Random Wednesday: Flipping Horns, Deep Questions and George Szell on Conducting

In updating the Events page recently I noted in the website for the 2012 International Women’s Brass Conference an article by co-host Lin Foulk titled “Why IWBC 2012?” This particular section was one that caught my attention, on her experience with sexism in the brass world and a story from a public master class. I [...]

After having played on the same mouthpiece rim for about 15 years I recently decided to try out something totally different – stainless-steel rims from Houser Mouthpieces (as provided through Houghton Horns). This is the main benefit of owning a screw-rimmed mouthpiece –  it allows the owner to use and try out different rims. The most important [...]

This is a topic that is really central to tonguing but not necessarily well taught or understood. To begin, for all articulations more gentle than the sforzando Farkas notes in The Art of French Horn Playing that the “air seal is broken more or less gently” depending on the exact musical context. But what of [...]

Ginger asks: Dave, I’ve been having a hard time with my left hand grip.  My horn came prepared for a huge hand and mine is smaller with a shorter thumb.  How flexible can you make the thumb valve? I’ve already had the little finger brace moved up and the valves are as low as they [...]

One option out there from a few horn makers is a garland, an extra band of metal added to the edge of the bell near the rim. The idea is an old one; in this first photo is the garland on my Seraphinoff natural horn. Typical of older style garlands, it is over an inch [...]

A common factor among many working orchestral professionals is cyclical repertoire – music that comes up on a performance calendar more than once, sometimes on a yearly basis. This time of year especially, musicians are looking ahead at a December calendar full of Nutcracker or Messiah or other holiday-related gigs. Another regular staple that gets repeated [...]