John Ericson

F or Bb — What Horn Best Suits Beginners?

The standard line for many teachers is single F horn is the best for beginners, traditional tone, etc. Is this pedagogical approach stuck in...

Mailbag: Is a Heavy Mouthpiece Better?

A blog reader, a high school student, wrote in after reading the recent mellophone mouthpiece series asking about heavy mouthpieces. Are they better? The...

Horn study impressions after a visit to Shanghai

As I write I am back in Taiwan after a week in Shanghai. A most interesting week, which we started arranging late last summer...

Summer is Heating up and the Mellophones are Coming Out

This was the first post (2007) in what became a mellophone series of articles, which led me toward writing A Mello Catechism. Check out...

The Black Art of Mouthpiece Making

I am now the proud owner of three Laskey 80G mouthpieces. I am very impressed with the quality control exhibited by Laskey in their...

A Performance of the Brahms German Requiem on Natural Horn

Today I received a most interesting note from Herb Winslow, associate principal horn, the Minnesota Orchestra, which he has granted me permission to quote....

New Information on Maxime-Alphonse

Last night I had a very pleasant surprise in my inbox. Blog reader Jay Anderson had seen my previous post on Maxime-Alphonse and got...

Maxime Alphonse, International Man of Mystery

Probably every month during the school year I receive notes from horn students trying to research horn players of the past who are trying...

PSA: C-sharp (fourth space) Should be One of your Best Notes

Intonation is always a topic among hornists. One note I listen for carefully is C-sharp, third space. This should be a great note; often...

Horn Players Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins

Horn soloist and composer Lawrence Lowe was in Tempe yesterday, where he performed two solos (the "traditional version" of the Mozart Concert Rondo ...