"We Gonna Make You" - Trombone Shorty

“We Gonna Make You” (PDF) from the Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue album, Orleans & Claiborne.

Here's a shorty, and a goody. This "solo" is only eight bars long, but it contains some funky rhythms and melodic qualities. It makes for an easy and practical warmup exercise.

Shorty plays entirely in the Eb blues scale over the minor chord progression. And the melody is strong enough for you to memorize and transpose into all twelve keys. The main focus is, in this case, the high Eb in bar seven. When transposing, you may need to drop down an octave in bar five to play that lick comfortably.

I want to emphasize the importance of playing melodies in different keys. Not only does it help train your ear, but it forces you to always listen to what you are playing. You learn to hear how your note fits in with the overall harmony. Plus, it's a boat load of fun to pick out a famous melody, or riff, and quote it during a jam.

Here is a YouTube video of Trombone Shorty gonna-making-the-crowd move:

Recommended reading: 15 Minute Warm Up Routine by Michael Davis. Published by Hip-Bone Music.