Archived under: Equipment | Fingerings
Thinking About Fingerings
Frequent site visitors know that this past year I have had a project to improve my B-flat horn fingerings. It really has been a challenge; I was not taught to use B-flat horn fingerings in the lower range. They are getting better but I do feel like the proverbial old dog learning a new trick.
Listening to the new collection of recordings of Dennis Brain, it is very interesting to listen to his very early recording when he played the single F horn, and then compare it to all the later recordings that are on single B-flat. I was recently testing it out with this horn, owned by Arizona State University, a Hawkes horn with piston valves from the early 20th century. It has crooks for most every key and the slides can be adjusted for F or for B-flat. It is not the same as Brain played but generally similar. I mostly had ever tried playing it in F, but I put on a B-flat crook again a few weeks ago after hearing the Brain recordings and wow, there is such a difference! It really is much easier to play in B-flat, a fact that must not have escaped the notice of Dennis Brain. He must have however had a transitional period that was a brief, big challenge to switch from F to B-flat fingerings. There is a deep “default mode” to fingerings and it takes anyone at least a little while to make that adjustment. But I will add this observation, as I am making a similar adjustment now; there are passages that I feel like I practically can’t miss on B-flat horn fingerings if I get the fingerings. Accuracy is certainly improved and this fact is something that keeps me going as I work on getting the new fingerings down.
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