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For the love of mystery and storytelling

Bruce Hembd
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0
For the love of mystery and storytelling

Yesterday it felt so good. Everything was great and it was really flowing. I was on top of the world! But today … everything is broken. It is a mess!!

This can happen in just about any field – whether it be music or sports, web design or animal husbandry. Entire football teams. Even, a famous symphony orchestra.

Of course to fix what is broken we have to dig deep, down to the root of the problem. Time to get busy.

This all sounds easy in print of course, but an even easier path to get swallowed up in is to throw your hands in the air and exclaim GOOD GRIEF but it was so much better yesterday!!

Critical mass

This point in time is critical to moving forward. Sometimes things falter from expectation and this is where the geniuses excel and the less determined get stuck wallowing in the mud.

A good first step might be to put down the horn. Really … in your state of mind you might hurt somebody with that darn thing. Put it down. Please.

Next, pause and reflect:

  • What was I doing yesterday and the day before?
  • Did I go too far yesterday and hurt myself?
  • How much sleep did I get?
  • Even with this temporary handicap, what else can I work on to improve?
  • Is this an ongoing problem that today is worse?
  • Is something changing? Am I in a transitional period?
  • Are there any clues in my own journal, personal recordings or blog?

Elementary

Last weekend my wife and I watched a number of Sherlock Holmes movies. (Remember Basil Rathbone?)

One thing I really enjoy about the Holmes character is that in spite of his flaws, he has an insatiable appetite for knowledge in order to solve mysteries and flesh out the entire story.

In music this really gets to core of why we love to play and teach.

We love to share stories and solve mysteries. Like Sherlock Holmes too, this is something that perhaps redeems us — especially when times gets tough.

Innate talent? ‘No such thing’ says genetics author

Bruce Hembd
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14

For many years I held firmly to the belief that some people among us are extraordinarily gifted. They possess an extra serving or two of talent beyond what most people have.

My belief was that people were simply born this way. Über-people exist – genetically wired at birth to be great geniuses.

According to David Shenk, the author of The Genius in All Of Us, that notion is basically a myth that does not hold up to known standards in genetic science.

Born to be small. Born to be smart. Born to play music. Born to play basketball. It’s a seductive assumption, one that we’ve all made. But when one looks behind the genetic curtain, it most often turns out not to be true.

In the past decade tremendous strides have been made in genetic science and based on his research, the author asserts that environment plays a key role in genius.

W.A. Mozart, while extraordinary, was not born in a bubble. His father was a master teacher and a superb mentor who created and perfected an effective teaching system. A large part of Wolfgang’s future success, Shenk notes in the audio for this story, was due to the great teaching of his father.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan’s college coach would intentionally put Jordan on teams with weaker abilities so that Jordan would have to work harder, pushing him to the point of failure – where some real discovery begins.

Deliberate practice

A shared element between geniuses is a concept Shenk calls deliberate practice.

Great musicians, athletes,  thinkers and artists are all passionately devoted to practicing. In this interview, Shenk labels this high level of intensity as practicing with rage.

The key concept however that really caught my attention was that geniuses utilize deliberate practice, pushing themselves to fail. Rather than getting upset at the (temporary) limitation, they learn how to improve and hone their skills by analyzing their failures and developing strategies to overcome them.

Of course, if you have been reading posts here at Horn Matters and at many other horn blogs, this is nothing particularly new.

What is new (to me at least) is that we now have a very good reason to practice with intense, concentrated passion – this is a strong factor in how geniuses gain their advanced skills.

We may not all make it to genius-land, but won’t it be fun to try?

More Alpha on Beta Blockers

Bruce Hembd
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5
  • More alpha on beta blockers
    Gerald Klickstein at The Musician’s Way gives a fair assessment on beta blockers in “Musicians and beta blockers.”While I do agree that we all have the potential to be great performers, can a person with severe anxiety issues  achieve a consistent, soulful performance level without a medical and/or psychological solution?Conditions such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, tachycardia, insomnia, depression and panic attacks — all which may lead to performance problems — may not respond to mental gymnastics, regular exercise and a good diet, no matter how sound or logical these natural methods might be.

    Performance anxiety is not life-threatening of course, but it can be career-threatening. That being said, if the problem goes beyond the capabilities of the human will and does not get better over time, it seems rather silly not to seek medical attention.

    [This is a portion of a “Random Monday” post, updated 2021]

Beta Blockers or The Inner Game?

John Ericson
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6

Recently I saw a link to an article, “Better music by prescription,” from The Minnesota Daily. This is a topic that can stir up some passion. I have some thoughts on this topic as well but before I comment this quote gives the flavor of the article.

“At the moment when the conductor looks up and you have a solo, you want it to be perfect,” sophomore bassoonist Katie Bauernfeind said. “It has to be perfect.”

The pressure can be high on stage and even higher during auditions, but some musicians are finding a solution to their big performance anxiety problems in a little white pill.

The drugs, known as beta blockers, plug the body’s beta receptors and prevent adrenaline from taking effect. Without that adrenaline, the sweaty palms, soaring heart rate and anxiety that plague performers largely disappear.

Most students say beta blockers are not commonly used, but some quietly acknowledge that the drug is more common than outsiders would imagine or administrators might like to admit.

Veronica Staupe, a 2008 graduate of the School of Music, posited that a quarter of students use the drug during auditions and solos.

There is a lot more in the full article. I know I have had students who have used beta blockers. In a sense I have no big problem with this but in a sense I always find it a little worrying, as the title of the article linked would also tend to imply as well. The mindset expressed by some students seems to be something like “when I am nervous I can’t play at my peak so I will take a pill to make it better.” Individual results will vary but I think there is a better way, or at least something to try first.

It is harder to do than take a pill but really you are better off to try to really work on your inner game. I tell this story to students often but it is really true; I have had a few students over the years that honestly were not as talented as some of the others but they had a wonderful ability to walk out on stage and play at near 100% of their ability level on demand. Many can’t seem to break roughly a 90% barrier in performance, and this is a real problem that has to be solved individually.

There are many resources that deal with the inner game but the best are to my mind all sports psychology books. Think of a pitcher in baseball. Ever been to a professional game? There are so many distractions they have to focus through and there is so much riding on their ability to pitch through them. They don’t get that focus from a pill; they get it from a lot of mental discipline and training.

My favorite resource overall still remains the classic Inner Game of Tennis. Almost everything in the book translates easily to horn playing, and I find it more effective in a way to just read it in the original form rather than read the companion volume The Inner Game of Music. If you have never read it, get a copy of this classic and read it! At the official Inner Game website they introduce the concepts behind the book as follows:

In every human endeavor there are two arenas of engagement: the outer and the inner. The outer game is played on an external arena to overcome external obstacles to reach an external goal. The inner game takes place within the mind of the player and is played against such obstacles as fear, self-doubt, lapses in focus, and limiting concepts or assumptions. The inner game is played to overcome the self-imposed obstacles that prevent an individual or team from accessing their full potential.

In simple terms the game can be summarized in a formula: Performance = potential-interference, P=p-i. According to this formula, performance can be enhanced either by growing “p” potential or by decreasing “i,” interference.

It is impossible to achieve mastery or satisfaction in any endeavor without first developing some degree of mastery of the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. Most of us have experienced days when our self-interference was at a minimum. Whether on a sports field, at work, or in some creative effort, we have all had moments in which our actions flowed from us with a kind of effortless excellence. Athletes have called this state, “playing in the zone.” Generally at these times our mind is quiet and focused. But whatever it’s called, when we’re there, we excel, we learn, and we enjoy ourselves. Unfortunately most of us have also experienced times when everything we do seems difficult. With minds filled with self-criticism, hesitation, and over-analysis, our actions were awkward, mis-timed, and ineffective. Obviously we all would prefer to have more of the first and less of the second.

As I have said in other posts, I read and re-read this book many times taking auditions. Looking for a cover image to link I found this interesting post from the LA Times Blog from 2007. USC football coach Pete Carroll besides being in favor of winning is also a big fan of this book. I will close with a quote from the LA Times article.

Carroll first picked up the book when he was a graduate student, and it had a profound influence on his coaching philosophy. Written by W. Timothy Gallwey, the work was one of the first to dive into the now popular topic of sports psychology. While it focuses on tennis, the lessons are easily applied elsewhere.

The Inner Game has developed a big following since it was first published in 1972. Carroll is such a big fan that he wrote the foreword of the latest edition. He also reportedly had his three Heisman winners — Palmer, Leinart, and Bush — read the mere 122 pages. The latest Trojan to subscribe to the philosophy is team captain Lawrence Jackson.

To sum it up, Jackson pointed to an example in the book about a cat stalking a bird. “He doesn’t have to think about how high to jump or how far to jump. When the bird takes off, he takes off. Whatever’s necessary to get it, he’s got it because he’s so focused. When you start to calculate, ‘I’ve got to jump this high’ … then you lose who you are and your natural ability to get it done.”

Block those betas

Bruce Hembd
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0

Of interest in the news:

  • Block those betas
    An article at The Minnesota Daily with the provocative title “Better music by prescription” dives into the topic of beta blockers. Without any hard statistics it is difficult have any clear perspective on this issue. I would venture to guess that the taboo social stigma associated with beta-blockers has had a direct impact on who admits to using them.Having used them myself in the past, I can personally attest to the social pressures that lean towards shame or guilt for such a method.There are a few prominent figures out there that will loudly profess that taking beta blockers is a sign of extreme weakness. Anyone who uses them, the notion goes, is genetically inferior, artistically weak and should be culled from the herd.

    There are also a few prominent figures out there that will make no big deal of beta blocker usage and, they might even use them all the time. An excess of adrenaline is simply a chemical imbalance that can be medically controlled.

    It is an issue fraught with necessities, slippery slopes, hypocrisies, and little long-term medical evidence. While I am most definitely in the pro-beta camp for those that need it, I would caution against long-term use and strongly advise talking to a specialist at length.

    [This is a portion of a “Random Monday” post, updated 2021. JE]

Hornmasters: Merewether on Horns

John Ericson
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0

Richard Merewether writes at length about actual horn design in The horn, the horn… Merewether was for many years also a professional hornist in Australia and England and a horn designer for Paxman. The period when he wrote The horn, the horn… (1978) was after partial blindness had forced him to limit his horn playing and turn toward full time work with Paxman.

What is bore?

One point he brings up is about different bores of horn. We tend to throw around the terms large bore or small bore but he points out that the differences lie in the tapered parts of the horn, that the actual bore is, on average, about 12 mm. He favors horns that are not too big. “It should be stated that the notes of a medium bore horn do not so easily wander in pitch as do those of larger-bore instruments” and they also give a well-centered “traditional” sound.

An innovation of his time, screw bells

One new topic is that of screw bells. They are pretty standard on higher quality horns today, but back then many players were resistant to the idea. He outlined the advantages:

Many players find it convenient to carry their instrument about ‘incognito’ in an anonymous-looking rectangular case, and this is also sometimes of advantage in travelling, but it does add considerably to the weight of the horn, since the screw-rings are necessarily sturdy to withstand distortion through damage—in which event the horn cannot be assembled.

The increased weight could be about four ounces or more than 100gr, and in a heavy instrument such as a triple horn this can just make it uncomfortable to hold—though many people elect to have them so.

Apart from that consideration, the acoustic effect upon the instrument is extremely slight—although strong personal preferences sometimes exist about this. The presence of the screw-rings does of course rather inhibit vibration of the bell-flare at that point, but since opinion seems to be divided as to whether this is of advantage or disadvantage, the matter is best left as one of individual choice.

On the topic of different alloys

Horns are made of several different types of metal, with three alloys being most common, brass, nickel silver, and gold or rose brass. Brass and gold brass are alloys of copper and zinc, with gold brass having a higher copper content of 85% compared to 70% for brass. Nickel silver is similar to brass, but has nickel added to the alloy in the range of 10-12% nickel. Merewether notes that many consider nickel silver “best avoided in small-bore horns; it meets with success however in those of larger bore.” Merewether additionally notes in relation to these larger bore horns (such as the Conn 8D) the following.

The writer feels no doubt after many years concerned with nickel-silver horns of every size and make, that this metal distinctly brightens and ‘condenses’ the tone, affording in addition a sound-spectrum of shrill overtones. A contrary opinion for many years existed in America, where it was held that nickel-silver brought a so-called ‘dark’, rich sonority to horns. The reason for this is that the instruments in that metal which became widely available there were of very much wider bell-taper than the medium ones they had been used to until that time, and naturally seemed richer in sound; this was wrongly ascribed to the alloy rather than to the instruments unfamiliar contour and response.

Merewether also discusses at length the manufacturing processes involved in making a horn.

Continue in Hornmasters Series

Reinhardt Compared to Farkas

John Ericson
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One of the things I have found very interesting in this series is trying to set the context for why Philip Farkas wrote what he wrote in his publications. The big picture being that Farkas has a point of view that was impacted by his reactions to other publications already in print.

As is noted in the quote below from the article I also linked yesterday by David M. Wilken, Donald Reinhardt presented some distinct ideas in his publications about airstream direction as early as 1942. While never indicated by Farkas, it seems as if Farkas was directly reacting to Reinhardt in his publications. Check out his article for the full story, but the below is the key section of his discussion.

In order to understand the nine embouchure types described by Reinhardt it is important first to understand the two basic blowing categories, upstream and downstream.

In 1962 Phillip Farkas published a very popular book entitled “The Art of Brass Playing.” In this text Farkas describes his theories about the brass player’s embouchure, including his hypothesis that it goes against logic to “violently deflect” the air stream downward at the point of where the air moves past the lips (Farkas, The Art of Brass Playing, page 7). According to Farkas, lining up the upper and lower teeth with one another through proper jaw positioning will result in the air stream traveling straight into the shank of the mouthpiece and provide better results (Farkas, The Art of Brass Playing pages 8-9).

Eight years later, in 1970, Farkas published a book entitled “A Photographic Study of 40 Virtuoso Horn Player Embouchures.” This newer text shows 40 French horn players’ embouchure while playing into mouthpiece visualizers. It is interesting to note that out of these subjects 39 were noted to be blowing the air downward and one was directing the air upward. None were seen to be blowing their air stream straight towards where the shank of the mouthpiece would be.

This later publication by Farkas replicates research published by Reinhardt as early as 1942. In his text Pivot System for Trombone, A Complete Manual With Studies Reinhardt briefly described his four basic embouchure types with descriptions of how the air stream can leave the vibrating points of the lips in either an upward or a downward direction. Doug Elliott, a student of Reinhardt’s from 1974-1984, wrote concerning air stream direction, “When the placement is more on the top lip, the top lip will predominate into the mouthpiece, and the air will blow down. When the placement is more on the bottom lip, that lip predominates, and the air blows up. If the placement is close to half-and-half, one lip or the other will inevitably predominate, so the air stream will go either up or down.” (Elliott, 1998).

Other research into brass embouchures confirms that the air stream travels past the lips almost always in an upward or downward direction, rarely straight into the shank.

In this case, the topic of airstream direction, I believe time has proven Reinhardt correct. To expand on what Wilken wrote in his article, to blow right down the middle of a mouthpiece would in fact require exactly a 50/50 placement. All horn players with an embouchure resembling a standard embouchure blow the airstream downward to some degree as illustrated among other places by the Farkas Photographic Study. For more evidence, check out the video in this post.

Reinhardt on the Eight Tongue Types

John Ericson
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6

Working on my session that I will present next week at the Mid-South Horn Workshop I saw a reference to a discussion of tongue types in The Encyclopedia of the Pivot System by Dr. Donald Reinhardt. Published in 1973 and billed as “A Scientific Text” for “all cupped mouthpiece brass instruments,” I found the “Augmented Version” of this text in the library.

I don’t believe I have seriously looked at this book since my Doctoral studies. It is not a source horn players turn to often. Skimming it over I found the story again of how the trombonist Reinhardt discovered his revolutionary Pivot System when his trombone was returned to him minus the counterweight after repairs. Related to that, he relates some rather negative memories of his “eighteen so-called brass instrument instructors” who could not help him with his problems, instead giving “inane excuses” by which they “tried to hide their inability to teach.” Ouch! In any event, “being analytical by nature,” Reinhardt developed his system through observation, in particular discovering “the upstream and downstream principles that are the very basis of the PIVOT SYSTEM.”

Jumping back to page 87 I arrived at the section on tongue types and indeed he describes eight types. Without going into great detail, what I found especially interesting is that the type of tonguing I use is not even described in the book! I will describe it more fully in the workshop session (it is very similar to the way Anton Horner describes tonguing in this post) but the closest words that describe the way I tongue from Reinhardt are these: “definitely incorrect.”

This is to say even a source that attempts to be comprehensive may in reality have a distinct point of view they are pushing. It may be a point of view that works great for some people though, so it is still worth understanding.

For more information on the Pivot System there is a great article online in the Online Trombone Journal, “An Introduction to Donald S. Reinhardt’s Pivot System” by David M. Wilken. This extended article includes his summary of all eight tongue types and much more. The book itself is out of print but is not that difficult to locate either used or in libraries for those interested to read more.

Hornmasters: Berv on Horns

John Ericson
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1

For Harry Berv in A Creative Approach to the French Horn the double horn was the horn of choice for students at all levels.

In school systems, single F and Bb horns are available for students who do not intend to pursue performance on the horn as a career. But the student who intends to major in horn should start on a good instrument.

I strongly recomment [sic] the serious student purchase a double horn in F and Bb. If you purchase a single F or Bb horn, when the time comes to switch to the double horn, you will have to spend more money and learn a new fingering on the double horn. Purchasing a double horn at the outset gives a giant stride in your immediate general progress and future overall performance.

On testing horns, and the topic of “resistance”

Berv has suggestions as to what to test on a horn, with tone, intonation, and resistance being major factors. About the latter he notes

When you blow through the horn, there should not be too much resistance. All registers—high, middle, and low—should be about equally resistant, so that you do not have to exert undue pressure on the embouchure, especially in the high register of the horn. If too much exertion is demanded in the upper register, it can cause the embouchure muscles to become strained and stiff, and they will not be able to respond quickly enough for the instant reflex changes required to cope with the horn’s range.

Resistance is an interesting topic. Some horns feel relatively stuffy and some relatively free, but your specific perception of either relates to the resistance of the horn you are most used to.

We know what resistance feels like, but what causes it? Weight of the instrument and the bracing pattern is part of it, as is the bore of the tubing, leadpipe taper, and the bell throat. Tight bends in the tubing perhaps as well. Beyond those elements, be aware also that a perception of resistance may be related more to the mouthpiece fit. Many elements contribute and all impact your ability to play well and with good endurance.

The horn as an extension of your physical body

He is also concerned with finding a horn that is balanced well, fits the left hand, and puts the mouthpiece out at a comfortable angle. Berv concludes,

In my many years of playing, I have always tried to find a better horn, but many times I have had to make do with the horns available. In the final analysis, the problems on the horn can be overcome with patience, hard practice, a search for compensation, and sensitivity. The chosen horn must fit the individual’s taste in the end result. No matter how good a new horn or mouthpiece feels at first, it takes time to feel completely secure and at home on it. The horn is an extension of the player’s physical body and must be treated and played as such.

Continue in Hornmasters series

Bobby Corno plays Beethoven 5

John Ericson
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0

Hearing Beethoven 5 yesterday I was reminded of the classic bit by Peter Schickele, “New Horizons in Music Appreciation.” It presents the first movement of Beethoven 5 as though it were a sporting event with play-by-play commentary, and hornist Bobby Corno fits in prominently.

It did not take long to find a version of this bit on YouTube, which is embedded below. You can hear the great Bobby Corno in action about 2:20 in! Conductors don’t like clams, which this clip illustrates well.

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