November 22, 2006 by John Ericson

Archived under: Accuracy, Performance & Playing   |   Articulation

A Note on Breath Attacks


A topic horn players don’t talk about much is that of breath attacks, which came up in a lesson today.

For reasons that are not completely clear to me it is sort of a controversial topic, one that some teachers don’t teach at all. The observation I would make in response to that is that a lot of soft entrances in horn parts are best made very nearly as breath attacks with a very light articulation. Breath attacks are a great way to train this type of passage for accuracy, and should be a part of the weekly practice of an advanced horn student.

UPDATE: See this article for much more on the topic of breath attacks.

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A Note on Breath Attacks
Published on November 22, 2006 by John Ericson

Archived under: Accuracy, Performance & Playing   |   Articulation
John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.