1. Layla
London Trombone Sound

2. Layla
Inspired by the poem by 12th Century poet Nizami Ganjavi called Layla and Majnun.
Written by Clapton for his crush Pattie Boyd (who was married to his friend George Harrison).

3. Layla (cont’d)
Originally written as a ballad, it turned into a “rocker” of a piece when the main riff of the piece was introduced.
Split into two different movements. The first is an electric guitar soloing over thick juicy chords. The second movement is commonly referred to as the piano coda because a piano interlude takes us home into a acoustic guitar accompanying a piano.

4. What Am I Hearing?
And more

5. Why is that?
This cover of Eric Clapton’s Layla is from a group called the London Trombone Sound
The London Trombone Sound is a group of trombones playing every part in a song (Melody, Harmony, Countermelody, etc.)
This is called a Trombone Choir.

6. Trombone Choir?
The idea of a trombone choir starts in the early 1600’s (Massaino, Canzona for 8 Trombones, 1615)
As the styles of music evolved, so did the concept of a trombone choir.
Eventually, jazz and rock come along. The trombone choir follows suit and emulates the sound of this genre.

7. Texture
Thick, lucious chords that play to the strengths of the trombone.
Plenty of open fifths (commonly known in rock as “power chords”)

8. So why does Layla work for trombone choirs?
It introduces young players to the ideal (albeit stereotypical) brassy trombone sound.
It also introduces the softer, lyrical side of the trombone during the “piano coda”
It’s upbeat tempo and power chords excite younger players. This, in turn, gets them to practice because they want to sound JUST like that.

9. Resources
"Eastman Trombone Choir." Eastman School of Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept
Derek, and the Dominos. "Layla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia."Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept
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