Articles by Bruce Hembd Indexed in reverse chronological order.
Exercise: Pitch Benders
PUBLISHED: July 11, 2008, Bruce Hembd 
Blurring the lines. As children we are told to “stay between the lines” – whether it is playing with crayons in coloring books or when instructed to follow rules and boundaries. When it comes to music however, sometimes it is a good thing to stretch these boundaries. Practicing extreme techniques can make performing regular tasks [...]
Using a Video Recorder For Practice Sessions
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2008, Bruce Hembd 
An Addendum to “Physician Heal Thyself” The tutelage received from your private teacher is only as good as your application during practice. A few years ago I started this blog with a series of posts – “Physician Heal Thyself” – related to this. As noted in this series, the tuner, metronome and recording device are [...]
Top Ten: Tips for Survival in College
PUBLISHED: June 30, 2008, Bruce Hembd 
Top Ten List for Students When choosing a school for undergraduate or graduate studies, when making choices while in college and after graduation, a young music student has many options to consider. Here is my top-ten list for students. These are in no particular order: Choose the teacher not the school. Years ago when I [...]
Categories: Oddities: The Omnitonic Horn
PUBLISHED: June 28, 2008, Bruce Hembd 
Omnitonic horns were developed roughly from the late 18th to the mid-19th century as a means for the natural horn to change keys without changing crooks. Contrary to popular belief this instrument was not a bridge instrument between natural and valved instruments. Dr. John Ericson lists this as one of the top myths in horn [...]
Categories: Doors Close, Windows Open: On Getting Fired
PUBLISHED: June 20, 2008, Bruce Hembd 
On getting the axe. George Carlin was, if anything, a brilliant observer of our American culture and its quirky social trends. In this video, he makes some very pointed remarks about how Americans are afraid of harsh truth and prefer to soften it with euphemistic language rather than face it head on. Check it out. [...]
Is the French Horn the Hardest Instrument to Play?
PUBLISHED: June 20, 2008, Bruce HembdI can’t say how many times I have heard or read this phrase. The presumption being that because horn players make mistakes and “crack” notes that the instrument is difficult to play. And almost every time I hear people claim that the French horn is the hardest instrument, I think, “no, not really…” While I [...]
The Art of Practice, Part I: An Overview
PUBLISHED: June 16, 2008, Bruce Hembd 
The basics of the basics. An integral part of the daily practice ritual for any musician is calisthenics – the process of building physical and mental strength and flexibility though the concentrated study of the basics. This process is given many different names and terms including the “warm-up,” routine, exercises or daily ritual. Rather than [...]
Exercise: Pitch Benders
Blurring the lines. As children we are told to “stay between the lines” – whether it is playing with crayons in coloring books or when instructed to follow rules and boundaries. When it comes to music however, sometimes it is a good thing to stretch these boundaries. Practicing extreme techniques can make performing regular tasks [...]
Using a Video Recorder For Practice Sessions
An Addendum to “Physician Heal Thyself” The tutelage received from your private teacher is only as good as your application during practice. A few years ago I started this blog with a series of posts – “Physician Heal Thyself” – related to this. As noted in this series, the tuner, metronome and recording device are [...]
Top Ten: Tips for Survival in College
Top Ten List for Students When choosing a school for undergraduate or graduate studies, when making choices while in college and after graduation, a young music student has many options to consider. Here is my top-ten list for students. These are in no particular order: Choose the teacher not the school. Years ago when I [...]
Oddities: The Omnitonic Horn
Omnitonic horns were developed roughly from the late 18th to the mid-19th century as a means for the natural horn to change keys without changing crooks. Contrary to popular belief this instrument was not a bridge instrument between natural and valved instruments. Dr. John Ericson lists this as one of the top myths in horn [...]
Doors Close, Windows Open: On Getting Fired
On getting the axe. George Carlin was, if anything, a brilliant observer of our American culture and its quirky social trends. In this video, he makes some very pointed remarks about how Americans are afraid of harsh truth and prefer to soften it with euphemistic language rather than face it head on. Check it out. [...]
Is the French Horn the Hardest Instrument to Play?
I can’t say how many times I have heard or read this phrase. The presumption being that because horn players make mistakes and “crack” notes that the instrument is difficult to play. And almost every time I hear people claim that the French horn is the hardest instrument, I think, “no, not really…” While I [...]
The Art of Practice, Part I: An Overview
The basics of the basics. An integral part of the daily practice ritual for any musician is calisthenics – the process of building physical and mental strength and flexibility though the concentrated study of the basics. This process is given many different names and terms including the “warm-up,” routine, exercises or daily ritual. Rather than [...]
Random Articles
“Pure” Horn Quartets for Amateurs: Among recent E-mail was a request from a member of an amateur horn quartet. They have a good library of transcriptions for quartet but wanted some sug...
The Musician's Highway to Hell: The Hidden Costs of Freelancing: As a young professional I eagerly accepted playing jobs anywhere they could be found - no matter how far they were or how little they paid. I was stil...
Answers to Search Terms (I): A new series based on Google search terms.I like to track web traffic for this blog and other sites in order to see what is working and is not wor...
Two Practical Tips on How to be a Smarter and Happier Team Player: When playing with any classical music ensemble - whether it be large or small - it is really not enough to be technically accomplished and to have pra...
Recent sale Items
- 103 Alexander horn 1961
by: Ginger
May 14, 2012 - 06:47 - Yamaha YHR-668D
by: eburns
May 9, 2012 - 18:34 - Lawson Fourier 804G-NB
by: Jeff Warren
May 9, 2012 - 05:45 - Lawson 804GL (Precursor to the Fourier)
by: hornonthecob
May 7, 2012 - 22:02 - Conn 8D
by: dseirup
April 18, 2012 - 15:00 - Albert Kley Compensating Double Horn
by: wichitaband
April 10, 2012 - 15:15 - Cerveny, 3-valve F horn (c.1842-1896)
by: puzzi22
April 4, 2012 - 08:20 - Hans Hoyer/Walter Kroner Double Horn
by: gferris
March 26, 2012 - 11:40 - Conn 8D
by: msjames
March 11, 2012 - 18:58 - BAGS Detachable Horn Eco bag with mute
by: gtrottier
March 11, 2012 - 15:59 - Atkinson Ambronze Bell European Large
by: msjames
March 10, 2012 - 22:30
Random Hornmasters
- Hornmasters: Fox on Tone Production
- Hornmasters on Staccato, Part II: Fox, Berv, and Hill
- Hornmasters: Yancich and Fox on the Slur, Air, and Vowels
- Hornmasters on Average Tonguing, Part V: Reynolds and Hill
- Hornmasters on Staccato, Part I: Farkas and Schuller
- Hornmasters on Vibrato
- Hornmasters: Tuckwell and Bushhouse on Horns
- Hornmasters: Berv on Holding the Horn and Left Hand Position
- Hornmasters: Berv on Mouthpieces
- Hornmasters on Intonation
- Hornmasters: Farkas and Schuller on Jaw Position
- Hornmasters: Yancich on the Second and Third Warm-Up
- Hornmasters: Berv on the Shorter Warm-Up
Random Humor
- Monster Mash Tuesday
- Saturday Funnies Meme Flood! French Horns and Cute Animals Dressed as Humans
- Lady of the Lake, with Hornistic Twist
- Humor: Oscar, Meet the Hubie
- Separated at Birth?
- Stewie from Family Guy Plays the French Horn
- Mozart Rondo Smoothies
- Late Night Visitor; A Variation on Nighthawks
- The Retronome
- Video: High Note Trumpet National Anthem
- Ironic road sign?
- Humor: Looks Like…
- Nightmare Headline For Horn Players
