Horn Matters | A French Horn and Brass Site and Resource | John Ericson and Bruce Hembd

Another post from the archive, originally posted to the Horn Notes Blog on 1/9/06.

A year ago I wrote of how I had enjoyed a presentation I had seen in 2003 by Larry Lowe on the “Seven Deadly Sins” of horn playing.

Speaking to him this past weekend at the horn workshop at the University of California at Santa Barbara, he has come up with yet another deadly sin! This sin involves “getting my chops back into shape.” Don’t let this become a habit; this is a deadly sin.

I had to miss hearing his presentation this time around but talking with him the evening before the presentation and reflecting on what he said, he has hit the nail on the head again. Sure, if you are a busy professional and take a week or two off to take your wife on a cruise to the Bahamas or go on a family vacation, take the time off and get back into shape afterwards. Or, if you are very ill and just can’t play, rest, get better, and get back into shape afterwards. But “I’m getting my chops back into shape” should be something that you never find yourself saying to anyone more than a couple times a year. Some players seem to always be “getting back into shape,” and making this a habit will pretty much end your career. People will begin to see through the excuse and will begin to doubt that you are capable of playing on a high level. Which may seem harsh, but with the inconsistent practice underlying the situation it is in fact likely that you will never play on a high level again if you once did.

For students it is especially important to practice daily and always be in shape. Never let a day go by that you don’t practice. I remember distinctly the first day I took off after I had finished up my MM at Eastman, having not taken a single day off since sometime in high school–Christmas, 1987. Thinking about it now, I can’t remember exactly the last time I took a day off but it was probably sometime when I was sick last spring. Even after driving 12 hours cross country I will practice at least 1/2  hour on the horn with a mute late at night.

Try to always stay in shape. This may sound really hard core, but to make it to a high level on the horn and to maintain and even improve that level, this is the level of commitment it takes.

UPDATE: Still more deadly sins from Larry Lowe may be found here.

Originally posted to the old HTML Horn Notes Blog on 1/10/05, this is one of my favorite posts ever.

An event known as “A.I.R. Horns” (Arizona Intra-State Retreat for Horns) is upon us this weekend here in Arizona. The event was started by my predecessor at ASU Thomas Bacon and has been hosted for the past several years by his last horn TA, Karen McGale Fiehler. This year I am not going to attend the event, but recently I have been thinking again about my favorite presentation that I saw at the event in the three years that I did go.

One of the regional artists at the event in 2003 was Laurence Lowe, a great horn player and horn professor at Brigham Young University (check out his excellent CD of American sonatas). On the Sunday morning of the weekend he “preached the sermon” on the “Seven Deadly Sins of horn playing.” I took good notes of the presentation at the time and have encouraged Lowe to write it up for The Horn Call, it hit the nail on the head for me. Without pointing fingers there are in fact well-known hornists who are certainly guilty of many of the “sins” Lowe described, which are listed below with my additional comments.

1. Irresponsible/late/missing/unprepared. So many folks kill their careers over and over. If you have a job be it playing or teaching, large or small money or even a freebie, do it well! If you don’t, word will get around quickly and you will just not get anywhere with contractors, bosses, conductors, teachers, and potential students. A contractor would rather hire someone that is good and reliable rather than great player who is unreliable, shows up late or not at all, is unprepared, not warmed up, etc.

2. Don’t treat your real job like a wire stand gig. Lets say you have won an entry level job in an orchestra or at a college. It is your first priority to do this job well; this is not just a gig you are doing, it is the foundation of your career, treat it with the importance it deserves. Often I tell people a fact, that there are basically only two ways to get fired from an orchestral job once you have tenure. You can be fired for artistic incompetence but this is difficult to prove and it is fairly rare. You can also be fired for “just cause” which often, unfortunately, can be easy to prove. Reasons for dismissal for “just cause” include chronic lateness, unexcused absences, drug/alcohol abuse on the job–things that are, again, often easy to prove. If these things start showing up before you get tenure in the position, you won’t get tenure. Simple as that. No one wants to work next to a problem person for potentially the rest of their career.

3. Intimidating colleagues. Lowe included in this topic area the sub-topics of name dropping, making criticisms, and keeping your mouth shut at auditions. He told a story without naming names (as that would be unprofessional) of a professional audition he took where another candidate tried to intimidate him before he played. I actually had a similar experience, and like Lowe, while I could name the person and the name of this person would be recognizable to many readers, it would be unprofessional to do so. But those people are out there, and will always be around. Don’t be one of them, don’t play their game.

4. Don’t fall for “voodoo.” Lowe in this topic wanted to communicate that horn playing is a balanced physical activity, that you can’t get hung up on just one area (like, say, breathing) and ever reach your full potential. (But, by the same token, you should make breathing as good as you possibly can but it is just one element of your playing).

5. Don’t play other people’s licks. This seems obvious but there are too many people out there that seem to be oblivious to this. Warming up on stage you should NEVER play other people’s parts even if you have a legitimate reason such as an upcoming audition on that music. Don’t be clueless. If a big work like Tchaik 5 is coming up at Brevard for example and I am working with a student who has never worked on it I will tell them this work is an assignment to start working on after the concert it is on is over. If you hear someone practicing something down the hall, don’t play it if you can possibly avoid it. Especially before an audition or concert, people can be pretty high strung. Don’t throw gasoline on the fire! Personally I would suggest as well avoiding playing anything in any other part, horn or non-horn, warming up. Focus on your own preparation, or you risk annoying people.

6. Don’t be hypercritical of yourself. Horn players have a lot of trouble with this generally, more so than players of other instruments I feel. While a few horn players think they are great but in reality are terrible, more have actually very good qualities in their playing but only seem hear the problems. We are extremely aware of our faults, and it is human nature to compare ourselves with others. Give yourself a break; you are not perfect. Just try to do your best and let it go. We each have unique qualities and potentials. Make the most of them. And, also remember, that everyone sounds better outside the practice room door.

7. Don’t be hypercritical of the groups you are in. Just do your best job and don’t be a part of the problem. When people audition for me I am always more interested in a student that seems to be making the most of their situation where ever it is rather than a student who is complaining about the problems where they are. Look for the good, make the best of it, try to find a way to fix the problems or find a better situation if you need to, but be realistic as well.

There are more sins and sub-topics that could be mentioned. Bruce Hembd (Horndog Blog) also had a related item on “Who’s the New Guy?!” that is also well worth reading–it is his top ten list of “rookie” mistakes horn players make. And, having worked with Bruce years ago in Rochester and again now more recently in Phoenix, I appreciate the honesty of his description of the mistakes of his past. Probably we all have committed some or even most of them.

No one is hopeless! But don’t keep repeating the deadly sins above or in the post by Bruce or you just won’t have a career in or out of music.

UPDATE: See this article for yet another deadly sin of horn playing.