Archived under: Natural horn, Performance & Playing, Teaching | Etudes & methods, People in horn & music history
Keeping the Playing Together with Etudes
Etudes are a great way to build technique and to keep your technique together. As a student you tend to play what your teacher assigns and on in a career you tend to go back to what your teachers assigned to you. In my teaching I have made use of the books that I felt most effectively presented different elements of playing, mostly from my own studies.
This fall however I used a “new” book that I had never used and my teachers did not use with me, the Gallay 12 Studies for Second Horn, Op. 57. They hit a great groove between technique and musicality, are not too long or too short, a great book. I am only up to number 8 in my personal practice but should work out the rest before the end of the year. I have added them to my “list” of etudes, and if you are unfamiliar with this volume of Gallay I would highly recommend it.
One other side note, these would be very challenging etudes on natural horn, the instrument they were written for, but on modern horn they are playable by most any good, college level student.
Related to this article
- Start the Semester with Some Etudes
As the semester starts, this year the first assignment to all ASU horn students not currently working on an audition (several are! Good luck!) was to bring in at least two etudes, and etudes will be a focus for the first part of the semester. Etudes... - Ericson Plays Arizona All-State Etudes
This fall the ASU CMENC chapter had a project to record the AMEA (Arizona Music Educators Association) all-state audition etudes. They are now online at http://www.asu.edu/clubs/cmenc/horn.html, feel free to check them out! These etudes were composed by hornist Douglas Akey for use at AMEA events. My... - Take Charge of Your Horn Playing
One exercise we did in the ASU horn studio as this semester began involved self-examination. Students were given a pair of written tests, one that related to all sorts of technical skills and one that related to excerpts. They were required to rate themselves on a... - On Playing Berg
This fall for me a big challenge was learning the first horn part to the Berg Kammerkonzert (chamber concerto) for piano, violin, and winds. At first it was really slow going, I was not that “up” for it, the work is twelve tone and pretty difficult!... - Keeping it Interesting
A few years back I was speaking with another horn teacher, a well known one, and he commented that he changed horn and mouthpiece every couple years “to keep it interesting.” While there is probably a danger to making things too interesting, there is something to... - The Non-measured Preludes of Jacques-François Gallay
One of the most recognized nineteenth-century horn teachers is Jacques-François Gallay (1795-1864). Gallay studied with Louis-François Dauprat (1787-1868) at the Paris Conservatory, entering his studio at the relatively late age of 25. In addition to performing as an operatic and chamber musician, Gallay succeeded Dauprat at... - Horn Playing Can be Fun
As you are reading a horn-related blog, my guess is you might be a horn player. Why did you start playing horn? There are many reasons but one element of why you kept doing it was because it was enjoyable. On some level it is fun...
Exercise: Beefers
The Solo Alto
Why You Keep a Mute in the Trunk of Your Car
A Screw Loose on Conn 8D
The Father’s Day Post
