Arranging chorales, like painting by numbers
For myself as a conservatory undergraduate, four-part chorale writing was slow and sometimes laborious. It was a learning curve fraught with rules and clams.
Later...
PSA: Another Big Reason You Should Clean Your Horn
In the first paragraph of an NPR article we learn "One musician in Connecticut learned the hard way about the dangers of not cleaning...
Tips from another Bruce
Martial artist Bruce Lee was a childhood hero of mine. While the quality of his movies has not held up well over time, his...
Tip: Building endurance in the age of no ensembles
With COVID, most horn players are finding themselves in an unusual situation, they have no ensembles to play in, and have not played in...
The “Support from the Diaphragm” Myth
Last night, Randy on American Idol said something that made me go "oh boy."
As the audience applause swelled before a transition to co-host Ryan...
PSA: Your Horn will Play Better if the Valves are Correctly...
French horn rotary valves have marks on the top, as seen below. These marks are put there by the valve maker when making the...
Mental Health and Horn Playing: The Impact of Private Lessons
For many years, I struggled with performance anxiety. When exposed passages came up in ensemble rehearsals and performances, I would get noticeably nervous. It...
Two Tips for the New First Horn Player
As we all know, all the horn parts are good! But there is a point when you start playing first horn in better ensembles...
Mental Health and Horn Playing: The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
I think that it is rather common for people to turn inwards when having anxious thoughts. For horn players, this might translate to internal...