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An exercise for Till Eulenspiegel
On practically every “high horn” audition – and even on some low horn auditions – the opening solo from Richard Strauss’ tone poem Till Eulenspiegel will be asked. For any aspiring orchestral player, this excerpt must be known backwards and forwards.
Taking this literally, I once came up with this little exercise to help conquer this solo. Begin practicing this exercise SLOWLY and take advantage of its different rhythms and articulations. Gradually speed it up over time.
This exercise illustrates a very practical practice method, namely:
- Be honest with yourself and admit you have a problem.
- Isolate that problem and develop a calculated, logical plan to fix it.
- Engage – get busy and practice.
- Evaluate and fine tune as needed.
This slow repetition technique of isolated problem areas – “cell” practice – done in multiple key areas is key to improvement. Attacking problems haphazardly only leads to bad habits and even injury.
Other online resources to investigate:
- Video by Greg Cass on the YouTube Horn Channel.
- Music and recorded samples at hornexcerpts.org
- An excellent arrangement by Franz Hasenöhrl for violin, clarinet, horn, bassoon and double bass. Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders! About it – a video
