Horn is Tough for Band Directors to Teach

…especially if they did not have a decent methods class.

One of the projects I have had students do in the horn pedagogy class in recent years is as an assignment where they interview a band director about the horn and learn what concerns they have about the horn as a band director. Those papers are always among the most interesting things I read each year. It is clear that many band directors are actually very uncertain about many things about the horn.

Many of their problems and concerns come down to their not having had good methods class exposure to the horn. It really depends where and when they went to school. I know there are major universities with large music education programs where literally only a few days are spent on the horn in the methods sequence and the brass methods classes may in fact be taught by a non brass player! Yikes! And the materials used to teach the class can be confusing or dated or both which does not help matters, plus the class may have been taken before the student really understood how important it was to really give this class extra effort as it will really pay off if they understand the materials well.

People who have had poor methods class experiences will come away with literally no understanding of what a single F horn is compared to a double horn compared to a single B-flat (I explain this topic pretty fully here), how the notations relate to concert pitch, etc. It is a bit frightening but the result is if a horn player starts under this type of band director the result is a poor start and there is a good chance they will quit.

What underlies the structure of my publication Introducing the Horn is the idea that it be a book geared to cover the most essential elements needed by a band director to understand the horn. As I say over at Horn Notes Edition, Introducing the Horn

Covers in one volume the range of performance-related topics that are the most essential in giving a new hornist a good start. While primarily directed toward current and future instrumental music educators (the materials originally were compiled for use in methods classes for music education students), this publication is also a great resource book for beginners and for those converting to the horn.

As we approach the new year, if you are a horn player try to get to know a band director or two and figure out what they know and don’t know about the horn. It will be eye opening.