Ask Dave: “How Should I Clean a Smelly Old Horn and Case?”

In addition to searching for orchestra musicians via the online service Craigslist, the Louisville Orchestra Inc. (LOI) has created and is distributing an advertisement calling for replacement musicians. The line in the sand, according to an LO press release, was drawn last month when the LOI management unilaterally declared that the protracted contract dispute and [...]

David Wilken has put together a superb 50-minute video on embouchure basics that should be required watching for both teachers and players. The topic of embouchure can be a hot-button topic among horn players especially, one than can ignite passionate opinion. Mr. Wilken does an excellent job of myth-busting; he separates the fact from fiction [...]

In part I Schuller and Farkas ultimately come across as not being big advocates of multiple tonguing. Today we turn a corner however and arrive at sources a bit more committed to learning the skill. Milan Yancich in A Practical Guide to French Horn Playing has a section of exercises to develop triple and double [...]

Way back on 7/13/06 I had a short article in reference to playing jazz on my original HTML blog under the title, “Not Like Kopprasch.” The thought comes back periodically, and came back recently as there are some great jazz arrangements on the brass band Christmas concert I am playing this weekend with the Salt [...]

While long considered an essential skill for the trumpet player, double and triple tonguing has traditionally been considered optional for horn players. Gunther Schuller in Horn Technique introduces the topic of double and triple tonguing as follows. Some players are gifted with extremely fast-moving and agile tongue muscles. Others are more sluggish in this respect…. [...]

There are always some great high school horn players out there. They can play crazy music that goes all over the horn and play it like a machine. Secretly I envy them. But also I really don’t envy them. Why? Because I know what happens to a lot of those hot shot players. Sure, a [...]