Performance & Playing

Fundamentals 3. Tuning: in general and extremes (use chromatic tuner)

Tuning is fundamental! In general, to my mind there are two main problems, related often. Your horn is likely not in tune with itself,...

Fundamentals 1. Playing position/posture: standing and sitting

To begin this look at fundamentals, the first topic is posture and playing position, which are related. Keep it simple The simple answer is to hold...

Navigating Performance Anxiety

For our second Brass Area of the semester the ASU brass faculty had a panel discussion, part of our Career Forward series, on the...

Rethinking the “Inner Game”

For many years many have recommended The Inner Game of Tennis as a resource for improving your performance. I found it helpful -- an...

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...

Improve your Technique by Improving your Valve Lever Position

Over the break I’ve had a chance to really look at some questions I had about the valve lever position positions on my three...

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...

Mailbag: Practicing the High Range

With the start of the semester a few questions have come in related to playing, and one topic I could pull out of them...

Mailbag: The Topic of Contradictory Information on Playing the Horn

Recently a great, extended question came in related to playing mechanics and all the contradictory information out there. The reader wrote, … I’m finding myself...

Fundamentals 14. Lip trills: fluency, control at all dynamics, knowledge of all fingerings, also lip tremolos

Fundamentals 9. Ranges: extremes, clear controlled sounds (high, middle, mid-low, low)

Fundamentals 8. Tone quality: centered resonance, consistency in all registers, varieties of timbre

Fundamentals 6. Tonguing: clarity, fluency, variety, double, triple, flutter

Fundamentals 4. Breathing: efficiency, control, capacity