Swing -- A style of playing associated with jazz and big band. "Swinging eighths" refers to playing notes in a regularly uneven rhythm to get a dancing feel to the music. Also may refer to the dancing done to this style of music. Supposedly something trombonists can't do.

Treasurer, The -- A loving nickname for a member of the AWCB trombone section.

Trombone Jedi Training -- The little things that one learns throughout the course of being a trombonist. This encompasses far more than knowing what position to play G in or being able to read music.