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Tips

Miscellaneous tips related to performance, practice, pedagogy, and repertoire.

PSA: C-sharp (fourth space) Should be One of your Best Notes

Intonation is always a topic among hornists. One note I listen for carefully is C-sharp, third space. This should be a great note; often...

Tip: Keep a Mute in Your Car

Since the time I played in The Nashville Symphony I have kept a mute in the back of the car. The idea is that if...

Tip of the Week: Improving Transposition Skills with ‘I-IV-V-I’ Practice

One of the most popular PDF downloads from the Horn Matters site is a transposition chart, located within our Resources area. Roughly defined, music transposition in performance requires a player...

Tips for Educators, and an Evolving Pedagogy

Recently, as part of a session with brass colleagues at our AMEA all-state, I presented a session for music educators, "Tips to Improve your...

Tip of the Week: Think About the Ends of Notes

I had a teacher long ago tell me that when it came to producing quality notes on a musical instrument, there were four parts...

Tip: Making a Bad Piece Sound Like Something

This is an important skill to develop for any musician because, honestly, you will play a lot of bad music over the course of...

Tips on Auditioning Horns, Part II: Mouthpieces, Leadpipes, Hybrids and the...

At the Southwest Horn Conference (SWHC) a variety of Kruspe and Geyer type horns were available to try out. I currently play on a hybrid...

An Interview on Orchestral Horn Auditions. Part IV, the Future and...

This article concludes an interview conducted 2/13/13 with Ashley Cumming, a Doctoral student at Indiana University. Part I starts here. With increased numbers of people...

Book Excerpt: Tips Toward Playing More Musically

Every so often I get a big idea. A recent one was to update the best of my publications into new editions and sell...