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The French Horn Articulation Resistance Tool.
Buzzing on the mouthpiece is something that I would call a “concentrated” method. Even a small amount done daily can yield tremendous benefits.
I caution students that there is a danger of doing mouthpiece practice too much or too intensely. What sounds like mezzo-forte on a mouthpiece is actually about fortissimo on the horn.
Buzzing aids for the French horn are very useful; they make the buzzing sound louder and they add resistance to match the feeling of playing the instrument.
A great tool to own that I highly endorse is the B.E.R.P. No, this isn’t bad table manners but rather the Buzz Extension Resistance Piece. I own one myself and use it from time to time. With shipping it costs around $23.00.
An alternative that costs relatively little is the French Horn Articulation Resistance Tool.
Making a F.H.A.R.T.
It is something that can be made from 7/8 diameter transparent vinyl tubing available at any large home supply store. To make it easy and not worry about specific measurements, I just took my mouthpiece to the store and tried out the wide selection of tubing on the shelf, slipping in my mouthpiece to find the right fit.
For 20 feet of tubing I paid under five dollars. Different people seem to prefer different lengths of tubing. It is worth it (and cheap) to experiment to find the right length for your preference.
Myself, I like about a 3-inch length tube. That amounts to about 4 cents per F.H.A.R.T.
So go ahead — gift a friend or student a free F.H.A.R.T. Let ‘er rip.
Drip cut
At whatever length, a good bit of advice is to cut the end of the F.H.A.R.T. at a very sharp diagonal. This helps greatly with condensation. Instead of it spraying everywhere, it will drip out from this angled cut.
Keep a hankie ready in any case.
In situations such as hotel rooms (or in fear of waking the spouse while you check email in the next room in the early hours), a small towel can come in handy. Loosely coiled around the end of the F.H.A.R.T, a small wash cloth or hand towel can lower the volume like a car muffler, without adding too much resistance.
The F.H.A.R.T. in this configuration is virtually silent. Heh heh.
Seriously…
One drawback of this homemade version on the B.E.R.P is that at some point in the high range (depending on length), the buzzing lips crash into what I presume are the fundamental overtones of the tube itself.
Something goes really wonky and the F.H.A.R.T. hits a fan. Or something.
For my 3-inch design, this happens around top line G in the treble clef staff. At this point I must remove the tube and buzz without it. With the B.E.R.P. this is not an issue – its advanced design overcomes this problem.
One solution for this upper range constipation is to heat a large nail and burn a clean, small hole in the vinyl tubing.
Un-fingering the melted hole acts as a relief valve, compensating for the backup.
