John Ericson
Fundamentals 16. Muted horn: tonal control, responses, projection, noiseless manipulation of mute
Mutes?!? It is very interesting to me that Douglas Hill included in his list of fundamentals (found in his Collected Thoughts book) a special...
Fundamentals 15. Stopped horn: tonal control, responses, projection, F and B-flat fingerings
Continuing our series on fundamentals (using, as prompts, the list of fundamentals found on pages 92-93 of the Douglas Hill book of Collected Thoughts),...
Fundamentals 14. Lip trills: fluency, control at all dynamics, knowledge of all fingerings, also...
Lip trills are a must for any hornist playing on the level to perform a Mozart concerto movement.
Spoiler alert: Lip trills are easier on...
Vienna Horns, part III: Their musical world and more
A year ago, I started a short series of posts related to the Vienna horn, which was left incomplete. This final article of the...
Fundamentals 13. Concentration: ability to mentally focus for long periods
Concentration is not a topic touched on directly by many horn teachers. However, the ability to focus is a key fundamental for effective practice...
Fundamentals 12. Endurance: ease of production at all levels of fatigue in all ranges
Sometimes I think of batteries when I think about endurance on the horn. Batteries run down with use, and as they deplete the energy...
Revisiting a Geyer single horn
During my sabbatical in the spring of 2021 I rebuilt four horns of interesting designs, the third of those being a Geyer single F....
Fundamentals 11. Accuracy: initial attacks at all dynamics, consistency hearing entrance notes and intervals
The proverbial elephant in the room in horn playing is accuracy. In the prompt from Douglas Hill (this series is based on a list...
Review: Two Gig Bags
Among my activities I like to work on horns, continuing the type of projects I was doing during my sabbatical (more here). I enjoy...
Fundamentals 10. Dynamics: response, control, intonation at all extremes in all ranges
Elsewhere in this site I have shared (probably several times) a story involving my Master’s degree studies with Verne Reynolds. He had a thing...