Horn Matters | A French Horn and Brass Site and Resource | John Ericson and Bruce Hembd | John Ericson & Bruce Hembd on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.

Updating The University of Horn Matters for a New Decade!

University of Horn Matters

John Ericson

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Jul 27, 2022

With The University of Horn Matters being online for ten years, this summer was a great one to update it extensively. I believe Horn Matters readers will find the improvements to be significant.

What exactly is “The University of Horn Matters?”

The University of Horn Matters is what I named our free horn pedagogy and repertoire courses. These were launched over the 2012-13 school year, and are still used as the primary course materials for our horn pedagogy and repertoire courses at Arizona State. As presented online, it is a resource that any horn player can make use of for performance insights and to increase their knowledge of horn repertoire and pedagogy.

Why a major update?

I have done small updates to the course most every year, but this year I decided was the one where it was time to really rework some things. Content was cut, content was added, it was a major update. I worked over every page of the course at least once, and most of it several times.

Headers to improve organization

While it was not my initial goal, as I worked on it one of my goals quickly became improving the readability of the course. Much of the quoted text in the readings is dense, and I took several angles as I went along to improve this.

A person looking casually at the before and after would probably most notice the headers dividing sections of content better, and sprinkling more memes and illustrations around here and there to break up the content visually, but there really are a lot of changes.

Being less “diplomatic”

When I put the course together, I know I took some pains to be diplomatic with my commentary, especially as published online. I’m still pretty diplomatic, but this time around I do take more direct aim at flaws in the conventional wisdoms of the horn world.

Credit this to my being a more experienced teacher. I have seen too many problems that were caused or made worse by following conventional wisdom approaches, especially some of them laid out in the venerable Farkas book. The default ideas presented there float around in the ether of horn teaching. The danger is that conventional wisdom sounds right and gets repeated endlessly — but it can be the source of the problems, rather than a solution. I encourage readers to think critically about the words, to question if they accurately reflect physiological reality, and recognize that some approaches presented only work for a subset of players.

Lots of quotes from lots of books

As you read into the articles in the course there are numerous quotes from books. There is a bit of a story to that.

Basically, one summer about 15 years ago I was going to try to put together a book of a similar scope to Trumpet Pedagogy by David Hickman. I started by typing out quotes from classic horn methods, organized in the order seen in the Farkas book. For several reasons I eventually dropped that book idea and instead used that text as the basis of the University of Horn Matters content, in combination with some other unpublished materials that were incorporated into the repertoire course.

As to the sources I quote, there is good in every one, but if I had a suggestion of a book to track down it would be the Harry Berv book. He has some great insights, and it is a shame this book is not often referenced today.

The goal: better horn playing and teaching

While you can only cover so much in a free online course on the horn, I hope that within the course as presented I can significantly impact the following elements for those that take the time to study it on your own:

Knowledge
Improvement in your own playing
Development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills
More “tools in your toolbox” that you can use with your students

Intrigued? Check it out here

Periodically I am in communication with horn teachers that use The University of Horn Matters with their students — and also in communication with teachers that are unaware of the resource! Spread the word.

Below is the link to the main page of the course, which will lead you to hundreds of articles related to all aspects of horn playing. And if you are a horn teacher, consider it as a resource for your students, there is nothing like The University of Horn Matters online for any instrument.

The University of Horn Matters

UPDATE: Episode 56 of the Horn Notes Podcast looks in more depth at the updates to the University of Horn Matters

Brief Review: Horn Teaching at the Paris Conservatoire, 1792 to 1903 by Jeffrey L. Snedeker

Reviews

John Ericson

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Jul 2, 2022

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I finally had time this summer to read properly a substantial 2021 publication by Jeff Snedeker, Horn Teaching at the Paris Conservatoire, 1792 to 1903: The Transition from Natural Horn to Valved Horn.

Before getting to the book, I would share this side story. Jeff and I go way back on the horn scholarship thing. Back when I was a Doctoral student at Indiana University I met Jeff for the first time, at the home of Richard Seraphinoff. Jeff was down to try a Raoux horn with a detachable valve section, and to consult with Rick. At the time Jeff had staked out France as his research focus and I was focusing on Germany. Our dissertations stayed in those areas generally as well, but of course we have many intersections of interests, and it is great to see where his have finally taken him with this wonderful new publication.

One lingering problem in our horn world is there has not been much scholarship published in book form on horn history in the past 50 years. With this publication Snedeker has much new to say about the transition from the natural horn to the valved horn, including updates in his own thinking that came from looking at the topic so closely over many years to develop this publication. He makes many connections that have not been noted before.

Looking online for background on the development of the book itself, there is a very interesting 2021 presentation by Snedeker in the video below, from just before the release of the book.

In the video he states that the book “ups the ante on everything I have done before.” Mention is made of an “Elephant in the room” — what was the color of the stopped notes at this time? Question has huge ramifications. I agree with him that in general the colors should match as much as you can, as it would be on natural horn — that is what a fine artist would strive for. A related elephant in the room is that of muted horn, what did composers want at this time? What did players do? Some of these things would be in the end artistic decisions made by players; this topic is but one of many that could be explored in greater depth in further research.

Finally, on a more personal level, the book and all the footnotes bring back good memories of when I was more actively involved with horn history and scholarship. Not that I’m not active now, but I have taken interests in other directions, including instrument making, instead of tracking down obscure sources, translating quotations, and documenting things with footnotes. I do hope some younger players and Doctoral students out there will take up the torch and look deeper into horn history and pedagogical resources, the more you look at them the more you will realize there still is to study.

Brief Review: From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks

Reviews

John Ericson

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Jun 27, 2022

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A new book by a (former) professional hornist that I have found very interesting is From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks.

As indicated by the title, the book is directed at finding greater happiness as we age and change, and at a wide audience of potential readers. But the book will I believe especially resonate with readers who are horn players, and I feel it has given me some new and helpful perspectives.

Early in the book we read,

… arguably, retirement happens too late. In surveys, classical musicians report that peak performance occurs in one’s thirties. Younger players often groan over the prime spots occupied by older players with tenure – orchestras have tenure just like universities – who hang around long after they’ve lost their edge. The problem is, these older players often can’t admit decline even to themselves. “It’s very hard to admit that it’s time,” said one fifty-eight-year-old French horn player in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. “We’re expert at denial. We have been successful because we refuse to accept the overwhelming odds at making it in our profession, so early in our development denial is a positive.”

In terms of Brooks and his own career, by age 19 he had left school to tour, playing 100 concerts a year and recording albums with the Annapolis Brass Quintet, in addition to other freelance work. This went on for several years,

But then, in my early twenties, a strange thing happened. I started getting worse. To this day, I have no idea why. My technique began to suffer, and I had no explanation for it. Nothing helped. I visited famous teachers and practiced more, but I couldn’t get back to where I had been. Pieces that had been easy to play became hard; pieces that had been hard became impossible….

I sputtered along for nine more years. At twenty-five, I took a position in the City Orchestra of Barcelona, where I increased my practicing but my playing continued to deteriorate. After a few years, I found a job teaching at a small music conservatory in Florida, hoping for a magical turnaround that never materialized.

Realizing that maybe I ought to hedge my bets, without telling a soul other than my wife (I felt ashamed) I went back to college via distance learning….

He went on to earn three degrees in economics and developed quite a career in a new field, including teaching at universities and running a think tank.

While not as dramatic, I realized while reading the book I had done something like he had. I never had the serious playing problems but I did effectively change career (at age 36) from playing full time to teaching full time.

In the book Brooks lays out how there are two types of intelligence, fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence is that seen with younger people, while crystallized intelligence is associated with the wisdom of the aged. Some careers combine both types, some don’t. He gives the example of tech entrepreneurs; they rely mostly on fluid intelligence and their career curves match that decline. On the other hand, and this is what is interesting to me, college teaching relies on crystalized intelligence and favors in general older professors, who are better able to combine and apply complex ideas.

In my own case, I feel sure I am a better teacher now than I was 20 years ago; I can see problems and solutions much more easily.

My comments above really only relate to the beginning of the book, and there is much more that follows that applies readers of any age and background. A simplistic summary would be that ultimately the things we do are not as important as the relationships we build. But there is much more to it than that, laid out with many examples from real lives, this is a wonderful read in relation to finding happiness and purpose, and was a great one as my summer began.

If you are interested in the book, check it out on Amazon and read the free sample. I would recommend this as a great read where you can explore some deeper things, and as said earlier I feel there is some special resonance for us, with Brooks having also been a horn player at a high level.

The Tragic Tale of Mouthpiece Man

Humor

Bruce Hembd

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Jun 23, 2022

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What follows is a parody, an absolute farce. But take heed dear reader; as bizarre as this tale may seem, it contains a kernel of truth here and there – things to think about later.

Let the story begin.

Mouthpieces. Sometimes when I am doubting myself, I reach into my vast collection in search of answers:

Will this rim help with my endurance?
Will this deeper cup open up my low range?
Maybe this one will have the magic I need…
Or this one… no, this one…

One afternoon, while spinning the mouthpiece wheel of doom, I gazed deeply into my custom Ion Balu abalone valve caps and it struck me.

Those aren’t valve caps. They are eyes… and, they are looking at me.

“B-r-r-u-u-u-u-ce…” they whisper in unison. Wait… what?

I pause for a moment and become very still. Am I hallucinating? No, this is insane. You can’t do this. No Bruce… don’t do it…this is not right…

The effect was almost immediate; I felt… different. It was as if a wall of glass, steel, and concrete had come crashing down and now, at last, I could finally see. I was in another universe, breathing in fresh air from a place both familiar and unfamiliar.

I slowly move forward. Lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce, is an entity. I can feel it.

“M-M-M-MAUOWWTH-PEE-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-S-S-S-S-S-S-s-s-s-s-s-s…”

A blue-skinned creature appears. It has cold, metallic eyes. Are those mouthpiece rims for nostrils?

I cannot speak or move. I tell myself that there is something to this. I sense a deeper purpose.

“I am The Watcher,” it whispers. It taps my forehead and I feel warmth, radiating from head to toe. “You are Mouthpiece Man. Now go. Be kind and fair, but be vigilant.”

A gentle breeze howls as The Watcher, in its magnificence, slowly fades away.

“What is happening?” I ask myself. Questioning my sanity, I take out my smartphone and snap a quick selfie. I am shocked at the results.

The pain is too much. I weep and wail, screaming in agony, wringing my hands and beating my chest.

“People will laugh at me! Are these mouthpieces fangs or tusks? I look like a CONFUSED WALRUS!! This is not a gift, it is a CURSE!!”

After a few minutes of this, I take some time to catch my breath. If this is indeed my destiny, I tell myself, I should just move on and get to work.

I gather my wits and venture out into the world, born anew as Mouthpiece Man, ready to enforce a unique and special brand of justice.

* * * * * * * * *

Do not mock Mouthpiece Man.

* * * * * * * * *

Forget your mouthpiece AND dare to be snarky about it?

* * * * * * * * *

The downfall and defeat of Mouthpiece Man.

* * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *

Reflecting on embouchure changes, injuries, and other playing issues (and an important summer)

Embouchure

John Ericson

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Jun 15, 2022

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With many years to reflect back on, there are certainly periods of time when important things happened. For me, one of those important periods was 40 summers ago. Aspen, 1982, and the year that followed.

Wait, you had playing problems?

Some players I am convinced try to project an image that they have never had any issues as a player. Even without projecting that image, some must look at someone like me and think I must have always been good and probably never had any problems. That is not at all the case.

I started college in the fall of 1980, a music business major (!) at Emporia State University. My horn teacher, Melbern Nixon, was a very nice man and helped me with many things, but was not actually a horn player, he was a trombonist and mainly a band director at that point.

I don’t know exactly how I decided to apply to attend the Aspen Music Festival. I did like Colorado, having taken many vacations there with my parents. Another influence might have been Mr. Nixon, he was close friends with the parents of David Wakefield, on the horn faculty at Aspen for many years. My parents drove me in and dropped me off there, the other two summers I attended I had a car.

The embouchure change

Soon after arrival, we had seating auditions and I was not placed in a group! What I was told was the horn faculty (Wakefield, Hatfield, and Cerminaro) agreed that I needed to change my embouchure and wanted me to work on that.

So that week I changed my embouchure. My setup then was that I played mostly lower lip and I had no low range. Wakefield did give me two lessons that first week to help me set up the new placement, and we worked out a plan. I had simple etudes, etudes in low transpositions, Mozart 1, etc. Shorter practice sessions, don’t push things too far too quickly. Don’t play more than I comfortably could play. Keeping my eyes on the end goal of developing a full range.

By the second week they started putting me in some conducting orchestras and such. I did the horn ensemble and by the end of the summer played a concert with an orchestra. Played in a quintet. Learned a great deal! Sprinkle in some great hiking and watching Cubs baseball on cable, that summer was a key one toward all that came later for me on the horn.

Name dropping from 1982

I could name drop a little too. That summer among the horn players there and close to my age were Ellen Dinwiddie, Richard Deane, and my roommate at the end of the summer was Paul Stevens. Paul is now horn professor at the University of Kansas, Ellen is in the Minnesota Orchestra, and Richard is in the New York Philharmonic. And I’m at Arizona State. I wonder who of those attending Aspen this summer will advance to the upper levels of the horn? And I believe I would not have been one that you would have guessed would advance, had you been there.

The injury

That fall I got pointed toward Nicholas Smith in Wichita for extra lessons, and I did that weekly for the next two years. During the school years I took two lessons a week, working on completely different materials with two different teachers. I made a ton of progress, but did have an “event” with my embouchure during the spring semester of 1983.

I still puzzle about it, but I must have developed a tear in my lower lip, there was a hot spot and it took ages to heal. Too much playing for sure, I was a very motivated student and playing 1st horn in everything at my school and in the faculty brass quintet (!), as the Master’s degree level Graduate Assistant left after only a couple days (small town Kansas was not for them).

There is a conventional wisdom that a muscle tear will take 3-6 weeks to heal. In my case, it dragged on for as I recall about 2 months.

Tactics to get through it

And I still had a junior recital to play! The tactic we adopted was I developed a recital program that only touched a G at the top of the staff a few times. It was not “low horn” but it was not too high!

I had a very stable warm-up routine, and there was also another tactic I learned that year. I basically looked at every day I only had so many notes I could play. Push too far and there would be consequences.

It did heal eventually, and I was off to Aspen again in 1983, playing a lot of interesting music on much better parts! (For more on that, see this interview with Bruce Richards, who was also a student in ’83). And I went again for a final summer there in 1985. Those summers I made a great deal of progress as a player and laid foundations for all that was to come. And, as I tell people often, you can make a semester of progress over the summer if you use the time well, with the structure of a summer festival being ideal.

Lessons that formed a career

In the big picture, I think making that huge embouchure change and having that injury has helped me as a teacher a great deal. I think embouchure problems can simply puzzle players who never had any embouchure problems. In my case, I got both categories of problems out of the way early (I actually changed my embouchure again as a Doctoral student!) and was able to achieve my goals beyond my dreams of the time as a player.

One type of problem I didn’t have

Talking to someone recently I was reminded that I was fortunate I did not have any teachers with odd ideas on breathing. Or, if they had them, I sounded good enough they did not bring up the topic. I feel fortunate too to teach now at a place where The Breathing Gym has been widely used, a deep and active type of breathing is needed on the horn.

Postscript: “The wobble”

I would mention one other playing issue that came up years later, a number of years into teaching at ASU. One fall semester I developed a significant wobble in my tone. While it passed as a vibrato of sorts, I privately worried if I was developing focal dystonia — although I could rule that out as it was more general to my playing than typically seen for FD. I found that practicing “Shawarma” from the Brass Gym helped, as did pitch bending and a slower warmup. But also, I know there was a mental component, as the wobble appeared noticeably at the beginning of the semester that I became Brass Area Coordinator. It comes back occasionally – almost always in the fall! — and I’m convinced it is part physical and part mental.

Conclusion: I’ve had my share of problems

Which is all to say, I’ve had some playing challenges over the years. It was not all easy and natural. If you are having some issues, don’t abandon hope, keep working, there are probably solutions to your issues.

I’ll add one final footnote. Going back to 40 summers ago, and this may sound a little shallow, but I get such a kick when I see David Wakefield “like” my Instagram posts. And I like to think he gets a kick out of liking the posts too, my teacher in a pivotal summer in Aspen some 40 years ago.

To hear more about the topics covered in this post, check out Episode 55 of the Horn Note Podcast (direct link here, or wherever you access podcasts).

**The photo featured in this article was AI generated in a website (Dall-E mini) that as I write this has been trending on Twitter. The specific prompt that generated the photo was “French horn at the Maroon Bells,” a famous hiking destination near Aspen.

On Vienna horns and the important topic of wires

Natural & Vintage Horns

John Ericson

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Jun 5, 2022

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Something you might have noticed is that in Horn Matters (and elsewhere) I have rarely written about the Vienna horn. A perennially popular topic in our horn world, I have instead focused my own single F horn playing on period style instruments with rotary valves in the German style rather than Vienna valves (or French style instruments with piston valves). Beyond extensive writings on the topic, I made a solo recording on a horn of this type (more on that project here).

I played the instrument I used on that recording, which is a convertible natural horn (with rotary valves) built for me by Richard Seraphinoff, for nearly all my playing for 6 months, to be very familiar with how it played and to get as authentic a sound as I could. In particular, I adjusted my method of tonguing to promote the best articulations I could produce, and got very good at adjusting for intonation quirks.

What is a Vienna (or Wiener) horn?

The Vienna horn is an interesting anachronism in our modern musical world. Invented in 1897, the double horn revolutionized horn playing and quickly became the standard instrument in most of the world. One corner of the musical world that did not adopt the double horn was Vienna, where they kept using a type of single F horn with crooks and unique, double piston Vienna valves. A handy article with more info on this topic may be found here.

It has been said that the Viennese players continue to use an instrument that is a bridge instrument between the natural horn and the modern horn. It certainly occupies a unique space in modern orchestral playing, and is central to the sound of The Vienna Philharmonic.

19th century single horns are quirky

All instruments of this type generally (single horns with crooks of any type) are quirky in ways that we would not accept on a modern horn. You will have some issues to work around, “rolls” on some notes and intonation issues on others, touchy accuracy, and you will need to find solutions to really use them for performance.

Besides putting arrows in my music to remind me which direction to push intonation when needed, I know I also tried the trick (attributed to Dennis Brain) of putting a matchstick across a side of the first valve slide. I hoped it would help upper range articulations, but it did not really help anything.

But something I put in the bell did I think help a bit. Basically, at a horn workshop (the IHS symposium at UNT) I had purchased an item that was at the time marketed as the Tuning Sleeve. It was for a marching mellophone, and visually looked like a small version of the cork end of a stop mute. Placed in the bell of a Mellophone I thought it very much stabilized the high range. Essentially the theory is that it corrects for the hand not being in the bell. On a double horn it was not as usable as your fingertips will tend to hit the device. Instead, I found a rubber plumbing fitting (like a big O ring) and had that in the bell for the recording. I felt it did something for the G at the top of the staff, but it still was a problem note. As a natural horn in F the note was and is fine on that horn, but with the valve section added onto the instrument it was not nearly as stable. Knowing that, if you listen to the recording you can begin to hear how I tongued that note very lightly, babying the note. Careful mouthpiece choice helped too; I used a copy of a period mouthpiece on the recording to improve the higher range attacks.

What about putting a wire inside your Vienna horn?

Anyway, this brings me to the topic of today. In the most recent (May, 2022) issue of The Horn Call there is an article by Kulmer, Dorfmayr, and Nuzzo on the Vienna horn, “Vienna Calling.” I’d like to focus in on one specific part of the article, the section of “Tips for the Wiener Horn.” The section begins,

Wire. A trick commonly used on the Wiener Horn is to insert a wire in the tube, just a normal electric wire you can buy in any electrical equipment shop. The reason for this is to adjust the note f” [written F at the top of the staff], which is played by pressing the 1st valve on the Wiener Horn, making it much more centered. This trick, although used by many players, is usually not supported by manufacturers. The fun fact is that it not only fixes the precision of f”, but inexplicably, the sound of the whole instrument is just better. The theory is that the wire helps the soundwave float (or floating knots). As weird as it sounds, but also the fact that the wire is harder, softer, with or without the internal metallic part has a big influence. It is also likely that the induced physical change is actually minimal, yet enough to give the player a better feeling of playing, leading to a better sound.

Looking closer at the Vienna horn

For some months I’ve had borrowed the Pizka/Haagston Vienna horn seen in the photos of this article. Periodically I’ll get it out and play it, it is a very interesting horn. There was a time I took it in to demonstrate for my students, and they were excited about it in concept, but were disappointed when they heard it compared to other horns. That same day I took in a vintage Halari natural horn — they had low expectations for it, but they loved it after hearing it.

Still, the article inspired me to get the horn out again. The thing I like the most about this particular Vienna horn is the ability to play it very aggressively and at high volume. My other single F horns, they top out much sooner into an overly raw, overblown tone, more like a natural horn would when blown that hard. I credit this to the rather thick, heavy bell with the wide garland; it is much heavier than any comparable F horn (or natural horn) I have. I suspect it is also heavier than the average Vienna horn, but I have no way to compare with multiple instruments.

Those magical Vienna valves

These valves have a unique double piston design that always grabs the visual attention. Two small piston valves move, ganged together, on each valve – there are six valves on the horn, working in pairs. The result is the valve action from the players’ side is very smooth when you change notes. On a rotary valve horn, there will be notes somewhere that you notice the valve moving, it makes a pop or click that you feel and can be heard. On a Geyer style instrument, for example, that note is E at the bottom of the staff to F, played on the F horn. On the Bb side, the interval will be as smooth as can be, but on the F, there likely will be a bit of a click felt in the airstream.

While the smoothness is a plus, on the other hand, I can totally see why we use rotary valves today. Vienna valves have a very heavy action and there is a lot of weight in general in the valve section area. I would much rather play anything technical on a rotary valve F horn over a Vienna horn. For a tangible example, I can play the venerable Clarke Second Study at least 25% faster on a rotary valve horn over a horn with Vienna valves.

A maker’s eye

Returning to the quote from the article, I tend to look at any horn as a reflection on the maker. A competent horn maker builds a horn so that so far as they can it has no major playing issues. You paid them the money for the horn with the idea that it played well and did not need any modifications. If you feel that you need to immediately resort to pieces of wire or matchsticks to fix playing issues, you need a new horn. Something was not made right, there is some flaw in the design, likely beyond what might be fixed with simple repairs or a cleaning.

In the specific case of this Pizka/Haagston horn, I just don’t feel the top F as built is that much more difficult than say the F# or G that are on the same harmonic. If anything, the F# is the worst of the three notes – but all are manageable and similar in feel.

Trying a wire in a Vienna horn

Still, as the authors tell us that the wire trick is “commonly used” on the Wiener horn, I had to try it. Which leads to the obvious question, what kind of wire??? Wire comes in many gauges and types. Something could have been lost in translation, but it is described as “normal electric wire.” My guess is it is the wire that would be used to wire a house, split down to use one component wire (as the three-wire bundle would obviously be too large to fit in the tube). I chose a four-inch section of the black wire for my tests (as it would have the darker tone…).

As the trick is specifically for the f”, I started with the wire in the first valve slide. Maybe it is more stable with the wire? But the note was not that bad to begin with. Playing it with that setup I then began to notice how the lower range first valve notes gained a stuffy, resistant feeling.

How about putting a wire in a horn with a bad f”?

My favorite horn from my sabbatical project was the one I built with the Mirafone bell. (more here). As nice as it is, the F at the top line has quite a roll. And of course you play that note a lot. What if I tried a wire?

Placing that same black wire in the first valve slide … you know what? It was better! Up to then I was inclined to think the whole wire thing was a mind game only, but if you are using period instruments, consider it an option, it did something positive for sure.

How about bad notes on a double horn?

I have mentioned this in prior writings; there is a bad high Bb issue on some double horns. Test the note before buying! If there is no stable high Bb, walk away. Something, somewhere in the horn, is not right. A bad joint hidden inside, a blob of solder, a brace in the wrong place. Something is wrong. Matchsticks and alternate fingerings may be helpful, even a wire maybe, but the actual solution for a horn you intend to play all the time is obtaining a horn that does not have these issues to begin with.

To conclude…

The Vienna horn still is a great topic and one that has fascinated a lot of players. How much longer will they hold out in Vienna? Who knows, but hear them while you can and if you have the chance try a Vienna horn, do it! It has a unique feel and sound.

A story involving Giardinelli mouthpiece fit, and Verne Reynolds

Mouthpieces

John Ericson

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May 5, 2022

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While well known for his horn music and teaching, Verne Reynolds was not known as an equipment guru. On the other hand, any good horn teacher has some practical knowledge of what helps students play better, and Reynolds as longtime Eastman faculty had his for sure.

One of the more popular articles on the site is A Look at Giardinelli Mouthpieces Through the Ages. As explained there, for many years these were one of the top lines of American mouthpieces, with popularity peaking I believe in the 1970s-80s.

While they are on the market still, the ones made now are not ones a pro might consider using. The old Giardinelli shop in New York City is long gone. But back when I started in on my Masters degree study at Eastman in 1984, LOTS of people used Giardinelli mouthpieces. To be honest, there were not many good options out there; the only other line that was as available at the same general quality was Schilke. People in the Conn 8D side of the playing world primarily used Giardinelli, and over on the Geyer side of things Schilke was the choice.

Most of the horn mouthpieces by Giardinelli that a serious horn player might use were screw rim. The thread design they used remains the standard used today in the USA.

The C series cups were their most popular model, the “C” being for James Chambers, longtime Julliard faculty and New York Philharmonic Principal Horn. Probably the most popular model was the C-10, which I am guessing I was in fact playing when I started at Eastman. The “10” is the size of the drill used to make the hole (using a set of machinists numbered drills, explained further here).

Made by hand one at a time, not every mouthpiece they made was great. The first place you might begin to suspect an issue is if you checked the bore with a drill. The likely result is it was not quite the advertised size. A 4 that was actually a 6, etc. If you started looking even closer, you would find significant variations in the backbore and the shank size, areas where thousandths of an inch really matter.

Where Verne Reynolds fits into the story today is he knew that the shank fit was significant. What he had me do to work on this to improve my mouthpiece was go to a particular local repair person in Rochester and have her turn the shank down to where she felt it was where it needed to be. Who was that repair person? Dorothy Frizelle, the same person the IHS excerpt competition is named for.

I recently got curious to compare her shanks on the two of these I still have with the three stock Giardinelli mouthpieces I have, and the difference is huge.

The first photo shows a stock cup (only, no rim).

The second photo shows the reduced diameter shank as done by Frizelle. You can see it fits in the receiver MUCH further. The receiver used for the photos is a vintage Lawson leadpipe.

Honestly, I think she may have taken it down too far. Of course, ideal shank size is a moving target, dependent on your horn and how you want it to feel. However, for comparison I can tell you a Houser 0 shank is about halfway in size between the before and after photos, and the stock Giardinelli shank is way too big for most any horn I have.

The result of the overly turned down shank is that the high range when I try these now is quite flat (although I can push it up to be in tune). Of course, think back to the old 8D you might have used with this mouthpiece. Typically, the high range was sharp on these, so a mouthpiece that tends to plays flat in the high range might have helped…. Maybe that was the goal?

Somehow I made it work. After Eastman I began to experiment with Atkinson mouthpieces, then Lawson, used a FARKAS MODEL when I won the Nashville audition, etc.

But Giardinelli mouthpieces such as these above are old school and not a very good choice today. If you are using one, you owe it to yourself to try something more modern. For more ideas on the topic check out the most recent episode (53!) of The Horn Notes Podcast, available everywhere you access podcasts or directly here.

Rethinking how we teach horn – without Kopprasch

Horn Teaching

John Ericson

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Apr 20, 2022

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If you do a simple search of the topic “rethinking how we teach”, you will find a number of people reconsidering various aspects of pedagogy in relation to the pandemic and the changing times.

Is it time to ditch Kopprasch?

I would propose that it is time horn teachers should rethink several elements of standard horn teaching. Do we just do things because we do them? Simply repeating the way we were taught? Are the materials actually effective? Are they just familiar and available?

Of course, as teachers, we try to be effective, and the materials we use are part of that equation. In my own case, I recently realized that my use of teaching materials has changed in recent years in several ways.

Wildly different teaching styles

In the bigger picture, there are some wildly different teaching styles out there. Some are objectively rather extreme styles.

One style I really question is the type of teacher that focuses lessons on just a few exercises that to an outsider would look like warmup exercises. Weeks, months, even years spent focusing on just those exercises.

A related type of teacher focuses almost entirely on Kopprasch. In both cases, I think the idea is to achieve some sort of theoretical perfection in those materials (alone), and when you have mastered those singularly important (to the teacher) exercises, only then can you move on to real music.

The problem with Kopprasch

I used Kopprasch regularly in lessons for years, as part of the mix of things, but this past couple of years I have hardly used it at all. I do not miss it. Kopprasch is very predictable and is not good music. Hype and devotion to it does not make it interesting music. Gallay etudes for example are much better music. Maxime-Alphonse has wonderful moments where you can show off all sorts of nuance.

How did we get our horn teaching so tied up with Kopprasch? As a recognized “Kopprasch scholar”,** I would say because his book was the first of its type (published ca. 1832!) and worked reasonably well, at a time when we had limited options.

Eventually Kopprasch became a rite of passage for the horn student. Why? Why keep using the same, tired, old materials? For 190 years? Today we have so many other options for teaching materials. It is time to make use of them.

You do not have to be old to be an old-fashioned teacher

I’m sure that among those that have read this far into this article there are some teachers who are very dedicated to using a lot of Kopprasch. Traditional teaching has a place. Old school teaching also has a place. However, if you are a younger teacher teaching mainly out of Kopprasch there is a point (as in right now) where you need to realize that your teaching is old fashioned and perhaps a bit lazy. You could and should be more effectively addressing the same technical skills in materials written much more recently than Kopprasch.

What about using Kling? Mueller? Franz? Others?

I will just say for me, much of the older etude literature available is just not very interesting. The lone exception from the era is Gallay; he gets at some very interesting things musically and technically. I especially like to use his second horn etudes and the unmeasured preludes. Outside of that, most of the old standard etudes of this era I just mentally set aside as bad Kopprasch.

Moving into the early 20th century, Maxime-Alphonse has quite a few interesting etudes as well. He clearly is looking for some very specific things; roughly 2/3 of his etudes are well worth a good look in books 3 and 4. I can make great use of these in lessons.

Not a fan of LONG etudes

Another category of etude is the very long etude. Two pages or more, and technically challenging. I am not a fan of these as well. Yes, you can work on endurance with them, but this can also be done with better music (solo horn works, etc.).

Speaking of solo horn works, this entire category did not exist in the time of Kopprasch. We can make use of it today!

Developing a pedagogy based on shorter (and more recently published!) etudes

In my own case, I realized on reflecting on my teaching that in the past few years I have developed a teaching scheme based much more on shorter etudes than what I did in the past, also incorporating some duets as well.

This developed over time of course, but I think the two publications that most crystalized this change for me are the low horn version of my 35 Melodic Etudes and also my Modern Preparatory Etudes. I use both books a lot. One reason why short etudes such as these are great is the musical variety I can create. However, looking closer, another reason why both are good teaching material is that, being short, a student can work out the etudes relatively quickly, and then they reveal to me certain things as areas of interest. They give opportunities to expose and work on problem areas.

Kopprasch can do that too, but what happens is when one finally gets good at playing Kopprasch then you tend to play everything like Kopprasch. Moreover, many areas of technique are not addressed at all in Kopprasch, and the tonal language is very dated.

Summer project

For Horn Matters readers that teach, consider this summer searching out some new materials, and in particular consider the option of using more short etudes in your teaching scheme.

For me a summer project will be developing more formally a resource I need, a book of short transposition studies. Of course, many teachers use Kopprasch for this. I do not think these are very good for teaching transposition, as the etudes are too long and do not look like natural horn music. Again, a project for the summer.

Is it time? Yes, it is time

Good teaching materials should help you teach and help students learn. Kopprasch and similar 19th century materials might help you as a teacher as it is so familiar (to you!), but I am not convinced they help students learn at the rate they might learn from other, more effective materials. It is time to cut the cord and move on from Kopprasch as the focus of horn teaching.

**I was specifically cited as a Kopprasch scholar in the preface of the new Carl Fischer edition of these etudes, but obviously, I do not endorse it.

For more …

Check out episode 51 of the Horn Notes Podcast where I talk about Kopprasch, grad auditions, and more. I anticipate recording several new episodes in the coming months.

A Meme Flood for April Fools’ Day

Memes & Photoshop

Bruce Hembd

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Apr 1, 2022

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April Fools’ Day is an annual tradition celebrated in many cultures worldwide. It is a time for humor and jokes, and in recognition of this day here are some horn-related memes, both old and new. Enjoy!

#1.) Troll over Beethoven.

#2.) Getting the Hand.

#3.) Being “one” with your instrument.

#4.) Blame the milkman.

#5.) Advice duck, making sacrifices.

#6.) Polly want an embouchure?

#7.) Cheating boyfriend.

#8.) Trolling the IHS.

#9.) Drake, on third horn.

#10.) The joys of collective bargaining.

#11.) Such a gift to have perfect pitch.

#12.) Conductors and transposition.

#13.) From the Marvel Universe.

#14.) Must have been a Verne Reynolds etude.

#15.) Friends, on playing the Viennese horn.

#16.) Sometimes up is down.

#17.) Overly manly man.

#18.) Vince contemplates the possibilities.

#19.) Genie was not a great horn teacher.

#20.) Playing off the leg? Not a problem with the Corno Ultimo.

#21.) Scumbag brain throwing a wrench into the works.

#22.) Life in the Tatooine Philharmonic.

#23.) NFTs are all the rage these days.

#24.) The inner game of tennis.

#25.) If Darth Vader were a conductor.

#26.) Patience is a virtue.

#27.) Little Ricky has issues with his Daddy’s ghost.

#28.) Kitty musketeer to the rescue. Mus-cat-teer?

#29.) Leopold?

#30.) Pushing yourself.

#31.) Captain Kirk does not like Khans.

#32.) Never underestimate a nerd.

#33.) Walker, Texas Ranger.

#34.) Cuteness will only take you so far.

#35.) Ghosts.

#36.) Words to the opening of Don Juan.

#37.) Life as a horn player.

Memes brought to you by:
Captain Blasto

Failure as a Goal for Success

Mental Health & Anxiety

Bruce Hembd

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Mar 18, 2022

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humpty-dumpty — Pictured above: Humpty Dumpty. Click the image for a wiki article with more details.

Sometimes when I get contemplative about life, I look back and examine my past failures. Without a doubt, I have made some colossal mistakes and to be honest, some of them I remember with a bit of shame and embarrassment.

Introspection can be a good thing but, for myself at least, it can easily spiral out of control into disappointment, even sadness. So when looking back at past failures it is best for me to frame it in a positive light, even if it feels a bit forced.

I have no regrets about these failures. It is a natural part of being a human being, and I look at them as a learning opportunities to start over again, but with the added knowledge of what to avoid the next time.

The main goal with thoughtful introspection like this should always be to improve and build up the spirit, not to tear it down.

Baby steps lead to giant steps

dumbbell hand weight A few years back, I took up weight lifting as a way to improve my health. It started out with very light weights, plenty of rest between exercises, and short sessions. Over time this progressed to heavier weights, less rest between exercises, and longer sessions.

In the weight-lifting world, there is a wealth of scientific research (and personal opinion) on pushing yourself to failure in order make “gains.”

It should be said however that mindlessly pushing yourself in this manner can have unintended consequences. While pushing to failure can be a good technique for building muscle, it can also lead to poor performance and an increased risk for injury, if left unchecked.

The mental and physical sides of failure

This train of thought can also apply to horn playing. Pushing yourself at a level that outpaces your body and mind’s ability to recover and adapt should not be the strategy of choice. Doing this on a regular basis can lead to physical injury and perhaps worse, a negative mindset where you start doubting yourself and your abilities.

Failure as an expectation in the practice routine

Years ago as a student, I adopted an intense practice method where physical failure in my facial muscles was expected at every practice session and sometimes, after every exercise within a session. It was viewed as a goal to aim for; an accomplishment in order to build strength and power in my playing.

My embouchure would hurt after those practice sessions and worse, I willfully ignored that pain and discomfort. This was all done with good intentions, but in hindsight I now realize how detrimental this approach was to my horn playing.

I mistakenly interpreted pain in my embouchure as a lack of effort, a weakness, an inefficient practice technique, or something like “well, I must not be trying hard enough.”

My playing would suffer for days, even weeks, after these intense sessions. Over time, this had a secondary effect on my confidence and my ability to maintain a positive mindset when playing solo and ensemble repertoire outside of the practice room.

In other words, I became my own worst enemy.

The effects of cumulative fatigue

From “Fatigue Explained” (an article on weight lifting) we have this to consider:

Cumulative fatigue interferes with training in 3 distinct ways. First of all, it lowers the athlete’s ability to perform maximally, both in force production and in technique execution. […]

The second reason fatigue interferes with training is by its direct effects on hormonal and intracellular adaptive pathways. As fatigue levels rise, so does the catabolic hormone of cortisol. […] you might even be able to push through being tired […], only to realize that most of your hard work did not turn on adaptive pathways nearly as much as usual, and your hard work was partially for naught.

Lastly, by summing up microtears and expanding their size over the weeks and months of hard training, cumulative fatigue increases the risk that such tears will lead to injuries. […]

Fatigue-mediated injuries usually take much longer than several weeks of hard training to become likely, but what is almost certainly true is that many months of hard training without a chance for microtears to heal completely is going to increase injury risk.

Improvement though failure

This all being said, I agree with the general sentiment that it is lazy to just get by in life without taking action to improve yourself. Pushing ourselves to do better is how we can grow – physically, mentally, and spiritually.

And to a certain degree, yes, failure demonstrates that we are making an effort. In our horn playing, occasionally pushing ourselves towards muscle failure can indeed lead to a stronger embouchure and better performance.

But, this approach can only be a stepping stone to success as long as its effects are carefully observed and taken into thoughtful consideration. Mindless practice with failure as the goal can have unintended consequences, to both your horn playing and your mental state of well-being.

A few ideas to consider:

If you feel fatigue or discomfort in your chops, stop and think. Ask yourself, am I hurting or helping my chops? Be conscious of the fine line between pushing your chops to failure in order to build strength, and causing long-term damage.
Be aware of fatigue accumulation in your practice and the mental trap of “not trying hard enough.”
Think deeply about rest and recovery between exercises and practice sessions. Outpacing your ability to recover and adapt should not be the strategy of choice.
Do not be afraid to take time off the horn. A day or two of rest after a heavy playing schedule will allow your chops the time they need to recover and stay limber.
Forgive yourself and try to learn from mistakes and misjudgments in your practice methods. Talk with your teacher or a trusted colleague if you are feeling “off” with your chops. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. It is not a sign of weakness to admit that you have a problem.