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Lessons in Vienna, part VIII: Playing the Vienna horn

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.

The Conn 8D (K series) I was playing on then was a good horn as far as having a good sound and was relatively easy to play until you went above the staff where it would make you suffer to get out the really high register notes (the written high b” and especially the high c’”. After working on this excerpt with him for maybe an hour, he pulled his Vienna Horn out of its case and played a few “warm-up” notes. In less than a minute, any fuzz or scratchiness in his sound was gone replaced by one of the two best horn “sounds” I have ever heard (the other was Vincent DeRosa). Berger looked over at me, didn’t say anything, put his “game face” on and proceeded to play the entire excerpt. I was awe struck after he finished and gave him a “Bravo.” He smiled and put the horn back up to his face and played the whole excerpt two more times in a row. He barely “chipped” one note on the third playing, otherwise his three renditions of the solo were perfect. To this day (2020) I have never heard anything like his playing. Not only was it technically perfect but the sound he got out of the horn was amazing: so flexible in the ability to have a full, ringing sound for the lyric parts, great dynamic contrast, and the ability to add brightness (edge) to the sound when needed. Even though we were on the empty stage of the Salzburg Festspielhaus, I could hear that he had no problem filling that hall.

Then he surprised me even more by asking if I would like to play his horn? I jumped at that opportunity and as he was handing the instrument to me, I mentioned that it had been a long time since I had played a single F Horn. He said he would give me the fingerings that worked for the Vienna F Horn which I have kept all these years along with the notes which I have used for the writing of this article. The fingerings are directly below:

Fingerings for the Vienna Horn
As given by Prof. Roland Berger

After exchanging messages with Eldon Matlick about Berger’s fingering chart, Eldon was kind enough to send me a set of fingerings given to him by Vienna hornists while he was in Austria several years ago. There are only two notes which vary from Professor Berger’s fingerings, the f#” and high b flat which are to the side in parentheses of the regular fingerings. Eldon warned that these fingerings may not work for every Vienna Horn.

Now to focus on my experience with Berger’s Horn. First, I had to wrap paper around the lower shank of my mouthpiece so it wouldn’t go into the receiver too far. The “bogens” (what we would consider detachable lead pipes) are all too big in diameter for our “American shank” mouthpieces. After solving that issue, I began playing from and middle c’ and gradually working my way up the scale which felt exceptionally secure even as I got to the top of the staff. The initial feel is that of a fair amount of resistance at softer dynamics. Upon pushing the horn to play louder, I felt the resistance fade replaced by the onset of color change (edge). The edge was very progressive; more air developed more edge. This feeling stayed with the instrument the whole time I played it which was such a pleasant change from how hard it was (is) to get the color change on an 8D. By using Berger’s fingerings, the scale on the horn worked really well all the way up to a high c”’ and the note “slots” were very solid and secure. The double piston valves were slow by our rotary standards but were very smooth; great for playing those lyric solos by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Bruckner. Articulations could be varied with ease and the horn had no “burrs” on any of the attacks, especially when playing a loud marcato passage. The security on this horn truly astounded me. This was definitely unlike any of the single F horns I had ever played. The smoothness and flexibility of this instrument was incredible. I felt as secure playing it as on my 8D and the range above the staff was frankly easier. Since that experience, I have been looking (in vain) for a horn with that feel. The closest thing to it was the Yamaha 601/801 Vienna Horns I played on at conferences during the 1980’s. The 601 I bought from Siegfried’s Call wasn’t even close to the playing qualities of the earlier Yamahas and I consulted with Eldon Matlick about a fix. He has a Yamaha 601 and had been experimenting with some new “trial” bogens Yamaha sent him. The one he recommended I was only able to get after a four month wait but it was worth it. The H019 bogen is the “go to” pipe and moves the 601/801’s much closer to the feel of the older Yamahas from the 1980’s. My thanks to Yamaha’s Head Engineer Wayne Tanabe for sending me three different bogens to try and to write-up a comparison critique.

Eldon wanted to get interested players together at the 2020 Eugene Conference to organize an American branch of the Vienna Horn Society. He had also hoped to have a Vienna Horn ensemble play some of the works heard on the Vienna Horn Ensemble’s CD’s. Unfortunately, the conference was cancelled due to the Covid 19 virus situation. Eldon (and myself) hope the American branch of the Vienna Horn Society might actually become a reality with organization taking place at a future regional or international conference.

The series concludes in the next installment, looking at the impact of these lessons on a career.

Lessons in Vienna, part VII: The Long Call

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.

Then he asked if I had ever worked on Siegfried’s “Long Call” to which I told him no, because most American auditions use the so called “short call” since most orchestras only play the various excerpts from Wagner’s operas. However, I told him I would really love to work with him on it and related that I felt his rendition of the solo was absolutely the best and that is what encouraged me to see if I could get some lessons with him. This brought a warm smile to his face. I played the first phrase and he promptly stopped me. He explained that the dotted rhythm of the first beat should still have a triplet feel and that most players (including those from Vienna) spend too much time on the top-line g” and too little on the following 16th (written e”). This makes the top g” stick out too much. He had me play just the first beat over and over without the dotted rhythm in straight eighths, at first slowly and then gradually faster. Then, he told me to do the rhythm as written, starting slowly and then getting faster. I did this for several minutes and when he was satisfied, he told me to go back and start the passage again. He said the rhythm should feel like you are using the c” as a spring to jump to the top g” each time. He commented that the first three bar phrase doesn’t need to be real loud but should be clear and with a good sound (not “edgy”). Hold the high g” about 5 – 7beats. Wait approximately 8 beats and begin the second phrase (bar 4) softly with just a slight crescendo and accelerando. The holds over the dotted quarters d” and g’ should be 2 and 3 beats long. Wait approximately 5 – 6 beats before starting the third phrase in bar 9 which starts at a piano dynamic but crescendos to a forte at bar 14. Again, the dotted quarter notes in bar 14 (written e” to e’ octave) should each be held 2 beats with an extra beat for the lower e’ tied from bar 13 into bar 14. Wait approximately 9 beats (feels like an eternity), to let the previous sound clear and to prepare for the contrasting material starting with the pick-up to bar 16. This is the only real contrast in the whole call and must be played soft and sweetly from bars 20 through 22. Take a quick breath at the end of bar 22 and accelerate and crescendo to a forte in bars 23 through 26. Play the sustained e”s proportionally while getting softer and slowing just a bit to the last sustained e” in bars 27 – 28 which are traditionally played gestopft. Wait approximately 7 – 9 beats before starting from bar 30 to the end of the solo. The start of this part of the solo (bar 30) should not feel hurried although it must be played with authority. Berger warned that the crescendo starting in bar 30 is too soon and shouldn’t start until bar 34 and to be careful to not accelerate too quickly. However, the tempo can begin to pick-up starting in bar 34 but should be very gradual all the way through bars 43 and 44. Theoretically, the passage should only have a huge breath before the start of the passage at bar 30 to the end of bar 44. Take a “snatch” breath before the g’ in bar 44 and do not change tempo (get faster) at this point where your dynamic is fortissimo. At this point Berger said he would always shorten the g’ in bars 44-46 (3 beats instead of 5) for a bit more rest before playing the pick-up to bar 47. This motif is “Siegfried’s Sword” and must be played with abandon but deliberately. Again, Berger takes away two beats of the g” in bar 49 – 50 to allow for a little extra rest and a good breath before beginning the last passage up to the High c”’ starting at a piano dynamic. Make sure you have enough air to make it to the end (the tempo will need to accelerate) and let the rising line to the high c”’ govern your crescendo. While it is nice to hold out the high c”’ beyond the written quarter note, just getting it to speak is the most important thing.

Siegfried’s “Long Call” from Wagner’s Opera Siegfried
Numbers in parenthesis denote number of beats held for notes with holds or rests.

The recording of Berger playing the “Long Call” is available from DECCA records
#478 8370 of the entire “Ring Cycle” operas and the “call” is on CD 9, the 3rd track.

The series will continue next with a look at playing on a Vienna horn.

Lessons in Vienna, part VI: Ein Heldenleben

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977. To this point, the notes are all from the first lesson! This article continues in his second lesson.

Throughout the second lesson I noticed there was a horn case behind Prof. Berger’s chair and I wondered if it was his and if he might actually play during this last lesson. We began by spending about 20 – 25 minutes working on a few of the more important passages of Ein Heldenleben. I was very interested in how much and where he would use an assistant in this piece since it was so long. He said he would use an assistant mostly when his part was doubled in other parts. Below are two examples where all eight horns are in unison or at the octave.

Examples where using an assistant would be prudent in Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben
(Reh. Nos. 10 & 30)

He seemed satisfied with my rendition of the opening passage and, since I had never played 1st horn in a performance, I asked him to show me where he used his assistant at the end of the piece. Below is his recommended areas of using an assistant from number 107 to the end of the piece.

Horn “solo” passage from Number 107 from Ein Heldenleben
Bracketed notes of the passage are to be performed by the Assistant

As an aside, Smith pointed out those same locations to me in my lessons with him, and I used those concepts when I performed first on Heldenleben at the Brevard Music center, at the end of a long all-Strauss concert that included Don Juan and excerpts from Salome! The series continues next time with The Long Call

Lessons in Vienna, part V: Tchaikovsky 5 (and Beethoven)

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.

After having worked on several slower, lyric solos I thought I would see if he was interested in hearing some Beethoven excerpts. His facial expression showed his distaste for that composer’s music. He scoffed at Beethoven and said “there was nothing to phrase in Beethoven” except for maybe the Sixth Symphony. He went on to say that Beethoven really didn’t understand our instrument and that his writing for us was unidiomatic. He said he used a Paxman F, hi f descant for most of Beethoven’s works because that horn had rotary valves which have a faster action and, with the security of the Hi F Horn, makes Beethoven much less of a worry.

Berger seemed pleased when I turned to the Tschaikowsky 5th slow movement solo and commented that the tempo at the beginning of the solo shouldn’t be too slow and that the third eighth note of each fourth beat should be tongued throughout the solo. The first four bars of the solo shouldn’t have a whole lot of shape. However, pressure should be given to the downbeats, but with a very legato tongue. Bar 11 is more detached in articulation with an emphasis on the eighth notes in beats 2 and 4. Starting in bar 13, the tempo picks up and should be played a little louder than the opening in a way that says “Here I am!” In measure 15, the first two beats should be very quick with beats 3 and 4 much slower and you can take a breath before the last eighth note of the bar with the retard going into the first two beats of bar 16. He felt that the first two beats of bar 16 need to be louder than how most Americans play it. The pick-up to bar 17 is then played much softer and in tempo. Also there should be no breath in bar 17 unless it is absolutely needed. You should take a breath in bar 18 before the fourth beat (a big one) to prepare for an “enormously louder down-beat and somewhat marcato accents on the duple in bar 20. Then play the eighth notes of the second and third beats slower, picking up the speed to A tempo by the 4th beat. On this upward run Berger wanted the dynamic to be mezzo forte and not piano as is the more American style. Bars 21 and 22 are played like bars 17 and 18 with bar 23 played like bar 11. The con moto should be played much softer and in a slightly faster tempo. There should be no retard or sostenuto on the last two measures and only a slight crescendo.

Horn 1 Solo from the 2nd Mvt. of the 5th Symphony, by Tschaikowsky

The series continues, with the next installment focusing on Ein Heldenleben

Continue to Part VI

Lessons in Vienna, part IV: Brahms 3

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.

After finishing with the solos in the Brahms 2nd Symphony, Professor Berger turned the page of my Max Pottag 1st Book of French Horn Passages (many of us still used this 3 volume set at this time – mid 1970’s) to the Brahms 3rd Symphony and pointed to the solo in the 3rd movement. I played the solo and though he seemed satisfied, he said, “Now let’s do it the way we do it here in Vienna.” First, he told me to always play the written c” hold before beginning the solo on the pick-up to the first full bar of the solo. He said that the dotted rhythm pick-ups didn’t need to be as strict rhythmically as how we Americans play them. He told me not to use my tongue on the down-beat articulations in bars 5,6, and 7 but to slur into those down beats. Breaths are taken in bars 2 and 4 but then, no breath is to be taken until after the first beat of measure 8 and that should be the last one until the end of the solo. The small printed “hairpins” in the first four bars are just for phrasing and should not be exaggerated as most Americans do. Although you “go” or crescendo slightly, the crescendos should not “jump out” to the listener but should be smooth. You should play a nice big, but full sounding crescendo starting on M. 8 with a slight decrescendo on beats two and three of measure 10. Then the downbeat of bar 11 is to be more important and emphasized than the second beat and the “Turn” is given more time than most Americans allow for it. You make a slight crescendo on beats 2 and 3 of bar 11 to bar 12 and then make a gradual decrescendo to end the solo.

Horn 1 solo, from the 3rd Mvt. of the Third Symphony by Brahms

The series continues, with the next installment focusing on Tchaikovsky 5.

Lessons in Vienna, part III: Brahms 2 in depth

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.

Next he wanted to hear the Brahms 2nd Symphony excerpts. He explained that the opening solo should be played soloisticly although basically at a piano dynamic. He didn’t want an obvious crescendo into the 3rd bar of the solo as most Americans have been taught. Berger certainly does not agree with the American approach which has a very gradual crescendo to the third bar of the solo and then a decrescendo to pianissimo.

Opening solo, Brahms 2nd Symphony

At this point, he commented on my use of a vibrato and seemed very surprised that I used it a little. He said he had previously thought that Americans never used vibrato and that he sometimes liked to use it for lyric passages. We moved on to the 1st movement coda solo.

Coda Solo from Mvt. 1 of the Brahms 2nd Symphony

He feels the solo should start from “no-where” or as soft/characterless as can be played for the first four bars so that the following set of crescendos and diminuendos in bars 4 – 6 (just a little), bars 9 – 10 (more cresc. with just a little stringendo) then much more crescendo and stringendo until bar 14 where you must play the second and third beat quarters in the slower tempo you will use to the end of the solo. Diminuendo from bar 17 to 20. Then a final crescendo with retard from the quarter note pick-up in bar 20 to bar 21 and a gradual diminuendo with an optional retard to the end of the solo. Breaths are taken in bar 7 before the second beat, the downbeat of bar 11, and a giant breath on the downbeat of bar 14 with a breath after the second beat of bar 18 and a final big breath before the third beat of bar 20 to be able to play to the end of the solo. A retard in the last three bars is optional.

The solo in the 2nd movement he said must be played very straight with no “schmaltz” and he grinned when he emphasized the word schmaltz. The beginning should be very soft like an elegy and without expression. A good breath is taken at the end of bar 3 and then a very small crescendo to bar 5 and back down in measure 6 with no breath before the last eighth note as we usually do. Do a gradual crescendo to the 4th beat of bar 7 and take a big breath before the eighth note on the “and” of the second beat syncopation followed by a very liquid slur on the written octave B flats. Then a decrescendo with the falling line in bars 8 and 9 followed by a smaller crescendo to the second beat of bar 10 and a gradual diminuendo to pianissimo on the last note.

Solo from 2nd Mvt. of the Brahms 2nd Symphony

The series continues next with Brahms 3.

Lessons in Vienna, part II: Till Eulenspiegel

John Ericson
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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.

He told me to pull out Till for our first excerpt. I played the usual first two calls and he stopped me. He said that both of the first two calls must be played in the haupt tempo with no big accelerando on the second call. All notes should be the same with none emphasized as most Americans do. Berger felt that it is only a “show-off” thing to play with the acceleration and when Solti asked him to do it, he refused!!! I guess you can do that if you are the first horn of one of the world’s great orchestras.

Opening Solo to Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel

As this is the shortest installment in the series it is a good one which to append this brief biography of Roland Berger, supplied by Nicholas Smith.

Roland Berger
A Brief Biography

Roland Berger was born June 16, 1937 and is the son of horn player Hans Berger. His family emigrated in 1943 from Berlin to the resort area of Portschach am Worthersee in the south of Austria and then to Vienna in 1946. He became a member of the famed Vienna Boys’ Choir and also received lessons on the piano. From 1951 (age 14) he studied with the then 1st horn of the Vienna Philharmonic, Gottfried von Freiberg. As early as 1953 (age 16) Berger joined the Vienna Volksoper as a substitute 3rd and 4th horn. In 1955, he got a position at the Vienna State Opera and in 1961 (age 24) was accepted as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic. He was the solo hornist of that orchestra from 1961 until his switch to 3rd horn in 1984. He retired from the orchestra in 1993. From 1984 until 2005 Berger was Professor of Horn at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. His students include present members of the Philharmonic/State Opera orchestras Ronald Janezic, Thomas Jobstl, Sebastian Mayr, Josef Reif, Martin Brambock, Lars Michael Stransky, and Wolfgang Vlader. Berger has almost countless recordings to his name but he will probably be most remembered for his superbly powerful rendition of Siegfried’s “Long Call” from Wagner’s Opera Siegfried. In his later role as teacher/pedagogue, Professor Berger lent his support to the Vienna Horn Ensemble as a production manager for their first CD, Lebenszeichen (Alive and Well), which was released in 2012.

The series continues next with Brahms 2 in depth.

Lessons in Vienna, part I: Setting up Lessons with Roland Berger

John Ericson
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American hornist and pedagogue Nicholas Smith was able to briefly study in 1977 with Roland Berger (b. 1937), longtime solo hornist of the Vienna Philharmonic, with a focus on correct interpretation of orchestral excerpts. Smith has converted his lesson notes into what we are able to present now as a series of nine articles for Horn Matters readers.

To begin the series, Smith sets up his personal road that brought him to Vienna for lessons with Berger. In subsequent installments, the focus will be on the excerpts he studied with Berger, the Vienna horn, and the impact this study had on his career.

THE VIENNA HORN,
Studying with a Master of the Instrument
By Nicholas Smith

Last Fall (2019) Eldon Matlick, the long-time Professor of Horn at the University of Oklahoma, sent a request to the members of the International Horn Society to announce that he was interested in forming an American branch of the Vienna Horn Society. In the replies he got was one from Scott Bacon who owns Siegfried’s Call which sells a wide range of new and used horns. Scott mentioned that he had a good Yamaha Model 601 Vienna Horn for sale. The price was reasonable so I bought it remembering how good the Yamaha horns were when I tried them at conferences back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I had also played on several of the horns made by independent makers in Vienna which gave me a real comparison. Most of them were very tight and had a lot of resistance (back pressure) which was unlike the Yamaha horns and one other incredible instrument owned by Roland Berger, the famed first horn of the Vienna Philharmonic.

From the time I first heard Berger’s playing and his incredible rendition of Siegfried’s “Long Call” I had hoped to be able to study with him even though I had no idea if he took “outside” students. The opportunity came during the summer of 1977 when our Lieurance Woodwind Quintet was in residence at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. I thought I could somehow make it to Salzburg from Graz on the train and so I wrote Professor Berger in care of the Vienna Philharmonic. I was prepared for rejection or no correspondence at all but received a really nice reply from one of the Philharmonic staff that he would be willing to take me during the summer. I was to meet him at the stage door of the Salzburg Festspielhaus where we had the lessons on stage where the horn section sat. While I had seen a few pictures of Berger, in real life he was a rather imposing figure. First, he was a big man by Austrian standards at over 6 feet in height and probably weighed over 200 lbs. At that time he had a short-cropped black beard, longish swept back hair, and was wearing a black leather flite (or motorcycle) type short jacket. He mentioned that he had just finished a football game and he was definitely in great physical shape (always a big help in playing the horn!) We both sat down and made a little “small talk” (his English was quite good) as I pulled my horn out of its case and put my mouthpiece in the receiver.

The first thing he did was look at my horn (Conn 8D) which actually drew no response from him. I asked him what he would like for me to play for him. He replied that he was most comfortable working on orchestral excerpts since that was what he had been working on his whole professional career. During the six hours total that I spent with him, he never wanted to work on any solos and especially no etudes. I did ask him what etudes he had studied and he mentioned the Karl Stiegler studies but seemed uninterested in showing me what they were about.

The series will be posted here on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. Part II will continue with Till Eulenspiegel.

Remembering my teacher, Mike Hatfield

John Ericson
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Who was your most influential teacher? It took me years to realize it, but my most influential teacher was F. Michael Hatfield (1936-2020), my major professor for my Doctoral studies at Indiana University.

This statement is likely to surprise some of my former students, as I mention Verne Reynolds far more often in lessons. Reynolds was my teacher for my MM and one semester of DMA studies at Eastman. I worked very hard with him, learned a lot (detailed further in this article), made progress to the point of advancing in auditions and winning a slot in the National Repertory Orchestra, but also at the end of those studies I really needed a break from his style of teaching.

After Eastman, I was out of school for a year and a half, and for a year of that lived in Rochester, taking private lessons and auditions (as I recently described further here). I made finals several times, but I was in fact interested to teach at the college level and felt that I needed to go back to school to complete that Doctorate.

Another thing I rarely mention to my students is that I applied only to IU to continue my Doctoral studies. Hatfield was not my teacher in Aspen, but I had contact with him first through studies at the Aspen Music festival (1982, 83, 85), and in particular in the later summers worked with him in ensembles several times (a 1985 performance of Carmina Burana with Sergiu Comissiona conducting being particularly memorable, he was on first, I was on fourth). Besides buzzing around Aspen in his jeep, he was also a fine performer, (having served among other positions as Principal Horn of the Cincinnati Symphony for 23 seasons), and I liked how he interacted with his students.

Looking back, I realize also that Hatfield must have looked at me as someone he could work with, and that I was someone with a work ethic and potential. That acceptance was also one of those big moments that created what my life has become. I would have never met my wife of now 30 years without going to IU, etc.

At IU I studied with Hatfield for seven semesters, plus I was his teaching assistant for three of those years (1988-91–the official IU terminology was either Associate Instructor or Graduate Assistant, depending on my actual load any given semester). I changed my embouchure with him the first semester of my studies, and learned so much beyond what I knew with just the MM. What literature didn’t I study with him? In addition to that, I taught horn lessons for up to three students a semester, assisted with the horn studio in general, conducted horn ensemble readings, taught horn techniques (methods) for music education students, and ran a course for brass chamber music ensembles. Those years were an incredible experience for me in many ways.

Still, it is rare for me to mention Hatfield when I teach lessons today. Perhaps that is as it should be. There is the occasional story related to some excerpt. My students would not know it, but my system of note taking in lessons is based on his, and my general scheme of teaching is similar, although I think with a bit more structure.

I think the biggest musical thing I gained from my studies with Hatfield was a better ability to interpret music. Let me explain. With Reynolds especially, he dictated how I was to play things. They sounded good that way, his approach was solidly thought out, but I was playing music that way because he said to play it that way. With Hatfield, that was not his approach at all. We looked at the music, and he made me think about phrase structures and such and derive an interpretation from that. He did not dictate an interpretation; he facilitated the development of critical thinking skills in relation to making music. It was exactly what I needed at that point in my studies to grow as a player and teacher.

Another technique I picked up from Hatfield that I use in my teaching frequently is a recording setup. He had microphones and a cassette tape system in his office that he used frequently. Prior to that, none of my teachers had made use of this in lessons, and hearing things back in real time in a lesson situation enabled me to hear my own problems and further develop interpretations and critical thinking skills.

I would be remiss not to mention that Rick Serapinoff helped me much more on my dissertation than anyone actually on my IU Doctoral committee. But, playing wise, ultimately it was Hatfield that helped me prepare the auditions I won in Evansville and Nashville, and several others that I made finals and advanced in. He was my final horn teacher, and he mentored me through a critical period of my life.

When you are the teaching assistant for someone for three years, you also know much of his or her life, their strengths, and their weaknesses. At the time, I knew Hatfield certainly was a humble and very hard worker, a very dedicated teacher. He regularly had over 20 students at IU and probably 5 or 6 more of them at CCM (where he then still taught one day a week!), and he went to very close to every concert that involved his students. He taught hours and hours of lessons in a row without breaks every week, and was incredibly supportive and giving of his time. With my own years of teaching, looking back at him now, he was clearly working much too hard, in what was in reality a rather difficult and likely stressful horn teaching situation. His actual teaching load at the time was always close to twice as heavy as that of Myron Bloom, who had his office just two doors down the hallway. Hatfield kept a positive attitude, I do not recall a complaint from him (other than maybe health related, especially when he had the broken ribs**), but this is all to say college teaching is not the easy gig some might think it to be.

Speaking of working with Myron, there are stories. One I will share is that it was an honor to perform, and then record with IU faculty, the Dvorak Serenade for Wind Instruments, Op.44, with this horn section:

  1. Myron Bloom
  2. John Ericson
  3. Mike Hatfield

The recording was, to my knowledge, never released. Two specific stories. One is that Bloom played on three (!) different horns during the course of the recording sessions; some takes on an early Elkhart 8D (I’m thinking 300,000 series), some on an Eastlake 8D (borrowed from one of his current IU students!), and some on an Alexander 103 (which he just loved looking at). The other story is that on the very last section of the end of the work, there was only one take, and it seemed clear to me that Bloom did not get a clean one. The conductor asked if everyone was happy and Bloom said nothing and I said nothing and Hatfield said nothing. Probably was a smart move for me and Hatfield. Oh, and Bloom told me during the sessions that my 500,000 series 8D, while it sounded great, was unusable, he had played horns like it and I needed a different horn. I was not in a position to get one though, and ultimately I played that very horn most of the time for many years. Hatfield was using, of course, his Lawson-upgraded brass Holton Farkas.

I saw Hatfield the year he retired (2004), and was glad to further reconnect with him several times in his retirement, such as in 2012 at the Denton IHS symposium where this photo was taken at breakfast. He always spoke to me with such genuine care and concern, and was so enthused about my family and where my career had taken me, our later conversations are such a warm memory. At the same time, he was also willing to share with me the realities of his life, I think to a further degree than he might have if I had not worked with him so closely. It was a very special experience, and a reminder that horn professors have their own sets of individual life challenges to face.

Returning to his teaching, he preferred to treat each student individually. I do not recall an obvious, specific pattern of materials that he used with everyone, although I do remember being impressed that he had literally a photographic memory of everything in Maxime-Alphonse, clearly it was a favorite teaching material. Besides the development of interpretations mentioned already, he was great at solving problems. I worked out many of them with him, and to my mind, that is the essence of good teaching. For another example of something I use from him, the “thumb on the chin” technique I described in the recent article on the low range was from Hatfield, I use that all the time with students — it is great for exploring and solving low range issues.

Mr. Hatfield (he will always be Mr. Hatfield to me) passed on July 4, 2020 at the age of 84. I have no idea how many students he would have worked with over the years, but it is no small number. Personally I took well over 100 lessons with him, and that number of hours working together is enough to be highly, if quietly, influential on any life. He was my final horn teacher and has a special place in my life to be sure. May he rest in peace and my sincere condolences to his family and friends. His obituary may be found here.

**Sometime during my work with/for Hatfield, he was hit by a bicyclist while walking on a sidewalk near the school of music. The accident broke as I recall three ribs, and he could not play horn at all for a while. He was very stoic by nature but clearly, it was painful for him. To this day, I am nervous when I see anyone coming toward me riding a bicycle on a sidewalk.

Bad Conventional Wisdom, part 5: The mouthpiece

John Ericson
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If there is one single piece of advice that has held back more players, it might be this quote from the Farkas book: “If the truth be told, no one mouthpiece or change of mouthpiece is going to revolutionize anyone’s playing ability.” In truth, a change of mouthpiece can absolutely change your life!

Besides quality control issues and design issues of common, standard mouthpieces that might hold you back, another underlying big issue is that traditional mouthpieces are designed to work best for people with thin lips.

Before elaborating on that topic, a few quick points:

  • Of all the mouthpieces in the Farkas book lineup, only the FARKAS MODEL is all that good
  • You can get fantastic mouthpieces today relative to in the 20th century due to CNC lathes
  • You do need at least five of them, if you have at least five one of them should stick out as being better than the others
  • For those curious, I am currently using a stainless steel Houghton (Houser) H-4 cup with a Houghton H3 rim in black H-Kote on my Patterson Geyer, and versions of the Houser San Francisco cup on other horns I play frequently. Among my students, most can find a mouthpiece they really like among these four: Houser San Francisco cup or Houghton (Houser) H-1, H-2, or H-4.

Returning to the topic of relatively heavy or thin lips, I have relatively full lips for my ethnicity. This has given me some level of insight that other teachers might not have. In addition, an important point to highlight is that good teaching involves problem-solving skills. You should be able as a teacher to recognize when the issue is a mouthpiece issue and not a playing issue.

I have had students with heavier lips than mine and for sure, many will benefit from a mouthpiece with an inner diameter of 18 MM or more, the right rim choice can clear up every playing issue you are dealing with. For a general idea of how big that is, in that size range a US dime should fit down into the top of the mouthpiece rather than sitting on the rim.

Traditional mouthpieces, such as described by Farkas, typically have an inner diameter of around 17.25 MM. If you have heavy lips at all, this is really too small. You might have been told by some teacher to roll the lips in to compensate, but that is really not good advice. The correct solution is to use a rim with a larger inner diameter.

Modern screw rim mouthpieces have made trying rims and cups so much easier than 50 years ago. It is expensive — my current mouthpiece sells for $220! — but it is money well worth spending, and every higher-level horn teacher should have a collection of good mouthpieces and rims for you to try. For larger diameter rims, the Houghton H-1 mouthpieces come in a variety of sizes, and the Houser E rim does as well and is an excellent choice to consider.

Speaking of rims, you will also find that different rim shapes can drastically alter the clarity of articulations and the color of the overall sound. If you have never experimented, you owe it to yourself to do so.

I also mentioned earlier in this series something about endurance and mouthpiece rim contour (in relation to mouthpiece pressure). I find a very rounded rim contour focuses pressure onto a point rather than spreading it out, and of course, a very narrow rim focuses pressure to a smaller area. Experimentation is very important toward finding a balance between all the factors on an individual basis.

Above all, do not use a generic mouthpiece! A switch to a more contemporary design could absolutely revolutionize your playing. As a teacher I have observed too many good students slogging along on some obviously brand X not good mouthpiece, and that is all they have. Ignorance can be bliss, but it is not a good thing when it comes to your horn playing and equipment. You really need several mouthpieces, more on that topic here:

One other important note for teachers, I have had students who had odd playing problems, but were using what I thought to be good mouthpieces. I have found it incredibly helpful to have a variety of mouthpieces, as I can try their horn with the same type of mouthpiece. In one specific case, I discovered that a Lawson mouthpiece was terrible on their horn! Not every mouthpiece works on every horn. That is why you must do some comparisons.

To close this series on a high note, I feel like I am finally coming out of a long tunnel of mouthpiece issues. The tunnel started in 2014, when I developed metal contact allergies and could no longer use a gold rim. I finally settled on a plastic rim and got used to it, with the very “dry” feel it has. However, I was always struck by how if any of my students ever tried that rim, they hated it. And, if I were honest, I was not liking it that well either, but it was better than not playing!

With the COVID pandemic and just practicing at home, I decided to push myself, knowing that I really should physically be able on a rim in stainless steel or with H-Kote. It took weeks, but I could! Then my intonation got wonky, with a very flat high range! Which led to more good changes. The result was I switched to using versions of the San Francisco cup on my other horns and the H4 on my Patterson Geyer. In addition, the rim is essentially the same as the rim I used when I won my job in Nashville, feels like home. I cannot wait to get back to some real playing in the fall.

Especially if you are in a dark tunnel with your playing, try changing mouthpiece. It really can help everything; do not mindlessly believe it is you instead of the mouthpiece, the bad conventional wisdom is wrong.

Thank you for following this series, expanded from a Zoom presentation made to Horns-United Cor Camp in June 2020. If you are associated with a school or organization that would like to see more, I am happy to do virtual presentations on a variety of topics, feel free to contact me for details.

Return to beginning of “Bad Conventional Wisdom” series.

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