John Ericson

Grad auditions, part I. As they say, the times, they are changing

University horn auditions are over for 2022. I believe Horn Matters readers will find a number of interesting notes and tips in this short...

Mouthpiece story — Testing “connections” with Maxime-Alphonse 4:12

Some certain works and phrases of works have interesting applications when it comes to testing mouthpieces and horns. In some recent lessons I have...

The most popular horn solo?

Recently I was looking at a Google stats report for Horn Matters and something jumped out at me. One horn solo in our collection...

Cruel Teacher, or Demanding Teacher?

Following up on the recent posts from Bruce Hembd, the topic of the CT (Cruel Teacher) is one that has resonated with many horn...

Brief Review: Corno da Capo: The Life and Adventures of an 18th Century Horn...

Let me get straight to the point: If you like books, you should read this book. Corno da Capo by Richard Seraphinoff is certainly...

Vintage Mellophone Bells — and Natural Horns?

My big idea project over winter break was to build the natural horn seen below, using a 1930 Conn mellophone bell I had found...

Brief Review: International Horn Society: The First 50 Years

A very big book that came out in late 2021, International Horn Society: The First 50 Years contains an amazingly complete look at the...

Commentary: The missing articulations

A topic I think about every year when I hear college auditions is that of the “missing articulations.” Often it is a function of...

When “more air” is too much air — and causes problems

Standard issue brass playing advice – for practically any problem! – is to use “more air.” For some brass teachers (especially low brass), breathing...

A correct approach to Till, from Farkas

Till is one of those essential excerpts we all learn, and it has a correct interpretation. One person who got the correct interpretation directly...