Archived under: Horn study, Publications | Emporia Municipal Band, Etudes & methods, Publications, Summer study
Suggested Summer Projects
Our first day of brass juries is today–the semester is nearly over. In relation to that I have been speaking with a number of students about summer plans and projects. I know I have plenty of plans for my summer, including in particular working on several new books and practicing natural horn (more on that soon), but for students a few topics have come up many times.
*Work on technique. This would include materials like etudes and advanced warm-up materials like The Brass Gym. Take it to the next level.
*Work out an excerpt project. There are many orchestral excerpts to learn; my checklist of excerpts will give you a good idea of what you need to be working on. Listen to them and learn them. And while you are at it learn all the French and German terms!
*Work out several new solos. Again, there are many to learn; listen to recordings and work out several possible recitals. My checklist of solos will give you some ideas, at least among the older standard solos.
*Read some books. My list of pedagogy resources is a good start, there are a number of books on the horn and horn playing that are very worth reading in depth. The summer is a great time to do that.
One of my best summers was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. I spent the summer in a my home town in Kansas, played in the city band, and got an idea to work on excerpts seriously with a private teacher. I know I made a lot of progress that summer; you should aim to be able to say the same at the end of your summer no matter where you are.
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