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We now come to the letter C. There are several entries under the letter C in the book draft, thoughts to consider that will help with accuracy, which I will bundle together.
Center the pitch
One thing that will help accuracy is to play as much as possible at the center of the pitch.
This may seem like an obvious statement, but it should be mentioned that there is an alternate school of thought that says the secret is to play slightly below the center of the pitch. In a sense both schools are correct, they are just defining the center a bit differently.
On any horn, you have some freedom to bend the pitch, some horns more, some horns less, a freedom that is also impacted by mouthpiece choice. There is a range of motion over which you can bend the pitch sharp or flat without it breaking or jumping to another note. The upper limit is somewhat firm; on the downward side, you can normally bend the pitch somewhat further, especially in the lower range. Within the range that you can bend each pitch there is a central portion of the range of motion that is more stable, that is to say, there is a boundary at which you cannot bend the pitch easily down or up but you can pass this point if you force the pitch hard. Speaking very generally, the location you want to place the pitch in is at the lower end of this central, more stable area of the pitch for any given note on the horn.
I have come to call the ideal pitch placement the “resonant center” of the pitch. This location can be found either by “feel” or by listening to the tone color. There is a “sweet spot” where the tone is the most resonant and beautiful, a “pocket” that is a stable location you can place any note in.
Chops
The chops are certainly important and intimately related to accuracy. You must keep fresh physically and mentally to play at your best! If my chops feel good I feel that I should expect to play well, but if they feel bad it is like I already have two strikes against me and plenty of reason to feel anxious. Chops for me also relate to the buzz behind the notes; if you are buzzing on center you should not miss.
Clear mental picture
Part of hearing the note clearly is having a clear mental picture of what you are trying to play before you play it. One of the most important foundations to this is listening to music. It may seem like an obvious aid, but you have to have that mental model in place to know if you are getting the desired result or not. For more on this topic see Audiation
Conductors and cues
There is a short series of articles in Horn Matters related to the topic of conductors and horn players (here). Conductors like to try to help you, but they can really make accuracy difficult. The big cue is especially not a good idea. A conductor should give a cue that shows trust for the hornist, communicating that they feel you can do it.
Confident playing
I say this to students often. Years ago, I figured out that I tend to be more accurate if I just go for it. It is counterintuitive, but when you play on the careful side you tend to miss more. If you are a teacher, you need to encourage students to play confidently – GO FOR IT! – they will be more accurate. Trust that you will get it – with a trust based on practice, good chops, etc.
Connections between fingerings and sounds
There is certainly a connection between fingerings and sounds built up over time. This can really become obvious when you try to play another related instrument with different fingerings such as a descant horn or with no fingerings such as a natural horn.
You can embrace this and make use of consistent fingerings to enhance accuracy. It is probably also a function of repetitions, but when you can hear/feel for example 4th space D (T12!) in your heart, your accuracy will be enhanced.
This is an installment of a series on accuracy, drawn from notes developed for a book on the same topic. The series starts here.
