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The important topic of how to refer to the 5th Symphony of Shostakovich

John Ericson
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As a student I don’t recall anyone saying anything other than Shostakovich 5 in reference to the famous symphony and the famous horn excerpts — but as a teacher I began at some point to hear people call it “Shosty 5.”

Then in a recent horn studio discussion there was a question, how to spell that? Is it Shosty 5 — or the slightly edgier Shostie 5?

Wanting answers, it was time for a quick Twitter survey (where all the cool horn players are). In that I learned that more than half of horn players (that follow me and took the survey…) call it Shosty 5.

But the comments were also very interesting. Apparently in the U.K. Shost 5 is the most common (which is how I write it out in lesson notes and such), still others prefer the shorter version of Sosh 5, and then in Japan I was told it is often referred to as Tako-5.

In any case, I think Shosty 5 is a very American English thing, and very American. We have nicknames for all kinds of things and people, but those don’t always translate out in other places. Also it doesn’t make it any easier to play well, but maybe the nickname makes it a bit more fun to play as well.

What is an “F extension” on a single Bb horn (or descant)?

John Ericson
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A topic that comes up periodically is that of the F extension and the single Bb horn (and descant). What is the advantage?

First, what it does not do: it does not change a single Bb into a double horn. At a basic level it is simply an extra slide tube that adds a length of tubing that is nominally equivalent to a 1-3 fingering on a single Bb — but in tune rather than a quarter step sharp! In other words, it creates the tube length for F horn.

On the horn seen here you use the longer slide instead of the standard stopping valve slide. Some horns have been made with 5 valves that have the stop valve and also the F extension (a topic of this prior article).

As it only adds that one tube length, used in combination with the other valves it is not long enough to be in tune with any combination (imagine the difference between the length of the F and Bb horn valve slides! You only have the Bb horn valve slides…). Typically then you are only using the F extension for a few notes key to a work being performed. So for example, if you had a low A to play, you would have to pull the F extension out a ways to get the low A to be in tune. But this is better than not having a low A at all! As that would be a missing note on a conventional four valve single Bb.

[You would have that low A on a descant, but only on the high F side; fingering it with the extension would give a much beefier sound.]

Beyond extending the low range a bit, the F extension does more than you might guess. The horn in the picture is my Alexander single Bb, a horn I rarely perform on but still enjoy playing on. Part of the appeal is the sweet tone and it is a horn like Dennis Brain played (more here).

I had an F extension I could use with the horn, but was not using it as it was constructed for a different horn — and needed some repair and alteration. In my recent visit to Patterson Hornworks (more here) I got ahold of the braces it needed, seen in this second photo wired up for soldering.

So what does it do to the playing qualities? Surprisingly, the F extension significantly beefs up the sound of the single Bb horn itself. Another benefit is the connections of the notes are better, smoother. Why? Something about the weight and how it impacts the instrument overall. It is really intriguing.

A competent repairman can probably cobble one together similar to the one I have, but a much better option is to have a horn maker build one up for your horn. These are really handy to have for not only single Bb horns but also for descant horns, something to look into if these horns are among those you play frequently.

A visit to a horn maker

John Ericson
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One thing many wonder is, what does it look like at the shop of a working horn maker? Early this year I was able to visit the shop of Jim Patterson (Patterson Hornworks) in Las Cruces, NM (with the primary goal of getting a consult on an issue with my vintage descant), and while there took these views of interest.

To start off, new and recently completed horns were there to test. This photo shows one of their triple horns in nickel silver (an option that few makers can offer) and their Geyer and Knopf wrap horns (my current primary horn is their Geyer wrap horn). Not seen in these photos is another horn that was in the shop that day, recently finished, a wonderful descant I very much enjoyed trying briefly. I’ve said it before, this is a golden age for the horn; some of the very best horns and mouthpieces ever produced are currently on the market. The time to explore and look for your great horn is now!

I joked with the Pattersons that I would not give away any of their trade secrets, this being as close as I come. This unobtrusive looking pegboard with metal rods on it is actually one of the most essential parts of their business, as it contains the mandrels used to make their lead pipes and other critical parts. Tapered parts and tubes are rolled and seamed (the traditional way of makers of the past), then drawn over these mandrels. Those exact tapers and the method of making the parts are what makes a Patterson horn a Patterson horn, or what puts his touch on the horn of another maker, for example to upgrade an existing horn such as a Yamaha 671. Jim reports this current production instrument can be upgraded into a very fine instrument comparable to his own, an option horn players on a more limited budget should consider.

This third photo shows in the bottom half portions of two of the three (!) huge lathes in the shop. Having three, they are set up for different jobs, such as for valve rebuilding, etc. Lathes are used to turn metal parts to shape. I’ve done some work on horns myself, and would mention to readers that if you want to do more than simple repairs — if you want to seriously restore or build instruments — you need at least one of these machines and space (and skill!) to safely make use of it. Other tools seen in this view are also of much use in horn construction.

Finally we have another overall view of the shop and the workbenches from a different angle. Note all the bells hanging from the ceiling rack, and what about that brand new valve section at the bottom left? It is for a triple horn, and he is taking orders now for these or others of his models.

I have huge respect for the craftsmanship of all the horn makers out there, and very much enjoyed my visit with the Pattersons. If your travels ever have a chance to take you to Las Cruces, NM, you really should visit too. For more on Patterson Hornworks visit their website here: https://hornworks.com/

35 Melodic Etudes by Meifred and Schantl — back in print, in 3 (6!) versions

John Ericson
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In 2016, as part of my original line of epublications, I was able to bring to print a group of 35 forgotten melodic etudes by Meifred and Schantl. Drawn from the method books of two important 19th-century horn teachers, Joseph Meifred (1791-1867) and Josef Schantl (1842-1902), as we start 2020 they are back again in a second edition, hard copy and Kindle, in three versions:

  • Standard edition, very comparable to the venerable Pottag/Schantl Preparatory Melodies (for reasons I’ll explain in a moment)
  • High horn edition, with the keys raised to target the highest notes of the horn
  • Low horn edition, with the keys lowered to target the lowest notes of the horn

The reason the standard version resembles the Pottag book (but with more emphasis on remote keys) is that Pottag selected just 98 melodies from the original Schantl collection of 120 melodies. All the remaining Schantl etudes (omitted by Pottag) are included in my publication, along with a group of etudes of a similar character from the Meifred Method, forming a nice collection.

I also felt in my teaching that there was a need for two more versions of this book, relatively simple etudes but in more extreme ranges. Typically, etudes that really reach these ranges are too difficult for initial study and development of these ranges. The high and low versions raise the difficulty level somewhat, providing materials for effective study in these ranges. The high and low versions have some of the feel of the Hackleman books, but with somewhat shorter/easier etudes.

For a sample page showing the relative ranges of all three version see this PDF page:

As with my other publications, these are available very affordably worldwide, in print versions and as Kindle ePublications. For more information search on Amazon or visit my publication website, hornnotes.com

The video below, from 2016, describes the first edition, with more information on all three versions.

**And yes, I opted to call these etudes for French horn. I want potential buyers worldwide to clearly know what they are! Seriously, some of you out there need to lighten up, “horn” is a very generic term to the general public. French horn, on the other hand, is very clear in meaning to everyone.

What was the first French horn you owned?

John Ericson
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This past week the parents of a young student I teach decided it was time to think about buying her a horn. The dad asked about Craigslist, and I was like, I know things come up sometimes, but have me try whatever you find to be sure it is a decent horn.

One brand I had mentioned to him to watch for was Holton, and wouldn’t you know it that very afternoon a listing for a 20 or so year old H177 came up. They set a time the next morning to try it, only a 15 minute drive from our home.

The horn was immaculate. It had been used by the seller’s mother, who had played it in community bands and such. Frankly it looked very nearly brand new, and it played just like it was supposed to. They bought it for her for a very fair price.

Then, on leaving, something unexpected — I actually became overcome with emotion. My parents bought me a Holton H177 back in the fall of 1977 when I was a junior in high school (prior to that I had played a school 6D and then an 8D). I’m sure my band director helped them get two of the Holtons sent up from Wichita Band Instrument, and I picked the horn out between them. I believe it was considered to be my Christmas present. I used it into my junior year of college, but sold it years ago. I also had not played on one for years (the H179 is much more common), and the memories of my parents, the excitement of that first horn, all the music I made on it, it all briefly tapped into some deep emotions. That horn started me on my journey to where I am today.

Thinking about all of that, and that I’m probably not alone in my thoughts on that first horn, led me to put up a Twitter survey. 85 responses is not real scientific, but it did confirm something I had suspected, a lot of people started out with a Holton as their first personally owned horn, even more than had Conn horns as their first. Holton had that Farkas endorsement and it was a relatively compact instrument suited to younger players. With a water key! So many people playing them as their first personally owned horn is a lot of why it is still on the market, even in the face of so many other options at better price points.

And to any lucky reader that got a horn for Christmas, enjoy it! Welcome to your horn playing adventure.

Comparing inner diameters of rims by the grip diameter

John Ericson
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A question I get pretty often is why one rim of the same inner diameter may feel larger or smaller than another marked to be of the same size.

Part of the issue is that mouthpiece makers are measuring a point on a curve, and one maker will likely have a slightly different concept of for example 18MM than another maker solely based on what point they are measuring to.

For years what I have found to be the more reliable way to tell if a rim has the same “feel” is to use a dime and directly compare how it sits on the rim when held upright, looking at where the letters of “United States of America” touch the rim. I learned this technique from a very handy publication, French Horn Mouthpieces: Material and Design published by Lawson Brass Instruments, where this illustration may be found. I have two versions of this pamphlet, one with a copyright date of 1990 and an older edition with no copyright date, from the late 1980s. Grip diameter is described in the section on “Selecting a Mouthpiece.”

The grip diameter can be determined if one uses a dime on edge to compare inside dimensions between mouthpieces. (See sketch).
When sighting along the edge of the rim, the position of the U and A, in the phrase “United States of America” can be compared between mouthpieces. The bottom edges of U and A just show in a .695” inside diameter rim.

This is an important dimension, as it is a good idea to reduce the number of variables you are changing when working with trying mouthpieces. If you have a rim you basically like, you would want to look for a new rim with essentially the same grip diameter and also what Lawson refers to as face shape, which is the relative roundness or flatness of the rim as it meets your face. You can and should experiment with different cups, inner diameters, and face shapes, but just not all at the same time, be systematic.

Give a dime a try! This technique really works. Adding to the above only to mention that the rim finish also impacts your perception of size, a slipperier rim will seem to be larger than one that stays more set on the embouchure.

On the initial setup of the embouchure, and other thoughts on the warmup

John Ericson
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Of my recent publications the warmup book has sold the best (more info on the book here). Teaching this fall a side point came up, and I realized it is one that I’ve never addressed in Horn Matters.

That side topic is that of the initial setup on the lips and getting started with the playing day. William C. Robinson in An Illustrated Advanced Method for French Horn Playing (Bloomington: Wind Music, 1971) opens the book with an extended section on initially setting up the mouthpiece placement on the lips. I’m told he did not emphasize this in later teaching, but the photos there are an interesting documentation of how he in 1971 focused carefully on his initial setup. His photos also show that he is thinking deeper about this than found in the general, related discussion that I had posted in a prior Hornmasters series article.

What I realized on reflecting on Robinson is that I have a way I really (REALLY) like to start my playing day, and it is either the first exercise in the short routine that begins my warmup publication or the first exercise that begins the mello warmup also found in that same book. I had not thought of it in these terms, but starting that way sets up my face a certain way. If I start with either of those exercises, even with a very short warmup I feel pretty ready to go – although I’d rather warmup for more like 20 minutes.

As that was among topics on my mind, it is one of the central topics in my most recent podcast, Horn Notes 38: Understanding warmup publications and more. Follow the link or look for it on Spotify, etc. This may be the only episode for a little while, but as always the older episodes are new until you hear them, check out any of them of interest to you, and thank you for listening. With a specific suggestion, if you are interested in podcasts that look at the warmup, I’ve done three prior episodes that will be of interest:

Another perspective on performance anxiety

John Ericson
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I do not normally read articles in law websites, but recently I saw a link to an interesting recent article on the website of the ABA Journal, a publication of the American Bar Association. What made it especially interesting to me was how it looks at the topic of anxiety from a bit different angle than the sports competition angle we usually encounter in music.

Performance anxiety is, of course, a topic that is not limited to music or sports. Poor performance has different consequences in different situations. In sports, you lose the game or match. In music, you have a less good performance. In legal contexts, people can end up in jail or losing lots of money! There is pressure on lawyers to perform well in court, to give their best service to clients.

The article I found is “No magical cure for anxiety, but with persistence, you can train your mind to relax” by Jeena Cho. Within the article there are three main points:

  • Anxiety is subjective
  • Anxiety is a set of thoughts and physiological responses
  • Change the focus to let go of anxiety

Working backwards in the points, a primary suggestion for changing focus was to do a grounding exercise. Several are presented, but it occurs to me in music that is one of the reasons focusing on breathing when you perform is a great idea. It ends up being a type of grounding exercise, taking your focus away from thinking about the performance situation.

As to the physiological responses, one prime tactic is to focus on relaxing the body, this will impact your thoughts and the anxiety situation.

The first point of the article is the most interesting to me, that anxiety is subjective, and specifically this point, “the mind is hardwired toward imagining the worst-case scenario, the so-called negativity bias.” Negativity bias is an interesting concept, there are many resources online related to this topic and it certainly colors our anxiety as horn performers. Continuing in the article,

The next time you are feeling anxious, take a step back and look at the thoughts that are triggering the anxiety. Chances are, you are only rehearsing the direst outcome, overlooking the best-case scenario or even more neutral outcomes.

It’s helpful to see that someone else in your exact situation may experience a different level of anxiety or even no anxiety. It’s subjective. In fact, you could also be experiencing this dreaded event with a different level of anxiety under a different set of circumstances. Perhaps you are more anxious because you recently received an unfavorable review at work or because you’re sleep-deprived.

The reason why this is important to recognize is that it puts the feelings of anxiety more within your control. You may have little or no control over the outcome of the event, but you can begin to see that you do have control over your own response. Rather than focus on trying to fix the uncontrollable or the unknowable, you can take a gentler stance toward yourself and focus on changing your response by relaxing the anxious mind.

It is our nature, due to negativity bias, for our thoughts to focus on the worst possible outcomes. This is of course not where our thoughts should be.

Sometimes you do actually get that worst piece of news, but speaking generally nothing we do as horn players is actually life and death. Still, it is easy for thoughts to turn to the worst outcomes. Those thoughts might potentially push you to practice harder, but training your mind to relax is essential to overcoming negative thoughts in performance. If more traditional sources such as The Inner Game of Tennis are not working for you, there are many resources out there in unexpected places, such as a law website, to consider.

A brief look at Erwin Miersch, and tuning the double horn

John Ericson
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I believe many Horn Matters readers will recognize the name of Erwin Miersch (1886-1969), as he wrote a set of Melodious Studies for French Horn that are still in print (Carl Fischer) and are fairly widely used with intermediate horn students. Yet, who exactly was Erwin Miersch?

As a performer, he was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra horn section, having also performed in the Detroit Symphony and the Boston Symphony. A resource online includes a very intense list of all the orchestral players that were ever in major orchestras in the USA, part of the stokowski.org website. In his case, the list of Cleveland Orchestra musicians is here, where we learn that he was a member of the orchestra from 1924-1926 and again from 1936-1951, serving as Fourth horn, having also been a member of the Detroit Symphony (1926-1935) and the Boston Symphony (1913-1919).

The other key career detail I can add is he was a Gumpert (“Gumbert”, more here) student at the Leipzig Conservatory – other graduates of that studio who made a mark in the USA and who have names students of the horn would recognize today include Anton Horner and Max Pottag.

For me personally the name of Miersch came up recently because one of my predecessors at ASU, Ralph Lockwood, brought by a copy of a pamphlet by Miersch on Tuning the Reynolds Double French Horn. It must date to the 1950s, and in it Miersch is described as being a “Retired member of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.”

As to the pamphlet, after noting, “Achieving good intonation is to a great extent dependent on the lips and embouchure of the performer,” the key point made is that “The open tones on the F and Bb Horn should be tuned first. They should be brought into pitch with each other before undertaking the more difficult step of adjusting the valve slides.”

From there he discusses hand position and the importance of a consistent hand position, and finally there is a tuning chart for the valve slides. “This tuning chart for the Reynolds Double Horn has been thoroughly tested and should be your guide. A slight adjustment of the slides may be necessary to meet your personal needs.”

The chart is interesting, most every slide is a bit different and every slide is pulled out somewhat. As it states, “The following chart has been made with proper hand position and is the result of extensive tests with the stroboscope at concert pitch 440.”

Beyond tuning, I have found it interesting to look at the etudes again thinking of his background and career, and hope that readers might also give them a fresh look.

Where to find accompaniments for the Bordogni Vocalises?

John Ericson
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I recently put out my version of the first 21 Bordogni Vocalises in a second edition (available worldwide from Amazon!), and the beginning of two of those versions (low treble and low bass clef) are featured exercises in my Low Horn Boot Camp publication (also in a second edition). A question came in, where can we find accompaniments to these for performance?

In the case of my version, there is a really easy answer: IMSLP. The Gumbert edition (of the first 24 of these) that was the basis of my edition (of the first 21) is for voice and piano, with a nice, simple accompaniment. It may be accessed from this page. Not only that, but the accompaniment as published is in the correct key for performance with the following versions:

  • Standard treble clef – on trumpet reading the music in C
  • Low treble clef – on horn in F
  • Standard bass clef – on trombone or Euphonium
  • Low bass clef – on horn in F
  • Extra-low bass clef – on bass trombone or tuba

The others of my versions, on other instruments, will require the pianist to transpose for the IMSLP accompaniment to work.

Of course, you may be reading this article as part of a search looking for accompaniments to use with the Rochut (“trombone”) version instead of my edition. I’m not sure there is a free option that matches exactly, but the Gumbert will work with many of the studies in this version. But be aware, Rochut uses a different key scheme so some are not in the same key in Gumbert as in the standard Rochut version, and also Rochut alters the order of the studies so you may need to hunt a bit.

In any case, I have no intention to publish an accompaniment, with the actual Gumbert edition so easily available. Make use of it! I need to make more use of this in my own teaching, low treble clef is a favorite of mine on horn.

For more on all of my versions visit the Bordogni page in the Horn Notes Edition website.

UPDATE: And I should have noted (thank you out there for the Facebook comment) that there is a SmartMusic version of the Bordogni as well, multiple versions actually, keyed to different pitch levels in the Benny Sluchin version. Pick really any of them and you can make them work, using the transpose feature in SmartMusic. Their trombone version matches the pitch level of the Gumbert edition. I’ll start using this in my office, it opens up the studies in a new way.

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