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Horn Secrets: Putting Conventional Wisdom to the Test

PUBLISHED: January 8, 2012, John Ericson

A week from today I will present a session at the 2012 Southwest Horn Conference with the title “Horn Secrets: Putting Conventional Wisdom to the Test.” The following was turned in for the program book: Many elements of a conventional approach to horn playing were put forth by Philip Farkas in his 1956 text The [...]

Hornmasters on Double and Triple Tonguing. Part II: Yancich, Fox, and Berv

PUBLISHED: December 16, 2011, John Ericson

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 [...]

Hornmasters on Staccato, Part II: Fox, Berv, and Hill

PUBLISHED: December 8, 2011, John Ericson

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, approaches that sound right on paper but in reality are confusing to many readers. The problem being that they ignore a a physiological reality of staccato on the horn that [...]

Hornmasters on Setting the Lips and Breath Attacks

PUBLISHED: November 27, 2011, John Ericson

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 [...]

Hornmasters on Rapid Tonguing, Part I: Quotes and a Video

PUBLISHED: November 8, 2011, John Ericson

We all need speed! To begin this survey on the topic of rapid single tonguing, Farkas in The Art of French Horn Playing advocated a soft “too” or “doo” to make a “much lighter seal that allows very rapid, light tonguing.” Farkas returned to the topic in The Art of Brass Playing with four aids [...]

Hornmasters: Yancich and Fox on the Slur, Air, and Vowels

PUBLISHED: August 23, 2011, John Ericson

Continuing our series on the topic of the slur, air, and vowels, Milan Yancich has an interesting angle on the “wah-wah” problem in the form of an exercise in A Practical Guide to French Horn Playing. He calls it “Line in Tone Production.” What he is looking for is the perfect portamento between notes played [...]

Hornmasters on How Much to Practice

PUBLISHED: July 19, 2011, John Ericson

There are a variety of approaches to the question of how much to practice on a French horn. Farkas in The Art of French Horn Playing was a strong advocate of three hours of practice a day. He does allow that rehearsals and concerts are a portion of what playing can be done in one [...]

John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.