John Ericson

The Kopprasch Op. 5 Etudes and a New Free “Low Horn” Version as a...

Way back in 1997 The Horn Call published an article that I wrote on the history of the Kopprasch etudes, a version of which...

Three Quotes on the Horn in the Nineteenth Century

One of the things I enjoy is quotations from older sources; they give a window into horn playing and our past from a first...

Hornmasters Interlude: Repertoire to Practice

While Farkas in The Art of French Horn Playing does address the topic of etude study in the section on practice, he did not...

Will a Different Mouthpiece make much of a Difference?

This article was written and posted in the original HTML Horn Notes Blog at the end of one of my summers teaching at the...

Hornmasters on How Much to Practice

There are a variety of approaches to the question of how much to practice on a French horn. Practicing to your breaking point is not...

Of Standing Horses and the Horns of Interlochen [UPDATED]

This summer I was honored to join the horn faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Founded in 1928 and known for many...

10 Things I Learned From Verne Reynolds

Those that follow Horn Matters on Facebook already know that Verne Reynolds, Professor Emeritus at the Eastman School of Music, passed away last week....

From the Mailbag: What is the Full Range of a Descant Horn?

A question came in that wondered if the descant horn can play an octave higher than a standard double horn, with the implication that...

Hornmasters: Tips on How to Practice

Several sources have some specific tips on how to practice the horn. Practice the extremes An initial suggestion made by Farkas in The Art of French...

PSA: On the Ewald Quintets and that Ewald/King “Symphony for Brass”

The Ewald Quintet No. 1 for brass has to be among the most widely performed of all brass quintets in our repertoire and certainly...