Bruce Hembd
Personal Safety Tips for Lessons
If you are concerned about your safety with a horn teacher or colleague:
1.) Trust your feelings. If you feel uneasy or creeped out by...
The Trauma of Elliott Higgins
**Trigger Warnings:
Elliott Higgins,
thoughts on misogyny,
straight talk aimed at men.
Background story is here.
Mr. Higgins is teaching me that trauma in the...
On Bill Broughton’s “Orchestra of the Americas” and Learning from Adversity
Recently, I became aware that recordings I participated in over 25 years ago with the Mexico City Philharmonic are available on YouTube.
Below is the...
Mental Health and Horn Playing: Anxiety and Daily Routines
About 15 years ago I fell into a playing slump. I had stopped doing my daily routines and started relying on freelance work and...
Mental Health and Horn Playing: The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
I think that it is rather common for people to turn inwards when having anxious thoughts. For horn players, this might translate to internal...
Mental Health and Horn Playing: The Impact of Private Lessons
For many years, I struggled with performance anxiety. When exposed passages came up in ensemble rehearsals and performances, I would get noticeably nervous. It...
The Tragic Tale of Mouthpiece Man
What follows is a parody, an absolute farce. But take heed dear reader; as bizarre as this tale may seem, it contains a kernel...
A Meme Flood for April Fools’ Day
April Fools' Day is an annual tradition celebrated in many cultures worldwide. It is a time for humor and jokes, and in recognition of...
Failure as a Goal for Success
Sometimes when I get contemplative about life, I look back and examine my past failures. Without a doubt, I have made some colossal mistakes...
A Curious Anomaly from Verdi’s “Don Carlo”
Recently on our Horn Matters' social media accounts, we uploaded a meme related to the perils of horn transposition. It features characters from an...