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Tuckwell Master Class, 1982: Part II, Hindemith, Strauss 2:1, and Q&A

John Ericson
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As mentioned in part I, recently I stumbled across my notes from the first big horn master class I ever attended, October 18, 1982 with Barry Tuckwell at the University of Kansas. That Saturday was one that undoubtedly impacted the course of my life and horn playing, and my notes from the class will I hope find some resonance with Horn Matters readers as well.

Another comment on Tuckwell

Turning the page in my notes, I have another comment on Tuckwell at the top of a page. Again, I had an impression of his playing that was exclusively from his recordings, so hearing him in person was eye opening. My comment was “Tuckwell — seems to play too soft, but can turn it on.”

Hindemith Sonata, page 1

That thought probably came in relation to comments on the playing of our next player, Richie Roberts. He was I believe a Sophomore (I knew him a bit as he had also took lessons with Susan Rankin, who I worked with privately) and was playing a Holton H180. What I wrote down was “Don’t play too ‘bombastically’ in loud spots (–not noisy).” I don’t know that I’ve ever used the word “bombastically” in my teaching, but you can imagine that is not a good thing, it must have been a bit too aggressive.

Roberts was for sure with piano for what was only the opening of the work (just to the low held E), so there was an additional comment to be sure to match the horn and piano melodies. In my teaching that is always a general concern, both for volume and style.

Tuckwell also got to talking about his tonguing. My notes are not real clear but it had something to do with blowing into the articulation and coordination of the tongue and air. “Anticipate with breath.”

Strauss 2:1

On this work and performer I have the fewest notes, but there are some good thoughts. The player was Dwight Pervis, I think he might have been a senior, and somehow I did not write down what type of horn he played.

A major point was for him to not treat this as a virtuoso movement, to give it a more reflective character. This is a great point. He had at least one specific passage in mind, the runs of sixteenth notes right at the beginning, don’t play these too fast.

Beyond that, he suggested he take more risks in terms of tempos. My guess is it sounded a bit “generic” to Tuckwell, that he wanted a more convincing performance and interpretation, but within an overall mood that was more reflective. As I get older, the thought of the more reflective interpretation of this work resonates with me more and more.

Q&A

Then there was time for questions.

One big topic was that of playing standing. I did not make a note of this but my memory says the players did a mixture of sitting and standing to play the solos. Tuckwell was in favor of standing, it projected better. At the time, there were a lot of players dedicated to playing seated, me being of that camp at the time.

Another topic had to do with playing the notes or playing with musicality. I wrote to “aim between” them. A good performance is a mixture of both to be sure.

The next few topics, sadly, I’m not sure quite what he said but he had questions that went into the topics of hand position versus pitch, lip trills, breath support, embouchure, and dynamics.

But his next topic I do have a bit more clarity on, that of practice. What I wrote down was “Balance practice, but emphasize what is needed.”

The final notes I made are worth quoting in full, as they sound like actual quotes:

  • Off days, no! Only occasional on days
  • Vary [the] warm up with [the] condition of lips
  • Make every note count in [the] days practice
  • Many problems are mental

Postlude

Oh, to go back again and be able to know better all the points made! But at least I still have these physical notes, powerful reminders of a day some 40 years ago when I was just starting to aim towards a career in horn performance and horn teaching.

Then we get to this photo. I had the opportunity to play third horn on the Konzertstuck at the 2012 IHS Symposium in Texas under the baton of Tuckwell! That was something I certainly never dreamed of in 1982, a memory now just as treasured as that master class long ago.

Return to beginning of Tuckwell 1982 Series

Tuckwell Master Class, 1982: Part I, F. Strauss, Gliere, Strauss 2:3

John Ericson
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Recently I stumbled across my notes from the first big horn master class I ever attended, on October 18, 1982 with Barry Tuckwell at the University of Kansas. It probably was not the very first master class I ever attended, but I have no clear memories of any prior master classes. I took plenty of notes, which I believe Horn Matters readers will find interesting to reflect on.

I also don’t know for sure how I heard about this master class, but there must have been a mailing from the professor at KU, David Bushhouse, whom I had taken a few lessons with.

John Ericson in 1982

The fall of 1982 found me starting my Junior year at Emporia State University. Emporia, KS, was my home town, and my dad taught Chemistry at Emporia State. I had started college as a music business major with a goal of becoming an instrument repairman, but switched to performance the middle of my sophomore year. The previous summer I had studied with David Wakefield at the Aspen Music Festival and changed my embouchure and horn! I was playing a school E-series 8D rather than the Holton I had played since high school, seen in the photo here. I was at the time taking weekly lessons with my Emporia State horn teacher Melbern Nixon (who was a trombonist) and had just started taking nearly weekly extra lessons with Nick Smith in Wichita. In short, I was pretty motivated, and a master class with Tuckwell was an event I was not going to miss.

That October Saturday at KU, the scene itself of that recital hall and the players on stage, is amazingly fresh in my memories, even though 40 years have passed. As mentioned, I took plenty of notes, enough to split this article into two parts. The players are in the order they performed that day.

The very first comment

Tuckwell must have played a few notes, and I immediately noted something that really surprised me. I was very familiar with his recordings — but he did not at all sound like I thought he would in a room. What I wrote was “Tuckwell sounds like he’s playing muted (cup mute).” It was quite covered to my taste of the time, and was really not what is typically done now either.

I did not write it down, but his horn was a (modified) Holton 180. I did note almost all the other horns, so for sure you can see I was already an equipment person.

Franz Strauss: Concerto, Op. 8, mvt. 1

I actually did not write down what F. Strauss work this was, but memory and the notes taken would indicate it was probably the first movement of the Franz Strauss concerto. The player was Nan Funkhauser. I believe she was considered a graduate student (I knew she and her husband Jim had a good-sized private studio in the KC area, and both of them played professionally — looking online, I see she was subsequently in the Kansas City Symphony for 25 seasons). She was playing an 8D.

The first comments from Tuckwell were about focusing on the lyrical rather than the technical. Then he commented on her dynamics. What I wrote exactly was “Don’t play too soft at all dynamics.” He encouraged her to have more of a timbre change between loud and soft. In particular he seemed to have felt she was losing her tone when she got too soft. With years of teaching now I think what he was getting at was it was simply all too soft, not soloistic enough, needed to expand the dynamic range overall.

Gliere Concerto, mvt. 3

Up next was Lisa Krank playing Gliere on a King horn (probably an Eroica). My impression is she was an undergrad. On this Tuckwell zeroed in on breathing issues, and basically every comment related to breathing.

Stepping back for a second, one of the first things to go when you are nervous is breathing. I would guess that is part of what happened for Lisa that day.

He certainly wanted her to take a big breath without tensing up, saving air at the beginning of longer phrases. He specifically commented that you should not think of compressing air as part of this. I also wonder if she had a bit of a hesitation attack issue, as he wanted her to coordinate her breathing better, that she needed (as I wrote it) to “feel rhythm in breathing & playing.”

Strauss 2:3

Our player for the final movement of Strass 2 was Max Cripe. I had met Max in All-State band when we were high school seniors (I was well down the section from him), and the summer of 1981 we both had been in the Kansas Bandmasters Association Intercollegiate Band. Cripe is one of the players that you potentially have heard of, as he was for many years Principal Horn in the Marine Band in DC. At the time he was playing an 8D, and quite a way ahead of me as a player in terms of rep, I would not tackle Strauss 2 until I was a Master’s degree student.

I have a lot of notes on Max. He seemed to stimulate some extra interest from Tuckwell, perhaps he recognized he was playing on a higher level. I won’t quote all of my notes, but here is a good sample.

  • Grade dynamics better between loud & soft
  • Arch fingers on key[s]
  • Phrase melody – like voice [his concern was that phrase endings needed to be nicely tapered, covered in the next comment in my notes, with drawings to clarify it at the time]
  • Don’t play repeated notes exactly the same
  • Be more conscious of what you accent
  • All alternates [fingerings] — don’t try to cover up what you can ‘t do through them, use for varied tones, etc. (started on G, 1st valve) [I think the basic issue was the G might have been out of tune]
  • Look down at high notes, not up
  • Lighten technique
  • A master can play well even with basic faults

That last comment I’m not sure quite what he was getting at, and there was another one I skipped that had to do with “affect legato” but I’m not sure what he/I was getting at there either.

In any case, the class was not over, and when this series returns next week we will look at the Hindemith Sonata and Strauss 2:1, with some final Q&A!

Continue reading Tuckwell 1982 series 

Two Works by Underrepresented Composers to Consider for a Recital

John Ericson
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Last weekend I shared a recital with Dr. Deanna Swoboda, our tuba/Euphonium professor at ASU. Besides two trios (with piano) we both played two solos. She featured works by Hispanic composers, and for my pair I also wanted to do something different, and found two works I would like to highlight to Horn Matters readers.

Aliyah Danielle: Autumn

The newest work was Autumn for horn and pre-recorded track by Aliyah Danielle. Aliyah had been my student at ASU, and I knew she was working on a variety of projects during her recent MM study at Berklee Spain. The title of the work fit great as our recital was just a few days into Autumn. This work for me as a performer was way out of the box, I had never performed a solo work in this style and had never performed with a track. The performance went well, and I think this work will appeal to a many players looking for short recital works. Give it a listen below:

Reynaldo Hahn: Souvenir de Constantinople

The oldest work on the recital dates to 1908, a work by Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947). I think we can fairly call him an underrepresented composer, but also he is an example of it is not so simple to say that, as every individual has their story. He was born in Venezuela and his mother was Venezuelan, but his father was a German Jew, and he lived most of his life in Paris. His Wikipedia page is quite long, there is it seems a lot of interest in Hahn, especially his song output. This work, Souvenir de Constantinople, was written as part of a large commissioning project led by A. L. Hettich, dedicated to the composition of Vocaleses in a modern style.

The horn version was edited by Ed. Vuillermoz – full publication title is Édouard Vuillermoz, Dix pièces mélodiques a changements de tons : [pour] cor a pistons [et piano], Paris, A. Leduc, 1927. What he did was take a group of the Hettich commissions and set them for horn as studies in transposition. It is a challenge to work through all the transpositions, but it is also a lovely little work, which may be heard below.

There are a lot of options out there for interesting works! Take the time to explore a bit and find works like these.

What horn am I playing??

For this recital there is a longer story, but in short I felt the most comfortable on some of the runs such as those later in the Hahn and in the trios with tuba on my big Paxman 25AND. I played it also on my two solo CDs, it was a fun change of pace and I think worked very well sonically with tuba.

Embouchure Health — Flexibility Training compared to Strength Training

John Ericson
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Among those that follow professional football, you might have noted some of the discussion related to the return of Tom Brady this season. For those that don’t know, he is the 45-year-old quarterback of the Buccaneers, and 45 is ancient in NFL years. He credits his longevity to an exercise routine that focuses on flexibility training instead of strength training. I found this concise write-up on this from a physical therapy website:

While NFL players are known for size and strength, Brady swears by a fitness regimen that focuses on “pliability” – a term he and his fitness guru coined – to keep moving. Pliability is a combination of muscle strength, endurance and, most importantly flexibility. As physical therapists, we could not agree more with Brady’s philosophy that muscular flexibility is key to mobility as we age. We often work with patients to educate them on the importance of muscular flexibility and offer exercises and stretches they can take with them following treatment in order to maintain a comfortable level of movement.

“Pliability” and the horn player

Where this ties into horn playing is a larger topic that I’ve been thinking about these past few years. Your warmup and practice can focus on flexibility, or it can focus on strength training. Let me explain.

Strength training for horn?

The classic example of what strength training would look like for the horn or brass player would be a focus on long tones, with Caruso studies being possibly another type of strength training, depending on how you apply the exercises.

With long tones for sure part of what you are doing is very much like lifting weights, with an idea of that work will build endurance too. But the actual result I worry about is the chops getting very stiff, which will eventually limit you as you age and grow as a player.

Focus on flexibility in your warmup — for success

Exercises that focus on arpeggios and going in and out of the low and high range are ideal, and I feel have benefitted my playing over the years a great deal. You will likely still need to start out with a few mid-range long tones to get the chops going, but the key things you will do that benefit your chops are flexibility studies and pedal tones.

If you are looking for some examples of what I do in this regard, my warmup book (only $8.99!) is on Amazon, more info here. 

FERPA and the Modern Horn Studio

John Ericson
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One thing that you might have observed if you follow several horn studios or horn teachers on Facebook or Instagram is the wildly different approaches to FERPA.

What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects privacy rights in educational situations. From the Department of Education website, “The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.” Further, “FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.”

What this means for the current horn student and the horn professor

In the context of my own teaching, there are things that I can and cannot release. I would first highlight these two links below, which are what I would as of now reference at Arizona State:

Most schools have similar rules. I am allowed to release “Directory Information” on students, unless they have opted out, for which there is a process. Directory Information includes basic details such as names and E-mail addresses, the sort of information I would need if for example someone contacted me looking for performers for a playing gig or if I was putting members of a new chamber group in touch with each other.

What about photos of your college students?

So while we are allowed to release Directory Information, some information is not Directory Information, and that would certainly include photos of students — of the type that some studios and teachers regularly post on social media. Not to mention the posts with photos and descriptions well beyond basic Directory Information.

Where this is problematic falls under a broad category that relates to information “that would allow a reasonable person in the school community, who does not have personal knowledge of the student and/or relevant circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable certainty.” Videos of a group might be OK, so long as the students involved are not easily identifiable, but certainly not the section photos and such seen so frequently.

In my own case, if I wanted to post photos of students on social media at this point, I would need a signed Modeling Release Form from every student, probably best done every semester to be safe. A couple of my colleagues I know do this in fact, although in my own case I am reluctant to even do the ask and I just do not post photos of current students. And I recently went back and made a point of deleting photos posted in past years that I had posted of students that were taken when the students were enrolled at ASU.

On the other hand, I know for example the marching band has all students sign a release for that reason, so that they can post photos and videos of them on social media and beyond. So, it can be done. Just depends on the rules as interpreted at your school.

But I’m only promoting the studio! And we need applicants!

Right, but also you potentially are breaking rules that you are supposed to be following at your school. There are ways to follow the rules, and those rules are there for good reasons. Really, there still is plenty you can post about — the success of former students, guest artists, your activities, etc.

What if you are a student posting photos of other students on social media?

If it is your personal Facebook or Insta, FERPA would not apply to you. But for a professor, to my mind, FERPA would prohibit you from posting current student photos, no matter the platform (unless you had the signed Modeling Release Forms mentioned previously). If they have graduated, you would be free to post after that time, but not photos from when they were your student.

Bill Bernatis, Gabe Kovach and Jim Patterson talking shop.

What if you are not a college professor and you are posting photos from a horn event or of your non-academic studio?

FERPA concerns would not apply to you, although you might operate with caution still, not everyone wants every image plastered all over social media.

A quick side story. Some horn person (not a student), I took a photo of them at a horn event a few years ago at a sales table and posted it on the Horn Matters Facebook page. I honestly thought it to be an OK photo, but they thought differently and asked me to take it down (“terrible photo!”). Which I was happy to do but, again, operate with caution.

Be chill and adjust to the modern world

A final adjustment I would mention and suggest, I never send friend requests to current students and I never follow any current students on Instagram. I enjoy following a number of former students, and if a student sends me a friend request on FB fine, but I always give students space to be students rather than my social media friends. A degree of separation is a good thing.

Honestly, while you may be thinking Ericson is just getting old (and I am!), I think it is a very good practice to be cautious about FERPA in this modern time. Stick with sharing nothing more than what would be defined as Directory Information on current students, and do not post personally identifiable information (such as photos of current students) unless you have the signed releases. It makes the social media a bit less spicy for the horn studio, but really this is what we all should be doing.

(Slightly Updated)

Mailbag: Practicing the High Range

John Ericson
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With the start of the semester a few questions have come in related to playing, and one topic I could pull out of them is the general topic of practicing in the high range.

A quote from a low horn book

To start I’d like to go back to a post from 2006! At that point I had a “quote of the week” feature and the subject was Randy Gardner in his low horn book. He wrote,

“Use it or lose it” is a truism in many walks of life, and it certainly applies to horn playing. Mastering the Horn’s Low Register is narrowly targeted to excellence in low register performance. However, if while working on these specific techniques you neglect high register work, for even a day or two, you will notice increased difficulty in that range. You must practice in all registers every day. Horn students are often surprised to learn that many professional hornists in second and fourth seats spend a large percentage of their practice time in the high register, and that many hornists in first and third horn seats spend a large percentage of their practice time in the low register.

Bad advice from Dr. Ericson

In lessons these days I often find myself giving advice that seems opposite of the advice you would think I would give. In terms if practicing the high range I totally agree with Gardner in that final part of the quote above. When I was playing Third Horn full time in Nashville certainly a larger percentage of my practice time was in the low register.

So while I know it sounds like bad advice, I think one of the best ways to work on the high range is to not specifically work on the high range. Let me explain.

One angle is you need balance in your playing. High/low. For the high range you are better off playing exercises that cover multiple octaves and incorporate pedal tones. Pedal tones are very important, they offer balance and at the same time prevent stiffness.

This is why I’m also not a big fan of long tones. I am not convinced that they promote building strength in the way that proponents think; I think they tend to make you stiff. Being stiff is the warning sign that you need to rethink your practice and the way you set up your chops before ensemble playing.

But to be more specific and in reference to the quote, I feel if you are playing a lot of high horn parts you don’t really need to “work on” high horn playing. What you need to do is be certain to maintain overall balance of range work, being sure to fit low range work in your playing day to keep your embouchure healthy.

Practice sessions should not be designed to beat up your chops over and over

Another gentle reminder is that practice is not some sort of brutal “beat up the chops” session. That won’t move you forward, especially in the high register. Listen to how your chops feel and if you are stiff/tired go to some low register work and rest. You may just need a light day of practice, or a day off. (Gasp! Yes, you can and should take a day off). If your chops always feel bad you are doing something wrong.

But what about mouthpiece pressure?

Another related topic that perpetually comes up is that of using “too much” mouthpiece pressure in the high range. The short answer is I’m not that worried about mouthpiece pressure. Nothing wrong with a ring on your lips either. I have written about this various places but this is kind of the key quote from one of the University of Horn Matters articles…

Fun fact: People worry about mouthpiece pressure way too much, due to the power of suggestion

… overall I think students often worry about mouthpiece pressure too much.

…some mouthpiece pressure is certainly appropriate. Speaking personally, my embouchure formation with my heavy lips seems to require more mouthpiece pressure than that seen in some of the descriptions above. Where you fit in the spectrum of mouthpiece pressure will become clear as you above all listen and look for the very best sound.

The key point is you won’t have a good sound if you use too little pressure. Try it yourself! Play with less pressure than normal, do you sound better or worse? As a teacher once told me, “strive for tone.”

There is a balance to be found

Get a good sound and don’t worry about the specific details so much. If you are stiff, reevaluate your practice, as more practice is not the solution. Don’t over practice and warm up gently before each playing session, that will also be very helpful for your high chops. And practice in a manner that balances out your high and low register work.

Finally, for some more good ideas on how to practice, read the article linked below:

Practice and perform effectively with the “three session a day” plan

P.S., Two of the memes above, and really most of them you see in the site, are by Bruce Hembd, from the Horn Matters archive. The Batman meme is part of a new series I have posted in various articles around the site. 

Mailbag: The Topic of Contradictory Information on Playing the Horn

John Ericson
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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 frustrated in hearing musicians of all types talk about breathing and body mechanics, as the responses are different or outright contradictory.

If I did what I was told and what I’ve read, I’d be more akin to a schizophrenic, than a musician! I would have to:

* raise my shoulders, but not raise them at all
* extend my belly, but not move it in or out
* tense the muscles in my abdomen, but remain relaxed
* sit up, but not so much that it limits movement
* focus on my lip aperture, which is really important, but also not think about it, because it isn’t (?!)
* Just sigh into the instrument, but also blow hard enough to get a full tone, and use ~more air~
* breathe through my chest, my back, or my belly button, but not more than one of those

Contradictions

Breaking this down, a simple answer would be that about half of the info has to be incorrect and a percentage was presented only as a visualization rather than real mechanics. But this is a huge topic worthy of more of a look. In the University of Horn Matters pedagogy course some of these elements are discussed, in various places. The following are my quick takes on these topics.

On raising the shoulders

The shoulders do go up! Part of the answer on this relates to this question — where are your lungs? They are behind your rib cage and extend up into your shoulder blades. So of course, there is some movement in the shoulders, your lungs are up there and to get air in things move! But they should not move artificially, just as part of the natural movement associated with filling your lungs.

The video way at the bottom of this article explains it better than my words. It is worth a watch.

Movement of the belly

This also moves, it is not a problem. When you fill your lungs the viscera below the diaphragm is displaced. This should also be clear from that video.

Tension in the abdomen

The choices in the question as posed were tense or relaxed, and the answer is yes. Both, in balance, speaking generally. There has to be some tension, it relates to the topic of “support,” but not more tense than is needed.

Tension will also vary by range and dynamic. For what it is worth, while the topic used to come up in lessons more, I rarely ever talk about tension in the abdomen these days. It is almost never a problem I see as an issue and why make a student worry about something that is not a problem? Most people seem to find the balance of things naturally in this area.

On sitting up

On this my suggestion is to sit up, but don’t artificially sit up. Your seated posture should be closely related to your natural standing posture. When standing you can also artificially extend and get more upright, that is not the position you want to be in standing or seated. I also always allow my back to touch the back of the chair. Don’t slouch, but be comfortable, not artificially upright.

I think the advice in this article from Tuckwell really is quite good:

Lip aperture

Our next topic is the aperture. This is another one I don’t actually talk about much in my teaching these days. I used to in the past. At some point I realized as a teacher that they way I had thought about aperture as a student was not very correct or helpful to talk about. I tended to think you could make it small from the corners, but really you can’t do that, it is more like the upper lip presses down more.

On this topic, if you want to explore it more, I highly recommend this pair of articles. First, I present a series of quotes from the William C. Robinson book:

Then, not long after I posted that, Robinson wrote me a very nice note and explained how his thinking on the topic had changed over the years. This is really worth reading.

Visualize a Visualization

The final portions of the question that came in have to do with sighing into the horn or blowing into the horn, and about inhaling through your belly button or whatever.

To the latter first, there is not (yet) a blow hole in the top of our head, you do in fact breath primarily through the corners when you are playing and that is what you have to practice. I mean, the visualization of breathing through the back might help some people I suppose, but for me I need more concrete thinking based on the actual mechanics.

Important concept: Airflow/pressure changes with range and dynamic

The sighing into the horn thing comes up with some players/teachers. It is incorrect, you do have to manage and control the air more than that. Obviously! Sighing into the horn is just not how breathing works.

This would be a good moment to look a bit deeper at this. There is a concept that was expounded by Arnold Jacobs that if you measure the intraoral air pressure of for example a trumpet, a horn, and a trombone playing the same actual pitch that the measured air pressure will be the same. More recent research has shown this to be overly simplistic, it is more complicated than that, but the general idea that higher notes (and higher brass instruments) require more air compression is correct. This is why the “sigh into the horn” concept some horn teachers expound is really incorrect. If you would like a deeper dive into this topic, this recent article on the Wilktone site (and the following comments there) will provide a lot more information.

For purposes of answering the question that came in though, if you are getting a good sound the breathing is probably OK, don’t overthink it. Just take large breaths and play with a good sound.

Finally, the “more air” comment came up in the question. This is a standard, low brass talking point. To my mind the answer is use plenty of air but also just the amount required. This is counterintuitive, but reality is you actually expend more air in the low range than you do in the high range. High range air is pressurized more with less actual flow through the horn. Again, don’t overthink it, use plenty of air but not so much that you get tense resisting excessive air.

Thinking changes over time

As mentioned earlier, on some topics my thinking has changed over the years. For example, while never a big fan of long tones, the longer I teach the less I think they are beneficial to progress on the horn — I tend to think they stiffen you up more than strengthen you. You would be better off playing melodic things that transition over varied ranges (and if you are stiff, the solution is pedal tones and rest).

With that in mind, some of the advice that the reader was given is to my mind wrong, but years ago I might have also said similar things to a student. Seek out the experienced teacher, especially one with good problem-solving skills, and they can help you work out the contradictions and lead to better playing results.

Two Tips for the New First Horn Player

John Ericson
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As we all know, all the horn parts are good! But there is a point when you start playing first horn in better ensembles that point out a couple of extra responsibilities.

Assistant what?

One new thing is the Assistant First horn. In better groups and on bigger pieces, having an assistant is such a lifesaver. But the assistant needs to be used wisely, it is not a doubling position, it is someone to help you save your chops for the more exposed/important passages.

You can develop the markings several ways, but fortunately I have an article on this, an extended one, UPDATE now in Horn Matters but originally posted in my Horn Articles Online site. Check it out here:

The intonation topic

Here we get to something really important, intonation. While there is an article in Horn Matters on the topic, below, it does not get to the important stuff you need to know as a principal horn.

While I know a version of this is elsewhere in Horn Matters, I don’t believe I’ve ever laid it out this fully. The question is:

Who to tune to? Especially on Principal Horn?

I often tell people when I started in as Third Horn in Nashville, I quickly figured out I needed to focus on two people for intonation, the principal horn and the principal clarinet. If I was well in tune with both of them, everything was good.

Of course, this is different than what your band director told you. They probably told you to tune to the tubas or something like that. Reality is that advice does not really work. You have to tune to the key lead voices, and they need to be key lead voices that are actually in tune and stay there. Don’t ever tune to the strings for example, almost certainly they will be sharp. They should be tuning to the horns and woodwinds instead of you tuning to them, in my opinion.

As principal horn, you need to lead the intonation of the section. Which brings me to the answer, and I have a strong opinion about this. In orchestra, you must tune to the principal clarinet and the principal oboe. Those are the two key voices. If the horns and woodwinds are all subsequently in tune, then is a big core area of sound that drives good intonation for the entire ensemble.

By the way, if the oboe and clarinet are not stable with their intonation, you will struggle to figure out who to listen to. Good luck!

But wait, what about the trumpets? This is where it can get touchy. I once asked a fine professional trumpet what he keyed on for tuning and you will see logic to his answer, but I would never have guessed it; he tunes to the timpani. Reality is trumpets can be in their own little world for tuning, but when push comes to shove on horn, we have to key on the woodwinds mostly — unless we are in passages with the trumpets and brass when you may need to adjust a bit to match the trumpets. Group intonation may just be a moving target you have to negotiate carefully.

Want more tips?

Finally, last year I posted a more general article (now updated!) on getting back in the groove for ensembles, it is worth a read now again as you gear up for the fall. Good luck!

Gender Balance in the Horn World: We Can Do Better

John Ericson
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Before a recent faculty meeting, our first of the semester, we were challenged to be ready to share about “One thing in your discipline/area that fills you with pride.”

One thing I’m proud about is the generally even balance between male and female horn players.

My experiences

As I reflect on all my teaching, I believe the students I have taught must be very close to balanced between male and female. In the big picture of the college teaching world today there is a similar faculty split. Arizona is a great example; we have three state universities, and two of the three horn professors are female.

As a player, I can’t remember a horn section I played in regularly that was all male at any point in my life. Honestly, I can hardly think of anything specific I did as a student or as a professional that was all male in terms of horn.

During the entire time I played in The Nashville Symphony, the section was either 3/2 or 2/3 in the male/female split. Currently it is 2 female/3 male. Many professional orchestras in the USA have a similar mix.

We have come a long way

To illustrate more how far we have come, the most recent IHS symposium artist roster was clearly set up to highlight female hornists and hornists of color. The horn world is as diverse a group as any in the classical music world.

Back in the day it was not like this

Of course, years ago horn was a male dominated instrument. That began to break down in the era starting around WWII, some females broke into the professional ranks. Certainly, by the 1970s things were racing toward an essentially even gender balance in the student and amateur horn worlds.

Some notable exceptions to the equality

In some places, things seem to be lagging.

Where things are lagging the most is at the top level of the orchestral world. If you look at major orchestras in the USA for example, there are certainly fewer female horn players than seen in the average music school or community group.

We can do better

Which brings me to the reason I wanted to write this post. One day not long ago I was scrolling through social media and noticed a post showing a very large horn section, and I was struck that it was all male.

It is dumbfounding to me that such a section could even be assembled in 2022. How is this even possible? You would almost have to intentionally be excluding female players, unless the work environment was so toxic that women did not want to work with certain of the males involved. In either case it is a terrible look, and outside the norms of the field today.

That group should have done better. Be sure your groups do better! We can do better, as the French horn is the most gender balanced of all the brass instruments.

Till, Toscanini, and the Berv Brothers

John Ericson
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Working in my office, I often listen to old LP recordings. One that caught my attention prepping the office for the semester was Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1952, playing Till (and more). This recording was new to me, in a batch of records received just a few years ago.

It was recorded in Carnegie Hall. My first impression was the audio quality was pretty good on another track, so I kept listening in to Till. Toscanini was the quintessential “dictator of the baton” and I was interested to hear the interpretation. Plus the horn section would have included all three of the Berv brothers, Arthur, Jack, and Harry. There is a nice article on them (here) in the IHS website. 

Curiously, there were some tempo things done in the horns that sound for all the world like Toscanini was following something the brothers were going to do rather than them playing with really accurate rhythm of the type I would have guessed he would demand. It was a little jarring to hear the second half of the opening call start at a slower tempo than the full tempo that had been established (and is indicated in the score!).

Oh, and then the low notes in the opening call…. Listening to it repeatedly, I feel 99.9% sure that another player (almost certainly Jack on second horn) plays the final C-G-C of the opening calls. This was done often back in the day, but would of course not be acceptable today. Being performed/recorded some 70 years ago though, the standards were different.

And of course there is the “trade off” passage later, with the call in F and the call in D. First horn (Arthur) starts, it is fine. Third horn (Harry), the rhythm is just a little off — and in the following passage one note is consistently held a little too long. Did Toscanini want that? Or was it just how the brothers played it and he adapted to them?

That all being said, I believe the Berv brothers heard live in a hall must have been very impressive. Their tone comes across really well on the vintage LP, and the horns are so central to the sound of the orchestra on these works. I hear strong dynamic contrasts and really nice articulations. Of the brass sections, for sure the horns also hold up the best today in terms of sound and technique. No wonder they had such long careers playing together around New York City.

And the recording itself, the tempos are very nice, the ending being particularly wistful, almost brings a tear to the eye. As the ending of Till should.

Of course, it is on YouTube. The audio quality is quite a bit better on LP, but if you want some of the flavor of Toscanini and the Berv brothers, check it out more below.

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