A screen capture from the Hoffnung Orchestra video (see below under Random Videos)
Photoshop challenge
At Fark.com, users were given the challenge to superimpose a Venus-brand single B-flat horn into other photos. As an avid Photoshop user myself, I can appreciate this contest. My personal favorite is rapper Flavor Flav with a French horn grill.
Random pictures
That’s a hum-dinger
Steve Bell demonstrates multi-phonics.
Equilibrium and analysis
After returning from a vacation, Julia Rose takes note of the benefits of the Balanced Embouchure routine.
Being able to play in any range using either a rolled-in or a rolled-out embouchure has given me the flexibility and confidence to know I can play anything under any conditions, no matter how my chops feel.
The TOL (tongue on lips) exercises have been especially groundbreaking for me. They have reminded me of the importance of tongue position in ease of range and tone color, along with articulation, and now I have another tool to work on those techniques.
(More.)
When it comes to Balanced Embouchure creator Jeff Smiley’s thoughts on paralysis by analysis, I could not agree more. It is frankly about time that we retire that phrase as a battle cry for hocus-pocus embouchure methods and for supporting obtuse sports analogies and start thinking about what it really means.
In general, the subject of embouchure – especially regarding any kind of lip movement – is swept under the carpet in music education. There exists an unspoken fear, a concern that stirring the embouchure pot inevitably leads to greater confusion. Truisms such as “overanalysis equals paralysis,” both justify and reinforce that idea.
Substituted in place of embouchure study is a hodgepodge of vague or inflexible techniques, loosely organized into a mainstream pedagogy by well-intended players and educators, which systematically cause a high percentage of hopeful students to mistakenly focus on effect rather than cause.
Focus on the perfect breath. Focus on the perfect sound. Focus on less pressure. Focus on soft playing. Focus on arching the tongue.
In other words, analyze anything else, but stay away from the lips! From a BE perspective, this is backwards and unnatural, and leads to an epidemic of students with weak mechanics.
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Heard but not seen
James Boldin takes a look at the History of Horn Playing in Los Angeles website.
When I was a young player, one of my first encounters with fine horn playing was through movie and TV scores, and I still have a warm place in my heart for the classic “Hollywood Sound.” This tonal concept has influenced horn players throughout the world, and is well documented in the audio clips on the site.
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When I was a young player, the complete soundtrack to the first Star Wars movie was a huge influence in my own development as a horn player. Although this was a soundtrack recorded in London and not in L.A., I would certainly include it in the pantheon of influential movie soundtracks that feature prominent horn lines.
Just breathe
David Wilken takes a look at misconceptions about breathing. Some of current pedagogical practices in our field, quite frankly, are anatomically incorrect. Wilken goes a little deeper and also writes about his experiments with “wedge breathing.”
Period instruments do not necessarily create authentic performances
While some of my favorite sounds come from period instrument groups, the hard fact is that we really have absolutely no clue as to what composers like Handel, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart heard in their day. At The Horn, this fact is pointed out in defense of personal attacks from a so-called period instrument authority.
In the process, some very salient points are made and these articles are worth a look:
- The Controversy Continues At Musoc.Org Over Period Instruments In 20th Century Music
- The Controversy Continues At Musoc.org With Ad Hominem Attacks Against Me
- All Evidence Shows That Orchestras Today Play Much Better Than Those of Past Centuries
- Instruments Don’t Make Music – People Do!
Taking a break
As a random side note, I will be taking a writing break for the next week. I shall return – next Friday (December 16th).
Random videos
The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra began as a book of humorous illustrations by Gerard Hoffnung and it eventually inspired a music festival that featured comical performances (like Dennis Brain, who once performed a Leopold Mozart piece on a length of garden hose, and a concerto by Malcolm Arnold that featured vacuum cleaners).
After Mr. Hoffnung’s death, his penned illustrations were rendered as a film.
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A combined force of brass from the Chicago and New York orchestras. A fabulous arrangement and performance of famous Richard Strauss tunes starts after the applause, at the 2-minute 40-second mark.
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Jacquelyn Adams gives a plug for Canada’s Sixth International Horn Day.
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Stille Nacht performed on a festively decorated horn. (Paolo Faggi and the Orchestra Medicea)
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Here is the Siegfried call in an inspired jazz version.
This is just one in a series called “Siegfried of the Month,” where the famous call is performed in a variety of venues – including the public library and in the shower.
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Another example of the French horn used in pop music.
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- Random Monday: Winded, Shaken and Mahlered
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- Random Monday: Remoteness, Gray Areas and Flaming Horns
- Random Monday: Legends
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