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A new edition of Morceau de Concert: An interview with Travis Bennett
One item that caught my eye at the horn symposium in Denton was a new critical performing edition of the Saint-Saens Morceau de Concert, a standard of our rep with a very familiar old standard...
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Hornmasters: Even More on the High Range
To close the topic of the high range we have quotes and tips from seven more classic horn texts. Harry Berv in A Creative Approach to the French Horn notes that The day of the high or low horn...
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3 Web Site Updates: a New Advertiser and Mobile Platform, and announcing a...
A few weeks ago John wrote about summer plans. At the top of my own list of summer plans has been the Horn Matters site. Most recently, we have released a new smart-phone platform for our touch-screen...
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Random Monday: Snake Oil, Anniversaries and What’s Popular
Think you might have a dystonia-related chop problem? Be cautious of claims that there is a cure out there for embouchure dystonia, especially if it is a lone individual making this assertion....
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Download Ten Etudes and Technique Exercises
Next week I will joining for my second year the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp. Last year I prepared a packet for students based on sample pages of recent publications, but this year I have...
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Review: MB “UltraLight” Horn Case
In preparation for travel this summer I wanted a new case. Last summer I saw my first Marcus Bonna “UltraLight” case and knew it would be a great choice for the small airplanes I encounter, plus it...
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Random Monday: Fun and Games
Playing for gold Get a complete deck of playing cards with 55 illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Each card illustrates a scene from the Wagner Ring Cycle with a pre-Raphaelite inspired twist. See...
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On Warm-Up Patterns Using the Flat Harmonic
An interesting question recently came in from a reader, on the topic of the arpeggio patterns used in warm-up exercises. An early teacher of the person writing the question had basically instilled into...
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From the Natural Horn to the Triple Horn
Back at IHS Denver one of the sessions I presented related to comparing the natural horn and the triple horn. This photo was for the handout, and shows my Seraphinoff natural horn and Paxman model 83...
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University of Horn Matters: Orchestra 101 in Review
At the recent IHS North Texas symposium I led a panel discussion related to the Orchestra 101 series in Horn Matters. I have a final thought at end, but first the series in review as part of our...
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Hornmasters on the Low Range, Part I
Finally in our Hornmasters series we get to the topic of the low range of the horn and changes in the embouchure from register to register. A big topic of real concern to many horn players, it is...
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Hornmasters on the Low Range, Part II
In part I of this series on the low range, quotations from a number of older horn texts were presented that in brief give an overview of the most frequently made suggestions for low range improvement....
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Professor Corno on Tuning to the Tuba
Professor Corno loves to read blogs. One recent series of articles I found in TheTrumpetBlog was on the topic of tuning up and not down. The series starts here, with the main point being “why are we...
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The Value of a Professional Instrument Cleaning
A thrifty customer once asked me why he should have his horn professionally cleaned, when he had been cleaning his horn at home in the bathtub for years. There are two reason to have your horn cleaned...
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Hornmasters on Endurance, Part I
The topics addressed in this Hornmasters series generally follow in the order of the chapters in The Art of French Horn Playing. By the time that we arrive at chapter 14 the topic of endurance is not a...
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Hornmasters on Endurance, Part II
Continuing from the ideas presented in part I of this series, for Barry Tuckwell in Playing the Horn stamina “is a combination of muscular development and conservation of energy.” Immensely strong...
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Thursday Topics: Hand Position
Today we have three short topics, all related to right hand position. The Beauty Queen and the Puppet In the summers at the Interlochen Arts Camp I have had the honor of teaching this past two summers...
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Ask Dave: How Frequently Should I Lubricate My Slides and Valves?
Ed asks: The Hetman site is far from clear in the use/frequency of its oil range. Could you give us some indication of how often you should apply oil into the valve slides please ? Personally, I only...
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Hornmasters on Soft Dynamics
Any fine horn player or teacher is concerned with the development and control of the full range of orchestral horn dynamics. For Farkas in The Art of French Horn Playing the key for producing a...
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Hornmasters on Playing Loud Dynamics
Playing loud involves not just air but letting the air pass through the lips freely. Farkas in The Art of French Horn Playing gave this advice. The secret of fortissimo is in relaxing the lips so that...
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