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We now turn to some shorter quotations, several of which are very useful ideas.
Self care is part of it
Harry Berv in A Creative Approach to the French Horn notes that accuracy relates at least in part to physical conditioning and the condition of the player.
The physical condition of the player can also detract from the quality of his playing—something he often is ready to blame on the instrument, while, in fact, it may be the result of poor diet, not enough rest, insufficient exercise, or any other shortcoming of his total physical condition. No matter how great the mouthpiece is a note can be missed by a faulty attack, and you cannot always blame it on the horn or the mouthpiece.
A very important suggestion
William R. Brophy in his Technical Studies for Solving Special Problems on the Horn suggests having a set, inhale, play “rhythmic routine” for setting up an attack to improve accuracy. This is to say, how you approach attacks is very important to accuracy, and you need to have a consistent rhythm in how you setup and play a note, in one motion with no hesitation.
Have a mental image of what you need to play
David Bushhouse feels that mental preparation in terms of having the sound image clear before you play is the critical element for accuracy in Practical Hints on Playing the French Horn.
Accuracy during the passage is influenced by many factors, but mental preparation is the most important. Young players do not easily transfer the visual image on the paper to an auditory, or sound, image in the brain. All too often the player will play the correct fingerings, but the brain, hearing another note, will direct the lip to play an incorrect note. It is very helpful to think through an exercise before playing it, taking note of leaps and skips….
I’d like to expand this idea briefly to say that you do need to hear in your mind how the note sounds and feel how it is going to feel when you play it. This skill is built up by repetition, and is essential to playing the horn on a high level.
An analogy to playing darts
Farquharson Cousins in On Playing the Horn has a different visualization for improving accuracy.
Our aim should be to mould our embouchure to the notes as closely as possible. In other words, the player should try to feel the note before he plays it, almost as though he were leaning up against it. In analogy, the closer the dart player gets to the board the more likely he is to hit the bull’s-eye. In private practice a lot of entries ‘come off’ which may not do so under the pressure of public performance just for want of this closeness.
Thick rims can be an issue
Cousins also notes clearly that in terms of accuracy “A too large or too thick-rimmed mouthpiece is perhaps our worst enemy.” Thinner rims are considered to promote accuracy and sensitivity, but may impact your ability to play with good endurance.
Sing or hum the note
For a final thought for today, Frøydis Ree Wekre in Thoughts on Playing the Horn Well notes that for accuracy “Sing or hum the note before you play,” and that “Doing some daily solfège is excellent for accuracy and for memorizing.”
And be kind to yourself
Reality is there are even more ways to work on accuracy. I could come up with another dozen easily. But in the end, you do need to be kind to yourself. Don’t create brutal schemes, don’t punish yourself. Take a deep breath, rest, come back at it again later when you miss things. Repetition when fresh will help the most.
In the next installment of this series we will examine the topic of perfection.
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