Articles by John Ericson Indexed in reverse chronological order.
How to Make Horn Players Less Accurate
PUBLISHED: August 16, 2008, John EricsonReading the most recent post on accuracy in the Horndog Blog, “Wild Card Critic,” reminded me of several ways teachers and conductors make things worse for horn players. Conductors. The big cue is really not a good idea. Give a cue like you trust a hornist; make them feel like you believe that they can do [...]
On Defensive Hornists and Accuracy
PUBLISHED: August 14, 2008, John EricsonThe article on accuracy and the horn that was in The New York Times a couple days ago developed quite a stir on the horn lists. My post on the topic brought in a near record day for traffic on the blog as well. Why does this topic generate such passion? One reason why is [...]
Categories: ASU Wind Bands on the Cutting Edge
PUBLISHED: August 14, 2008, John EricsonThis semester marks the beginning of a new era in wind bands at Arizona State, described in the article “School of Music takes on concert experiment,” posted in the main ASU website. Students will audition as normal but After the audition, they will get to choose from the more than 20 ensembles on the schedule [...]
110% Accuracy
PUBLISHED: August 13, 2008, John EricsonThe horn is, among standard orchestral instruments, perhaps the easiest to miss notes on. I recall Verne Reynolds requesting in lessons at Eastman 110% accuracy. Reynolds ranks among the most accurate players I have ever heard. But we are human beings playing a difficult instrument. In the August 12, 2008 issue of The New York [...]
A Single B-flat Horn FAQ
PUBLISHED: August 10, 2008, John Ericson 
Are you trying horns again? Yes. I always tell people they need to keep their eyes open, a better horn is probably out there, keep looking for it. Why a single B-flat? Years ago, as an undergraduate I did a few trials on single B-flat horns owned by my school. I don’t know if I [...]
An Olympic Thought
PUBLISHED: August 10, 2008, John EricsonPart of what draws people to watching the Olympics on TV is seeing people do things that they can’t do themselves. For me, seeing people swim several laps all out in a pool is sort of mind blowing, as a couple laps dog paddled across our play pool is about all that I can manage. [...]
How to Make Horn Players Less Accurate
Reading the most recent post on accuracy in the Horndog Blog, “Wild Card Critic,” reminded me of several ways teachers and conductors make things worse for horn players. Conductors. The big cue is really not a good idea. Give a cue like you trust a hornist; make them feel like you believe that they can do [...]
On Defensive Hornists and Accuracy
The article on accuracy and the horn that was in The New York Times a couple days ago developed quite a stir on the horn lists. My post on the topic brought in a near record day for traffic on the blog as well. Why does this topic generate such passion? One reason why is [...]
ASU Wind Bands on the Cutting Edge
This semester marks the beginning of a new era in wind bands at Arizona State, described in the article “School of Music takes on concert experiment,” posted in the main ASU website. Students will audition as normal but After the audition, they will get to choose from the more than 20 ensembles on the schedule [...]
110% Accuracy
The horn is, among standard orchestral instruments, perhaps the easiest to miss notes on. I recall Verne Reynolds requesting in lessons at Eastman 110% accuracy. Reynolds ranks among the most accurate players I have ever heard. But we are human beings playing a difficult instrument. In the August 12, 2008 issue of The New York [...]
A Single B-flat Horn FAQ
Are you trying horns again? Yes. I always tell people they need to keep their eyes open, a better horn is probably out there, keep looking for it. Why a single B-flat? Years ago, as an undergraduate I did a few trials on single B-flat horns owned by my school. I don’t know if I [...]
An Olympic Thought
Part of what draws people to watching the Olympics on TV is seeing people do things that they can’t do themselves. For me, seeing people swim several laps all out in a pool is sort of mind blowing, as a couple laps dog paddled across our play pool is about all that I can manage. [...]
Random Articles
Mid-South 2011 Part II: Shopping, Britten, and Schumann: Moving on to Saturday, the day was fairly packed with interesting sessions and concerts. I started my day though by testing horns for a bit. You could...
Hornmasters on Staccato, Part II: Fox, Berv, and Hill: Staccato tonguing is a problem for many horn students. In part I of this article Farkas and Schuller laid out their approaches to teaching this, appro...
Recent sale Items
- Reunion Blues French Horn Gig Bag
by: ErinM
February 7, 2012 - 10:43 - Conn 8D Elkhart Double
by: wichitaband
January 27, 2012 - 13:23 - Syst. Prof. Döhler 1 mouthpiece
by: John Ericson
January 20, 2012 - 11:35 - Herco mouthpiece
by: John Ericson
January 20, 2012 - 11:33 - Getzen model 10C mouthpiece
by: John Ericson
January 20, 2012 - 11:32 - H. Schindler Milwaukee mouthpiece
by: John Ericson
January 20, 2012 - 11:30 - Houser San Francisco 3-#2 Stainless
by: Derek Wright
January 8, 2012 - 00:33 - Atkinson NY 200
by: Stuart
January 2, 2012 - 08:22 - 1011 Bach Single in F
by: Stephanie Diebel
January 1, 2012 - 12:37 - Conn 8D
by: betsyk
December 5, 2011 - 17:50 - Schilke 31
by: Edlock
December 4, 2011 - 11:24
Random Hornmasters
- Hornmasters: Berv and Reynolds on Slurs
- Hornmasters on Double and Triple Tonguing. Part II: Yancich, Fox, and Berv
- Hornmasters on Legato Tonguing
- Hornmasters Extra: An Update from Robinson on the Aperture
- Hornmasters: Farkas and Schuller on the Warm-Up
- Hornmasters: Tuckwell and Bushhouse on Horns
- Hornmasters: The Exhale and Points of Resistance, Part III—My Turn
- Hornmasters: Yancich on Mouthpieces
- Hornmasters on Average Tonguing, part II: Schuller and Yancich
- Hornmasters: Attacks, a Prelude to Tonguing
- Hornmasters: Brophy on Buzzing
- Hornmasters: Berv on Mouthpieces
- Hornmasters: Yancich and Robinson on Right Hand Position
Random Humor
- Anatomical Update: Summer 2011
- Monster Mash Tuesday
- What a Conductor Does
- Humor: The Mind of the Horn Player
- Random Monday: Cramped quarters, decibels and organ bells
- Parody: The Oath of the Triple Horn
- Video: “The Lexicon of Clamology”
- At the Opera, Guns and Pills Don’t Mix
- A Quartet of Hosers
- 11 Horn-tastic TV Themes
- The Beethoven Sonata, Opus Smooch
- Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock in ‘The Trouble with Triples’
- Mr. Kopprash, Most Revered, Respected and Holy
