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The topics addressed in this Hornmasters series generally follow in the order of the chapters in The Art of French Horn Playing.
Two types of endurance
By the time that we arrive at chapter 14 the topic of endurance is not a new one. However, Farkas does find one new angle to discuss, as he describes two types of endurance.
Some players have the strength to continue playing all day, provided they have frequent momentary pauses during the performance: a five bar rest or a chance to lick the lips quickly. But given a long, continuous solo, they tire long before the end. From this fact, it can be observed that horn playing requires two kinds of endurance. There is a general endurance, the kind which enables a player to continue playing intermittently for many hours a day, which has just been discussed. The “page long” solo requires quite a different type of endurance.
To develop both types of endurance for Farkas the answer was practice and staying relaxed.
Long tones can help
Milan Yancich had a very specific exercise in mind related to the topic of endurance. In A Practical Guide to French Horn Playing he suggests “The Great Scale,” which was a routine “practiced by Lilli Lehmann, the great German soprano.” It is a long tone exercise of which Yancich states “I know of no other exercise more tiring and more boring, yet more beneficial to the performer.” He also had these three suggestions
…as good ways to acquire endurance on a brass instrument:
1) Playing long stretches of music without stopping.
2) Repeating a melody or an etude many times over without stopping.
3) Playing a page of a concerto, an etude, or a song at two, three, or four times slower than the proper tempo.I find that method No. 3 is as good as any for developing not only endurance, but also control over dynamics and the execution of notes.
Until one has arrived at the point where his lip is really tired, he can never know what his endurance capability really is. Of course, to pursue continually to a state of exhaustion is foolhardy and can cause irreparable harm, but to test one’s limit of endurance occasionally is a wise thing to do. It enables the player to measure his own strength and endurance capabilities.
The “tough guy” approach to building endurance
For Harry Berv in A Creative Approach to the French Horn, mouthpiece pressure has much to do with endurance. “The more you relax mouthpiece pressure, the greater your endurance will be.” As to specifics as to how to build endurance he suggests taking
…the eight Belloli Etudes and play them all in succession—resting when necessary, but not for too long a period. When finally, after days of practice, I am ready to play all eight etudes within a period of fifty minutes I know that I am ready for the heaviest orchestral playing. Another method of building up endurance is to play the Strauss First Concerto, for example, repeating it in its entirety without too much of a break. Eventually it should be possible to play it through four times…..
Always remember the more you relax mouthpiece pressure and tension the longer your endurance will be.
You will find that after you are able to repeat a solo many times, once or twice through will not tax your endurance at all. Once you have acquired strength and endurance, your overall playing will sound and be very secure. It is gratifying when you walk out on stage and you know you have more than sufficient strength for the performance.
Be forewarned: there are no easy routes to endurance. There is indeed only one—concentrated and intelligent practice with constant discipline and patience.
All eight Belloli Etudes! Or Strauss 1 repeated four times! Berv for sure has a classic, old school approach to the topic. But actually there is a context to this. As I wrote in a prior article that looked at this quotation,
Sounds a little extreme at first—kind of the “tough guy” approach to building up the embouchure–but really, you need that kind of endurance to sell a full recital. Also, to offer a little more context, Berv also suggests never warming up over fifteen minutes, with that including only ten minutes of actual playing. It wasn’t like he is suggesting dong the “heavy routine” out of the Singer book right before playing all eight Belloli etudes in a row!
When we continue this series we will look at some more modern approaches to development of endurance.
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