Archived under: Horn study, Teaching
The Mean Horn Teacher
One style of horn teaching is to be the mean teacher. It is supposed to motivate students, and there will perhaps always be some “old school” teachers of this type out there. Often this approach is a part of a “my way or the highway” strategy of approaching horn pedagogy. Some students going in think that this is the type of teacher they need, one who lays it down and tells them either explicitly or in so many words that they **** from lesson to lesson.
While I find the reality cooking show Hell’s Kitchen interesting and while it might be fun to teach like Chef Ramsey for a day, I could not do it day after day. It is a style that in the longer term will only work with a student who has no problems. If they have problems, most likely they will get worse with the “Hell’s Horn Teacher” approach unless their singular approach just happens to work for you. I am pretty convinced for some of these teachers the meanness is a cover-up for the fact that they don’t really know how solve or explain the problems you need to work on.
By the same token, you don’t want to study with a Pollyanna who just loves everything. You do need some direct answers and honest opinions to get you where you want to go.
If you are looking for schools for advanced study I would tend to say to be wary of the mean teacher. Whatever you do be sure as a part of checking out the program to take a lesson with them as a part of your audition, you do want to get a sense of their teaching style and if it will help you in your goal to reach the highest level you can on the horn.
Related to this article
- Selecting a Horn Teacher
It is that time of year; many students are right now in the final process of making their comparisons of offers from schools for advanced horn study. It is a complicated thing, choosing a school. There are so many elements to consider. Speaking generally I feel... - The Modern Horn Teacher
I recently had a question posed to me about classic and modern horn teaching methods. In terms of myself, I aim to be practical and effective –I believe my approach is a hybrid between the two extremes. To my mind the ultimate “classic” horn teacher would... - Friedrich Gumpert, Master Teacher of the Horn
Often hornists will look back on their “genealogy” in terms of who their teachers were, the teachers of their teachers, etc. A number of my teachers were Farkas students and I took several lessons with Farkas directly, so this would be a major influence if I... - My Most Influencial Teacher?
This weekend is a horn event I would have loved to attend, the Western Illinois Horn Festival. I am tied up with other Arizona commitments but I would especially enjoy attending as this event features my major professor from my Doctoral studies, Michael Hatfield. He really... - Horn in H
A topic that comes up periodically in my teaching is horn in B-natural. Many horn players I am sure are confused the first time they see “Horn in H” in their part. This is the German notation for horn in B-natural; for horn in B-flat it... - Books on Horn Playing are like a Great Private Lesson
I just purchased several new publications relating to brass playing. I love reading new and old books of this type. Each one is like an extended private lesson with a new teacher. How much would you pay for a lesson with a great teacher? One new book is...
Before Farkas: The Mercier (Dufrasne) Routine, Part I
