Accuracy Encyclopedia: Audiation and Autopilot
Finishing up the “A” topics, we have audiation and autopilot Audiation, or, hearing what you plan to play before you play it It is harder to accurately play music that you can’t “pre-hear” in your...
View ArticleAccuracy Encyclopedia: Breath Attacks and Buzzing
There are two entries under “B,” the topics of breath attacks and buzzing. Both have positive and negative points to consider. Breath attacks, a risky strategy There is a section in the Hornmasters...
View ArticleLooking back: How did I learn to play short notes and single tongue quickly?
The related topics of playing short notes and tonguing quickly come up in lessons all the time. At some point every horn player must learn how to play very short notes, a very dry and pointed staccato....
View ArticleMemes: Updated Verne Reynolds Memes
Back in 2014 I posted an article (here) comprised of “Hornist Hamster” memes that were all Verne Reynolds quotes. It is kind of a niche type of meme, but in any case this fall I got inspired to revisit...
View ArticleMore Memes for Horn Players and Teachers
Some more memes from my fall meme project. Brief comments after each one. My story with Kopprasch 1. You? This is a quote from the Farquarson Cousins book. Sometimes it feels that way. This is a quote...
View ArticleAccuracy Encyclopedia: Centering and More
We now come to the letter C. There are several entries under the letter C in the book draft, thoughts to consider that will help with accuracy, which I will bundle together. Center the pitch One thing...
View ArticleVienna Horns, part I: What is (and isn’t) a Vienna Horn
Astute readers of Horn Matters might have noticed that I have rarely written about Vienna horns. Not that there is no content, but relative to the deep and continued interest in the Vienna horn I have...
View ArticleVienna Horns, part II: Playing this Vienna Horn
In Part I (here) I mentioned that I only recently have had the opportunity to play a Vienna horn that, to my feeling of responsiveness, plays well. It is borrowed from a local collection, and I’ve...
View ArticleAI Recordings of Mozart Horn Concertos
This year I’ve been listening mostly to LP recordings in my office. In my collection, I have a number of different Mozart concerto recordings, including multiple versions by Alan Civil. Seemed like...
View ArticleAccuracy Encyclopedia: Well Duh!?! and More
Continuing our look at accuracy and the letters D and E, our first topic is the descant horn, which can certainly help accuracy in many situations. Descant horns But backing up a step, in recent years...
View ArticleBrief Review: The Horn. The Book You Need
To open this brief review, I’ll start with a money quote: The Horn by Renato Meucci and Gabriele Rocchetti is the most significant book on horn history published in the last 50 years. Highly...
View ArticleRevisiting the Art of French Horn on LP Records
The past year the vast majority of my actual classical music listening has been to LP records. With the recent passing of Hermann Baumann I got out his LP recordings, and then started systematically...
View ArticleGeyer Update: Engravings, Serial Numbers, and More
I could also have titled this article “Things I got wrong” in the Geyer Dreaming series (which starts here), or the related article published in the February 2024 issue of The Horn Call. An Email from...
View ArticleUltrasonic Cleaning and your Horn
You know that you need to keep your horn clean. If you are proactive about maintenance you will hardly ever need to have your horn cleaned professionally. But sometimes it needs a deeper cleaning. A...
View ArticleMailbag: The Top 3 Horn Concertos
A question came in earlier this year asking generally what are the top 3 horn concertos. With the end of the semester for my rep class right on us, it is a good time to finally answer. Unfortunately,...
View ArticleAccuracy Encyclopedia: F is for F Horn
There are so many topics that fall under the letter F that this is the first of four articles relating to “F” topics, with multiple elephants in the room to consider. A first elephant in the room being...
View ArticleAccuracy Encyclopedia: F is for First Note Accuracy
Continuing with this series on the letter F and accuracy on the horn, the second elephant in the room is first note accuracy. I don’t want with this statement to give readers a complex, but,...
View ArticleAccuracy Encyclopedia: F is for Fundamentals
As we continue with the letter F, a third elephant in the room is the whole topic of fundamentals, or the study of fundamentals as part of your practice routine. For some teachers, certainly, this is...
View ArticleOn the topic of a Horn Guru
Unless you don’t follow much social media, you have already heard that a certain hornist recently has seen major “negative change” in their career. His local PBS/NPR affiliate headline lays it out...
View ArticleBrandenburg 2 sounds better on French Horn
A recent thrift store find was a Phillips recording of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 performed with a horn instead of a trumpet. The hornist is Barry Tuckwell, and it is absolutely a charming...
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