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Intonation and Vowel Shapes

John Ericson
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Since doing the interviews with Peter Iltis (MRI horn) last summer (more here) I have been pondering a related topic, horn intonation and vowel shapes.

It is very easy to see them in the MRI videos; the vowel shapes change with range and dynamic. The thought to project forward in relation to intonation goes something like this:

  1. A new model of horn is designed to play in tune by a maker working with fine players.
  2. Those fine players have a way they do thing in terms of oral cavity shapes, and the new horn is made to play well for them.
  3. For a buyer to play that same horn in tune, they need to use a similar approach to oral cavity shapes.
  4. And how did the fine players arrive at their approach to begin with? Because the horns they played as students required that same general approach to oral cavity shapes…

I believe that some of this is brand specific due to variations in how the people the maker worked with play, but still the general approach to vowel shapes in horn (and brass) playing perpetuates itself over years.

For a concrete example, if in the high range a potential buyer uses more of an “eee” position than the horn is designed for it will be sharp. If less, it will be flat. Exactly how even very fine players approach this will have to do with what horn they are accommodated to playing.

Of course, in relation to the high range the first step is to check the relative intonation of the F and Bb horn, there is an optimal pull to all the slides! A little more on the topic is here:

But some horns are just wonky, they have construction issues like blobs of solder or really funky leadpipes or whatever that lead to intonation issues. That is why, to conclude, it is always a good idea to have a fine player check any instrument for major issues. It might not be you in other words, it could be the horn — but also you need to play it in the same manner as a would a fine player to achieve correct intonation.

Tips for Educators, and an Evolving Pedagogy

John Ericson
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Recently, as part of a session with brass colleagues at our AMEA all-state, I presented a session for music educators, “Tips to Improve your Horns.”

In preparation for this I went back to notes from a similar presentation about ten years ago, and was surprised how far my pedagogy has actually changed/evolved. One thing I especially value is physiological accuracy. Not that I did not value it before, but with more experience teaching it is clear to me things I used to say, while they seemed accurate enough, I would not say today. Preparing the session I also got out the last draft version of my “big book” project from 2011, there is a lot to change … I expect I will be doing some major editing on that again this summer.

In any case, for the session I was joined by my trombone colleague Brad Edwards and tuba colleague Deanna Swoboda, and we covered each of first four topics below plus we each had a “special” topic at the end. The notes I gave to attendees are below — hopefully useful to educators and my old students, who might note a thing or two different than I would have said in the past.

Topic 1: Holding the instrument; Posture

Players should bring the horn to their face in the place where it is naturally, without changing basic body position. This may require considering playing with the bell off the leg for taller players.

The right hand should be cupped slightly (“pay me”) and placed in the bell with the backs of the fingers touching the bell, leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of opening between the palm of the hand and the bell. When held standing or off the leg, the horn should rest on the right thumb and first finger.

Topic 2: Breathing and air

We could wish that every brass player would naturally take a large breath, but many hornists do not take or use large breaths. Stated simply, just take a large breath in and start the music in one motion. It is a simple process and sometimes visualizations and explanations of how to breathe tie us in knots.

Topic 3: Embouchure

Standard horn mouthpiece placement is approximately 2/3 upper lip. Wet or moist lips are helpful in finding an ideal setting, as this practice allows the mouthpiece to settle into a natural placement without forcing the embouchure in any way. If you take a mouthpiece, wet your lips, and let the mouthpiece slide into place over the “hook” of the upper lip you will almost automatically obtain a good, natural mouthpiece placement for the horn, one that allows navigating the full range of the instrument.

[Noting, however, that this photo is of my own placement, my upper lip is a bit too heavy to fit as described above. There are exceptions to every rule.]

Adding one other element, jaw position is very important and is often neglected. The jaw should, speaking generally, be forward slightly from its position at rest in a high brass embouchure or a whole group of problems may arise. But, in the low range, the jaw drops.

Topic 4: Attack and tonguing

Besides the need for varied articulations to achieve different tonal results, an element of focus is that tongue placement in the mouth by register varies. In the high range I suggest more of a “tee” articulation, in the middle range “ta,” and in the low range more of a “toh” articulation. The same general oral cavity shapes are produced when whistling. Attempting to play in the high range with a low range articulation (or vice versa) will be a source of frustration for a player. Thinking “warm air” in the low range and “cool air” in the high may be of help.

Special topic: Stopped horn

The most ideal open right hand position is one that allows for a player to perform stopped and open notes by merely “closing the door” with the heel of the hand. The three steps are 1) close the bell tightly with the hand (as if holding water in the horn), 2) finger the note a half step below the printed note and 3) use only F horn (“thumb off”) fingerings. Bb horn fingerings on stopped horn will be quite sharp. Low stopped horn is very difficult; a brass stopping mute [at left in photo] has a better low range and more consistent tuning.

The Future of French Horn Playing

John Ericson
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One thought I have heard (and have repeated myself) is that this is a “golden age” for the French horn. Or is it?

Before getting to some thoughts on this topic, I would like to quote a passage from an article to set the context of the discussion, from, believe it or not, Model Railroader magazine. The horn is not my only interest (no!), and notably they recently passed their 1,000th issue (since 1934). One featured article in that special issue was “The Future of Model Railroading,” and under the topic of “barriers” we read that

There are two barriers to advancement in our hobby. Technological and manufacturing capability certainly is one, but it plays much less of a role than you might think. We already have the technology to produce some game-changing products and systems. I think the biggest thing holding the hobby back is complacency with the status quo. It’s a lack of demand for superior products. This isn’t my own gut opinion, but rather feedback I consistently hear from manufacturers and leaders in the hobby.

Horn players are not usually so direct, but “complacency” and “lack of demand for superior products” are exactly our problems too. We won’t see the potentials of the future of the French horn until we address complacency and demand superior products. I have several examples in our French horn world that I want readers to consider.

One generally positive “real talk” topic would be the horns of today compared to the 1980s. Back then, honestly, a lot of horns used even by professionals were not real good. My two own major professors played horns a professional would never consider using today; Verne Reynolds at Eastman played a stock King Eroica (!) and Michael Hatfield at IU played a Lawson upgraded Holton 180 with a drilled-out Holton mouthpiece! Your only options back then were tired old Geyers and Kruspes (often with real issues — bad notes, bad intonation, bad ergonomics), factory horns by the likes of Conn and Holton (“sounds like a Holton” was not typically made as a positive comment), and also the very heavy and distinctive (but well made) Lawson horns, now off the market for some time. MANY grad students back then were playing Holtons and the like. We don’t see that today!

I recently purchased a Patterson Geyer, and frankly it was impossible to buy a horn of this quality level in the 1980s, with a beautiful sound and no funky notes! The technical advancement is that now many makers are capable of making horns far over the level of traditional factory horns. We have wonderful new options today, including even strong products from China. If you are a teacher still recommending that your students use horns and mouthpieces like people used in the 1980s you need open your eyes and take a good look at the world we are in now. Especially in the world of mouthpieces, it is SO much easier now to buy a mouthpiece that is vastly better than the options of the recent past. CNC lathes are wonderful machines, and when you have experienced the higher level products available now you really can’t go back to a generic mouthpiece.

But still, today we also have some of the worst horns and mouthpieces ever sold out there on the market. That there is a demand for the very cheap horn is understandable, but poorly made products undercut the entire horn community today. Students now really could all be playing horns and mouthpieces that are vastly better than were typically used 50 years ago. This is a huge problem. To move the horn forward we must all demand and expect better products! Closely related to that, teachers must be aware of how these new products will help their students play easier and better. Not all are aware.

Another type of product holding us back would be publications about horn playing. The Art of French Horn Playing is iconic and often referenced, but, objectively, it is very dated. While the warm-up may be OK, a surprising percentage of the content could easily be argued to be factually incorrect.

Let that last statement soak in for a second. It is a touchy subject, but one that experienced teachers know is true.

Too many people out there are very complacent in regard to horn reference materials and need to expect something that reflects recent advancements. Our understanding of the mechanics of horn playing really is vastly deeper now than it was in 1956. I wrote a LONG series of articles related to this very point, presented as the University of Horn Matters horn pedagogy course (it starts here). Maybe I was too subtle in it, and the series is probably too long. Based on the comments I read in the Horn People group (on Facebook) it is clear that old thinking dominates our horn world. I hope I have my students thinking deeper, but many people seem very complacent to just stick with old information. They don’t seem to even check Google to see if anything might have moved forward a tad.

For a specific example of this, I did a three-part video interview with Peter Iltis of the MRI horn studies, and while these studies are truly ground breaking and game-changing, the videos of that interview have really not had nearly the views they should have received by now. Curious about what you missed? More info here.

The only book to date to seriously make an attempt to use the MRI horn information to move horn pedagogy forward is the third edition of the Eli Epstein book. If you have not considered the implications of the MRI studies you need to! Curious to learn more? My review of his book is here.

A final big topic area I would like to point out, that the horn world is entirely too complacent about, is technical materials for horn study. Our typical etude materials are, you guessed it, dated and stuck in the 19th century. Of course, it seems like there are no options besides Kopprasch? Actually, there are surprisingly few choices from the past 90 years published for the horn, certainly not many at all that are easily purchased. I have attempted to fill this gap even myself with a series of contemporary etudes (an E-publication, more here), but the bottom line I have concluded is that it seems virtually impossible to get teachers to use new materials (or buy E-publications, either). It really is past time to give serious consideration to teaching from some different materials. In my own case, one possible solution I see is to make more use of contemporary solo horn literature, something I plan to explore in my teaching going forward.

One final specific example of complacency would be beginner methods for the horn. There is a huge need for something better, but my conclusion is that it probably won’t ever happen. Why? Because if you spend all the time to write and publish a great new beginning method, in the end, you will hardly sell enough copies to be worth your time. The market seems extremely complacent and happy enough using Pottag-Hovey or Rubank. They do get the job done — but seriously, some teachers need to wake up and demand superior products to teach from.

One supplemental publication you could try to use, if you dare to try to use something new with beginners, might be The Horn Player’s Songbook by Rose French. Have not heard of it? I talked to the author about it in this podcast.

Before I close, in the category of “breaking news” as I write this article, Jeffrey Agrell has a large new book just out that clearly is aimed, at least in part, at addressing the general topic of complacency with existing horn study materials. More on Horn Technique: A New Approach to an Old Instrument may be found here. It is time to move horn pedagogy forward. I hope to review this publication in the not too distant future.

So, what is our future? I do have hope, the potential for a lot of interesting and superior products for the horn is upon us, this really is a golden age! But there is not nearly enough awareness of the need, this is a huge problem. I know I will be exploring ways to promote recent advancements beyond the confines of Horn Matters, and in particular I personally want to explore further the entire topic of using technology better to solve problems in horn playing. How about you?

20th century horn favorites 3: Madsen

John Ericson
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Last up in this brief series looking at some of my favorite works for the horn from the 20th century (all included in my Canto CD) is the Sonata, Op. 24, by Trygve Madsen. This work was premiered in 1978 and was composed in homage to Franz Schubert on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his death. Most notably, the last movement is based on a theme of Schubert which occurs twice in his piano works, in the middle movement of his Sonata in A minor (D. 537) from 1817 and in the finale of his Sonata in A major, D. 959, one of his last completed compositions (1828).

Movement I: Allegro

Movement II: Quasi menuetto

Movement III: Moderato, e poco rubato

Of course there are many other works from the 20th century that could be highlighted, these are merely the ones I voted for with my time (and money!) in recording them. For better audio quality do please check them out in a format better than YouTube, and also check out other horn recordings, there are many gems out there for the horn that other players like me have invested their time in to bring them to you — works just waiting to provide you with a needed break from the ongoing dramas of politics, Facebook, etc.

Return to beginning of series.

20th century horn favorites 2: Schmid and Cooke

John Ericson
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Continuing this brief series looking at 20th century works I chose to include on my Canto CD, next up is Im Tiefsten Walde, Op. 34, No. 4 of H. K. Schmid. Dating to 1921, this work I first heard on an album I picked up as an undergrad (Caswell Neal, Virtuoso Romantic Horn Masterpieces), and subsequently played on my senior recital. The title translates as “in the deepest forest,” this is a wonderful little piece to relax to.

Moving ahead almost 30 years, next up is the Rondo in Bb by Arnold Cooke. This work dates to 1950 and functions well as a recital opener.

When the series concludes the featured work will be a wonderful sonata.

Continue in series

20th century horn favorites 1: Gliere and Nielsen

John Ericson
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We all like good music, and a lot of wonderful music for the horn was composed in the 20th century. I have five favorites that I chose to record on my Canto CD, the tracks of which are all now on YouTube (legally). In this brief series of articles, I wish to highlight these works, not all of which are performed often — but I think all deserving to be.

First composed of the group is the Nocturne, Op. 35, No. 10 of Reinhold Gliere. For many horn players the first work you might think of is his Concerto, composed in 1950. However, he composed also a group of four small works for horn and piano in 1908. Of the four, this Nocturne and also the Intermezzo are most frequently performed.

Moving ahead just five years to 1913 we have the Canto Serioso (“serious song”) of Carl Nielsen. Composer of many large works, this is his only work that features a brass instrument as a solo voice. The interaction of the horn and piano, the focus on the lower range of the horn, and the distinct tonal language of Nielsen create in Canto Serioso a unique color in the repertoire of the horn.

When the series continues we will look at two more wonderful, short works.

Continue in series

New instrument! Change mouthpiece? Break it in?

John Ericson
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Some horn players are very averse to change, but changes have to be made! One exciting type of change is getting a new horn — which I just did! This type of change can be a special challenge to players who are coming from a big horn like an 8D to a smaller horn such as the popular Geyer style horns. Trying them can even be difficult.

But let’s say that the shopping is done, the deal is made, you have the horn. What next? I just did this, so while your experiences will vary, the following has been mine.

I had been playing mostly for several years a Geyer style horn, a Willson. What I liked about it was it was responsive and free blowing, professional sound, a great high Bb too, but in the end I just desired a better horn of the same general type to use, ideally, for the remainder of my career.

I had been trying to sell my big Paxman 25AND, but got it back from Houghton (it was on consignment), and I took the plunge and ordered a Patterson model R Geyer, seen here, after trying the model pretty thoroughly at the recent Southwest Horn Conference.

Part of the process of this switch was that I would be, for a time, back to playing the Paxman as my main horn. As I often tell people, the big Paxman is a great horn, I made my first two solo CDs playing on it, but it takes about two weeks to get used to. It is a very big horn (I call it my 5/4 size horn! Half-inch tubing on the F side and the big “American” bell), it needs some major air and takes strong articulations. I don’t think it tests well for that reason and, of course, the market for big nickel silver horns is tanking, and this is not just big but really big.

There is an important side point worth mentioning at this point in this discussion. Contrary to what some people say and think, I don’t think horns “break in” at all. What happens is YOU break in! Your playing subtly adjusts to accommodate the different horn, and in the case of my big Paxman I knew from experience how long it takes to get used to it.

Part of that process of “breaking you in” is dialing in the new horn with the mouthpiece choice. Even the best horn will feel “stuffy” with the wrong mouthpiece (even if it was the right one for your previous horn!).

I got the new Patterson horn near the beginning of our spring break, exactly two weeks ago today. In short what I was using as a mouthpiece on the big horn did not pan out as working or sounding good on the Patterson. I had been playing a Houghton mouthpiece (made by Houser) and worked through my Houghton and Houser mouthpiece options, first with a limited selection at home and then with the larger selection in my office.

The useful point I would make to readers is that, initially, I thought that my Patterson played best with a “plus 1” shank, but subsequently I decided that a “0” shank was the best.

So what does that mean? This is one area where horn mouthpiece options have improved immensely over what we had back when I was a student. Houser in their system offers five different options as to the external taper of the shank, three of which are seen in this photo. On the right is the “0” option, which fits in a standard amount. In the middle is the “1” option, which sits in the horn less distance — 1 MM less to be exact, as seen by the tape position. The one on the left is the +2 size, which sits out of the receiver 2 MM further than the standard version. Each shank is progressively a little bigger in diameter, in other words.

For me, on this particular horn, the +1 size brings the high range into focus works OK but the +2 size, goes too far, the sound gets a bit barky and harsh on this horn.

The point of all this being not that horn players are neurotic (OK, maybe we are a little), but rather that most of the differences described above are actually in the thousandths of an inch range — yet they are very perceivable as you dial in a new horn.

A final point being that I know I am also changing my default style of articulation a little, essentially softening it to match the horn. Not to the extent that I had to when making my period horn recording (more here), but still it is the same general change. Saying it another way, when first coming off the big horn I sounded a bit barky on every mouthpiece I tried, I was hitting the notes too hard.

Thus, the “breaking in” process is not only finding a mouthpiece that brings things into focus, but also involves adjustment to the way the new horn responds. A process that took me — two weeks!

Which is all to say that you are part of the equation, the horn is part of the equation, and the mouthpiece is the final part that you can alter toward getting the sound and feel you desire. I am very happy with the horn, I should have upgraded in this direction years ago….

Looking ahead, there will be an article soon related to that last thought. I wish a horn of this quality and type were available back when I was a young professional player in the early 1990s, we have come so far in terms of horns and mouthpieces.

A quick look at a vintage horn with piston valves

John Ericson
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A topic that comes up periodically is piston valves, as in why are they not used on horns? They actually have been; a couple examples were featured in this prior article in fact. Those two horns have one big problem, the angle of travel of the valve, it is not very comfortable.

Conn among others saw that problem and made a type of piston valve horn seen in the USA. Rumor I have heard is that these were made in part to fulfill military contracts, because they had standardized on piston valve brass instruments. True or not, I don’t know.

This horn was recently loaned to me for an extended period by one of my predecessors at ASU, Ralph Lockwood, who is an enthusiast for piston valves on the horn. This instrument is a Conn, and from the serial number was made in 1916.

The notable part is the angle of the valve cluster, seen clearly in the second photo. This allows for a much better direction of travel for the valves.

Also in the first photo you will see it has an Eb slide, but also that the slide allows extra pull to take the horn down to D easily.

So how does it play? Really pretty nicely. What you seem to gain with the piston valves is a very smooth transition between notes, there are basically no “clicks” or “bumps” when you move the valves between notes. I talk a bit more about this in this article.

As noted in the first of the linked articles, piston double horns have been made but piston valves really are problematic with them needing to be really long to support the two sets of slides, and the angle issue as well to render the instrument playable. They will, I think, always be a rarity, but a most interesting one. Thanks again to Ralph Lockwood for sharing this horn for an extended trial.

Improve your tuning! Two podcasts to help

John Ericson
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The two most recent episodes of the Horn Notes Video Podcast both relate to tuning.

The newest episode is one featuring Gustavo Camacho with a focus on tuning with drones. Dr. Camacho is horn professor at Western Washington University, having previously taught for four years at the Interlochen Arts Academy. He earned his MM and DMA (2011) from Arizona State, and has clearly given some thought to practical solutions toward improving intonation. In particular, during his time at Interlochen, he developed a four step plan to improve intonation with drones. For more on this listen below.

The other episode is related, with a focus on a product that will help your tuning, The Brass Gym for Horn. I led a group warm-up based on The Brass Gym at the recent Southwest Horn Conference, in part because there are good materials there, but also because the horn version was released in 2007, ten years ago this year! Background on the publication (I was the editor), and a number of tips are presented in this short video. And, as always, be watching for more episodes.

Ericson Interview, part IV: The “real world” of college teaching

John Ericson
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Conclusion, interview by Komsun Dilokkunanant.

11. There are many complains from full-time teacher in Thailand regarding a high amount of paperwork that need to be submitted to University for Quality Assurance system. Is there such a thing here? If so, does it requires a lot of paperwork and time?

Paperwork takes a good chunk of my time here. It depends on the school of course but I believe, overall, the level of paperwork is higher than in the past, and it is more of a part of the job than outsiders realize. I know it can be worse than we have, one former student was teaching at a university that had a complicated grading rubric that has to be filled out for every lesson across their entire music program. We have not gone that far at ASU, but in this era of documenting everything who knows, it may not be too far away.

12. Do you have any difficulties finding funding for your projects? If so, what were your solutions?

Yes, funding is difficult to locate. My CDs are all actually self-funded. This will probably surprise many readers. Some schools have systems that can be used to get grants for CDs. I my case we opted to go ahead and make the recordings as investments in my career. The only funding I have received that related to a specific project was partial funding of a single music commission, the title work of Table for Three.

13. Were there any problems dealing with administrative staff or management board?

No. Maybe I have been lucky but I feel like everywhere I have worked full time the administration did a pretty good job. I do my job and they do theirs.

I think as horn professors we are pretty lucky too. Typically, we are the only one at the school. When you get to multi teacher studios such as seen in say piano or violin, I think that is where you get drama.

14. How do you manage your time between teaching, playing, paperwork, and maintaining a good and healthy personal life? Any special keys?

First let me say that my wife is wonderful. I owe so much to her in terms of encouragement and a stable family life. Her encouragement led me to complete my Doctorate, and her support has left me with less to worry about.

Beyond that, French horn teaching and playing is something I do, I do it to the best of my ability, but it is not my life. I have other hobbies and interests, my faith is very important to me (it provides hope for the future and is the basis for any optimism I feel), and my family as well is very important to me.

My son being handicapped also takes quite a bit of my time. At times it has been difficult for us and he is very attached to me, even at age 23. But instead of it being a negative it has actually enforced some routines in my life, limiting things in a way that has ultimately helped me produce some unique products. I try to focus on what I can do rather than what I can’t do.

Expanding that last thought, everyone has their own specific circumstances. Things will have two sides. I could focus on the opportunities I don’t have. Instead, I choose to focus on the opportunities I have. So while there may be things you can’t do, there are always things you can do. As they say, doors close but windows open.

To a more specific tip others reading this might apply to their lives, as I write these answers it is actually the busiest part of the year, the E-mail is really flying, much to do. I am not perfect, but as much as anything I try to stay organized. Focus on the tasks that have to be done; try be organized and not fall too far behind.

15. How would you describe your experience as a Professor at Arizona State University for the last 20 years? What were your proud moments? Were there any regrets?

Well, I have not been here quite 20 years as I started teaching here in the fall of 2001. Overall the experience has been great. I have learned much over the years as a teacher, I have had some wonderful colleagues, and I love hearing the progress made by students during their studies. No big regrets, certainly.

16. What is (or are) the most important thing(s) to be a successful teacher/student?

For a successful horn teacher, a key thing I think is to be interested in solving problems. For the student, it is the opposite, to be interested in working out problems.

Other teachers will have very different answers, of course. One I know, who teaches at another school, I am sure their teaching is all about inspiration; yet others, it seems to me that their teaching is more along the lines of coaching. These tactics can work, with the right students, but if an individual student has basic technical problems playing into the low range (for example) all the inspiration and coaching in the world won’t give them a powerful low C. So, again, I think an interest in practical problem solving, combined with curiosity about the underlying techniques of horn playing, is really beneficial.

Turning back to students, I think there is a trap to be careful of. It may be cool to study with someone famous at the famous school, but if all they do is coach musical interpretations it won’t help you reach your goals, unless you have no technical problems, of course. There has to be a balance between technical work and musical work.

One other point I would add is actually I was not that strong a player out of high school. I did make all-state as a senior (in Kansas), but had a serious embouchure problem, and at the start of college was a music business major planning to go into instrument repair! I doubt that I would have been accepted as a performance major anywhere. I very interested in performance though and worked hard on my problems, for example changing my embouchure not once but twice over the course of my college studies. I made a lot of progress over time. That experience I think has helped me a great deal as a teacher. For those players who were “naturals” who had no problems it can be a challenge to help students solve problems.

17. How would you sum up your experience so far in one sentence?

Winning Third Horn in Nashville was a key factor toward all that I have subsequently done in my career; I feel very blessed to have had the opportunities I have had and look forward to the final portion of my college teaching career.

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