Top Ten: Favorite French Horn and Music Related Texts

Some of my favorite texts.

Still in time for the holidays, here is a top-ten list of with some of my favorite horn-related texts. As with previous Horndog Blog top-ten lists, this is not a comprehensive list nor is it set in any particular order.

1. Philip Farkas:
   Art of French Horn Playing, The Art of Brass Playing, The Art of Musicianship
   Farkas’ Art of French Horn Playing is often referred to as the “bible” for horn players. These three books together might be referred to as the “holy trinity.” Each volume addresses different aspects of playing and I believe that it is good to read them in the order above; start with learning about the horn, progress to learning about the mechanics of technique and end with the basics of musicianship.
2. Collected Thoughts on Teaching and Learning, Creativity and Horn Performance by Doug Hill
3. While I have never personally met Mr. Hill, I know of many people who consider him to be a great mentor and teacher.
4. Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams
   Aside from being a tome devoted to basic zen concepts, these book contains some excellent advice for dealing with a variety of issues directly related to being a musician. The author was a student of Bruce Lee and offers special insights to Lee’s approach to his training.
5. The Inner Game of Tennisby Timothy Galway
   Of all the “Inner Game” books, the original remains my favorite. While there is an Inner Game of Music book, my opinion is that the simplicity and freshness of original message gets lost in the translation.
6. Horn (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides) by Barry Tuckwell
   While it does contain some historical inaccuracies, this book remains a favorite of mine to lend out to young students. It is written in plain language and is generously illustrated and is a great primer for any student.
7. The Horn Handbook by Verne Reynolds
   This is an excellent supplement to the Farkas trinity. Its main focus is on etude, solo and chamber repertoire. With all due respect to Mr. Reynolds, I learned more from this book than in my one year of study with him at Eastman.
8. Living Dangerously With the Horn by David Kaslow
   I am not exactly sure how available this book is, but at Amazon it is selling for 98 cents (!). Mr. Kaslow addresses loftier topics of artistry, fearlessness, health, relationships and perfectionism. A sample of his writing may be found here.
9. Essentials of Brass Playing by Fred Fox
   I remember seeing a master class once long ago with Mr. Fox and he left an indelible impression on me; he was straight-talking and forward thinking and his wealth of experience as a symphony, studio player and teacher was impressive. I regularly use this book as a reference.
10. Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind by Brian Frederiksen
    Mr. Jacobs legacy lies in his students – unfortunately he never wrote a book to document his teachings. This book is mostly a biography, but there are about 20-30 pages in this book that give good insight into his teaching philosophy.
11. Thoughts on Playing the Horn Well by Froydis Ree Wekre.
    This book is part method, part text. I always enjoy what Ms. Wekre has to say, but I am a bit dismayed at the cost ($36 on Amazon). Its housing is basically a spiral-bound notebook and for that price I would expect a hardback cover. This aside, I very much like her diplomatic, open-minded view of playing concepts. Whenever there is more than one approach to a specific topic, she lists several, then simply states her preference.