Archived under: Teaching | Beginners, Douglas Hill, Etudes & methods
Howe and other Beginner Methods for Horn
I was recently asked about beginner method books. This summer I am actually teaching two beginners and coming back to it I still like very much, for individual instruction, the Method for the French Horn by Marvin C. Howe. Elements of the text are dated (it was published in 1950) but I like very much how the music progresses. It may be little hard to locate, as there is so far as I know only one place to purchase this book, through Faust Music. At $8.50 it is a bargain.
For those not familiar with his career, Marvin Howe (1918-1994) taught for many years at The National Music Camp (Interlochen), working with many hundreds of younger horn students, if not thousands. An article about the life and career of Howe may be found in the IHS Online, which is also the source of this photo. Faust music has a number of other publications by Howe worth looking over.
Another interesting publication I would like to mention is the Horn in F Home Helper by James O. Froseth (with Douglas Hill). This is a publication (book/CD) set up for parents to use to help give true beginners a better start, a useful resource. As I hope to do with my publication Introducing the Horn, this publication will hopefully help give more new hornists a better start.
My list of recommended teaching materials may be found here.
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