New Book: The Efficient Approach by Richard Deane

Richard Deane is Third Horn in the Atlanta Symphony and also teaches at the Brevard Music Center over the summers. He has just released a new book, The Efficient Approach: Accelerated Development for the Horn.

I was able to read one of the first copies off the press thanks to one of my students who went to Brevard this past summer, Derek Wright. My first impression is this is a book that is certainly worth reading. In several ways Deane thinks out of the box and presents things with a different angle than that seen in other books. A focus for Deane is developing a balance of what he calls “the three technical cornerstones of great horn playing: air pressure, embouchure support, and resonating space inside the mouth.” Topics covered include especially the embouchure and breathing, and he presents at the end a daily routine.

One thing that caught my attention was his recommendation to find balance in the embouchure. There is a book that has a following today called The Balanced Embouchure by Jeff Smiley. Richard Deane however is using the term only in the general sense that he wants players to find balance in their embouchure mechanics, not that they use the specific type of mechanics of tongue position and lip rolling advocated by Smiley. Deane overall remains more related to Farkas (advocating for example a flat chin) but has some new twists I don’t recall seeing in any previous publication, such as describing three types of embouchure; einsetzen, ansetzen, and hybrid.

Overall this book is certainly a good addition to the library of the horn player and teacher well worth purchase. The 65 page publication is available directly from the Atlanta Brass Society Press.

UPDATE: Also, in the sales page we now find these quotes in support of the publication as well.

“…any number of complex things are explained – air, sound, embouchure use, warm-up – very succinctly, leaving out unnecessary complexity. A brilliant accomplishment” – David Jolley

“…an in-depth analysis of efficient production by an outstanding artist/teacher of the horn….practical, through, and clearly presented.” – Randy C. Gardner

Congratulations Richard for a great publication.