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Change your tuner, change your life — and warming up to improve intonation

John Ericson
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There are a number of tuners out there that go beyond the old basic Korg tuner that has been so standard for years. Students of mine know I have been relying on a couple of Korgs that have been dropped a few too many times ….

TonalEnergyI recently saw several references to one specific tuner app for a phone, and it seems like a particularly good one, the TonalEnergy tuner. The happy face when you are in tune is a nice touch, and it also produces drones and has a built-in metronome.  [But NOTE: Be sure it is set for equal temperament! Using this on just intonation will be frustrating, it is better to achieve this with drones or in actual ensembles. Get equal temperament down and the small adjustments toward just intonation are easy.]

Even if you don’t get this app, in terms of practice especially at this point in the summer be very sure you are in tune! It is easy to drift off into a world that sounds good to you but is certainly not in tune.

As to how to use this tuner app, or any tuner actually, I do have some specific suggestions. A primary one is this:

  • Don’t use a tuner at all for the first several minutes of your playing day.

Why? Because before your face and instrument is warmed up a little bit tuning is pointless and possibly  detrimental even.

Back to the happy face on this app, you may feel a bit unhappy with your tuning when you actually get the tuner out. Working on tuning I have several suggestions.

After your initial warmup I would suggest some exercises early on in your playing day that involve pitch bends to check your centering. This article has a number of quotes and info on this topic. 

Notes may seem to center at different places and part of the issue will be your horn in general and also the slide positions being less than optimal. How do you adjust the valve slides? Some info is found in this article.

As to working on tuning further, speaking generally again, play slowish, tonal exercises and not exercises on the harmonic series. You want to use fingerings like you would normally use on every note. Repeating that:

  • Play slowish, tonal exercises and not exercises on the harmonic series and
  • Use fingerings like you would normally use on every note.

You may find it really hard to keep the face on the tuner happy in long tone exercises that involve a crescendo and diminuendo.  This is a really essential skill and one worth drilling every single day with a tuner.

Finally, there is an important side note. You may feel that your tuning is different when playing tonal exercises as compared to tonguing (for example tonguing repeated notes). This, like the crescendo/diminuendo issue, is something to work out and come to terms with as part of your daily quest for improved general intonation. Whatever form your adjustments take, they need to become automatic.

There are published warm-up routines that focus on tuning and you can mix and match elements of many to suit the goal of working on tuning (checking for example The Brass Gym for horn). Drones can also be real helpful for working on tuning, but I go back to the tuner app, it is like a new toy in a way and does open up your thinking and playing in a new way. Good luck!

Video Podcasts: Looking at published horn warmup routines

John Ericson
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UPDATE 2017: These have now also been posted to iTunes; see http://hornnotes.libsyn.com/ for more information on this and other episodes of the Horn Notes Podcast.

The topic is published horn warmup routines and the guest is Dr. Alex Manners for two episodes of the Horn Notes Video Podcast.

Podcast-snip-articleAlex recently completed his DMA at Arizona State, with his research project on the topic “An Annotated Guide to Published Horn Warmup Routines, 1940-2015.” The entire project may be read here in the ASU Digital Repository. As he notes in the paper itself, the choice of 1940 is not arbitrary, as there are actually no published horn warmup routines prior to that date.

It is a great topic that every horn player could stand to think about and review periodically. The podcast is in two parts and focuses on 8 of the 38 publications examined in his study. Part I is on the earlier publications, featuring routines by Farkas, Schuller, Singer, and Standley:

And part II is on more recent warmup publications, featuring routines by Teuber, Wekre, Hesse, and Epstein:

The entire Doctoral project has coverage of 38 published routines. For more on Alex, check out his website here, and thank you Alex for sharing.

Finally, to the big question you may be asking now, how did horn players warm-up before 1940? It seems so essential, you could ponder this question all day, but it seems to me if you look at say the Duvernoy Méthode pour le Cor (1802) the general idea way back then was probably just to noodle around on short exercises until you felt ready to go. I included a section of these very exercises in my natural horn book.

As always, yet more episodes of the Horn Notes Video Podcast may be found here on YouTube.

Brief review: Guide to the Solo Horn Repertoire

John Ericson
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Just out is a wonderful publication that will be of much interest to the horn community, Guide to the Solo Horn Repertoire by Linda Dempf and Richard Seraphinoff. At over 600 pages this book is as noted in the publisher website a “comprehensive, annotated resource of solo repertoire for the horn” which “documents in detail the rich catalogue of original solo compositions for the instrument.”

Solo-horn-repertoire-coverThe book is divided into three sections, music for unaccompanied horn, music for horn with a keyboard accompaniment (piano, organ, or harpsichord), and music for horn with an ensemble (orchestra, wind ensemble, smaller groups).

Did I mention the book is huge? For purposes of a brief review it seemed the best personal angle would be to look at works that I have some expertise with, the pieces that I recorded on my three solo CDs.

The first CD was Les Adieux, which included the following works:

  • Franz Strauss: Fantasie über den Sehnsuchtswaltzer von Schubert, Op. 2
  • Franz Strauss: Les Adieux
  • Robert Schumann: Phantasiestüke, Op. 73
  • Franz Strauss: Nocturno, Op. 7
  • Franz Strauss: Empfindungen am Meere, Op. 12
  • Franz Strauss: Thema und Variationen, Op. 13
  • Richard Strauss: Andante, Op. post.

The Franz Strauss works are covered well, although with a note that the version of the Op. 2 that I recorded, edited by Thomas Bacon, is not addressed, only the (shorter) version published by Belwin is included. A PDF document with more on the publication history of Franz Strauss works is here. The Schumann work is a transcription, so it is not included in the book. The Richard Strauss is there with a clear annotation.

To my second CD, Canto, it contains the following works:

  • Trygve Madsen: Sonata for Horn and Piano, Op. 24
  • Robert Schumann: Adagio und Allegro in A-flat Major, Op. 70
  • Reinhold Gliere: Nocturne, Op. 35, No. 10
  • Carl Nielsen, Canto Serioso
  • H. K. Schmid: Im tiefsten Walde, Op. 34, No. 4
  • Arnold Cooke: Rondo in B-flat Major
  • Franz Danzi: Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 28

These works are all “standards” to varying degrees and are all included in the book with very clear listings.

My third CD is still in progress but completely edited. This article contains the list of works:

  • Serenade, Op. 20 – Louis Bödecker
  • Sonata, Op. 7 – Hermann Eichborn
  • Resignation, Op. 16 – Charles Eisner
  • Lied ohne Worte, Op. 2 – Oscar Franz
  • Gondellied, Op. 15 – Karl Matys
  • Am Abend, Op. 71 – B. Ed. Müller
  • Melancholie, Op. 68 – B. Ed. Müller
  • Nocturno, Op. 73 – B. Ed. Müller
  • Wiegenlied, Op. 69, No. 1 – B. Ed. Müller
  • Lied ohne Worte – Josef Richter
  • Sonate, Op. 347 – Fritz Spindler

Now we are finally getting to some rather obscure works that put the book to a bit more of a test. Going alphabetically, Bödecker, Eichborn, Eisner, and Franz have clear listings. With the Matys we come to a problem, his work for horn and piano (found on IMSLP) is not listed, although his four Konzertstück for horn and orchestra are listed later in the book, and also his dates are given (1835-1908) which certainly was a detail that was not easy to track down. Moving ahead, next up is B. Ed. Müller. His works are all there with a correct birth year for him too, but with two notes. First, it is not noted that the Andante Religioso, Op. 74 was published for horn and organ. With that in mind I would also question if the Gebet Op. 65a is an arrangement, that it might also be an original work for horn and organ as well? The Andante Religioso at the least is significant as it likely is one of the first published works for that combination (anyone looking for a Doctoral project?). The next work on my list was also a problem, it is on IMSLP but the Lied ohne Worte of Josef Richter did not make it into the book. The final work, the Spindler Sonata, is included with a clear listing.

There is so much great info included in the publication (check out the Rosetti concertos for example) that missing only a couple rather obscure publications in my brief sample is not a major issue. In short, this book is certainly “must have” material for anyone who is serious about the French horn! The Amazon listing is here.

Video Podcasts — talking with James Boldin about solo training and brass trios

John Ericson
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UPDATE 2017: These have now also been posted to iTunes; see http://hornnotes.libsyn.com/ for more information on this and other episodes of the Horn Notes Podcast.

The guest for two episodes of the Horn Notes Video Podcast is James Boldin. Horn professor at the University of Louisana at Monroe, the first episode focuses on his publication Solo Duet Training for Horns. From the publiser website:  

These duets are a unique and creative way to learn seven of the most popular horn solos. Solo Duet Training can be used to help students learn style and technique, as recreational musical diversions, or even as additions to recitals if an accompanist is unavailable. The duets include Villanelle by Dukas, Reverie by Glazunov, Concerto K. 447 (Horn in F and E-flat) by Mozart, Morceau de Concert and Romance by Saint-Saens, Nocturno by F. Strauss, and Concerto (Horn in F and D) by Telemann.

Continuing the conversation, our second topic was brass trios. Boldin has performed with a very active brass trio for nearly ten years and I have performed with brass trios as well, including making a CD, Table for Three, described here.  Our conversation among other topics includes selecting the best six brass trio works for trumpet, horn, and trombone.

Podcast-snip-articleThese video podcasts are also a first for me technically, as they were recorded via Skype. For yet more episodes of the video podcast check my YouTube channel here.

Video Podcasts — “Workshop presentations” on Dennis Brain and Wagner tuba

John Ericson
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I won’t be to the IHS event this summer and I am sure a lot of readers won’t make it either. I have presented at these events a number of times, and would offer these two brief podcasts as glimpses of what you might see at a horn symposium.

First up is a very concise version of an actual presentation I gave at the 2011 International Horn Symposium in San Francisco, which is also described in this article.  As noted there,  the session description as submitted was as follows:

While all serious students of the horn have heard recordings by the legendary horn soloist Dennis Brain, most listeners have never heard horns very much like the horns he performed on live in a room. This session in a lecture-recital format will focus in on the equipment he used during his performing career.

A longer format version of this, an article with plenty of footnotes, was published in the February, 2016 issue of The Horn Call.

Another topic I have presented about several times at workshops is the Wagner tuba. At one event I had some pushback from a European player, they felt that playing the Wagner tuba was a religious experience and it should only be used to play actual orchestral works such as The Ring or Bruckner symphonies (after I had demonstrated playing a duet in the style of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass!). This second video podcast pushes back at that with another miniature presentation, “Fun with the Chinese Wagner Tuba.”

The review of the Chinese Wagner tuba I reference in the video may be found here.

Both of these podcasts and many more can be accessed here on YouTube, and always be watching for more episodes.

UPDATE: The Wagner tuba book is now available (2018) in an updated edition. 

Mouthpieces in Stainless Steel or in Brass?

John Ericson
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Until pretty recently virtually all French horn mouthpieces were made of brass (plated with a layer of silver or gold — with a very small number made from solid nickel silver or from plastics). But in recent years, with the use of CNC lathes for mouthpiece production, stainless steel has become a viable option. How do brass and stainless steel compare?

IMGP5776 (2)I have wondered this for a while, and only recently had mouthpieces to use that were actually exactly the same to compare back to back. The results are rather interesting, as depending on what mouthpiece and on what horn it is easy to observe different results.

Every dimension of a mouthpiece makes a difference, as does the interface with the instrument (influenced by shank size). And then you layer on top of that a difference of materials! The biggest differences are obvious at very high dynamics. Sometimes I find that brass sounds better; other times the stainless steel was certainly better; yet other times I am hard pressed to say much more than the sound was slightly different but neither was really better than the other. Just different.

The other place I really notice differences is how the articulations sound, with stainless being crisper by a degree, but on some horns and with some players it comes across as harsh rather than crisp. In other words it depends somewhat on how you play to begin with and the tendencies of your horn.

The “envelope” of the sound is a bit different to be sure, but if one material is generally better than the other I am going to say officially is hard to say. Again, it depends a lot on the player and the type of horn and mouthpiece they were using.

One thing I can say broadly on this topic is that the temper (hardness) of the stainless steel mouthpiece is undoubtedly much harder than the average brass mouthpiece you have been using. Having loaned out a few mouthpieces over the years I can say with certainty that the stainless steel mouthpieces in particular are very resistant to showing any sign of wear, they look brand new for a very long time.

Another point worth mentioning in passing, the stainless steel mouthpiece should be exactly up to spec as produced. A brass mouthpiece that has been plated will always be slightly different than it was before it was plated, as the silver or gold can/will be distributed over the surface of the mouthpiece slightly unevenly. Thousandths of an inch matter in mouthpieces.

I am inclined to say the stainless steel mouthpiece may play a little easier in general if I am comparing two that are identical (brass compared to stainless), but of course your perception may be different than mine, and for a fair comparison they really do need to be identical mouthpieces by the same maker. My comparisons have been with mouthpieces produced by Houser, which is a good place to start if you are considering trying out this new material and have not yet done so.

Video Podcasts with Rose French — new publications and enterprise

John Ericson
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UPDATE 2017: These have now also been posted to iTunes; see http://hornnotes.libsyn.com/ for more information on this and other episodes of the Horn Notes Podcast.

Now out in the Horn Notes Video Podcast series are a pair of interviews with Rose French.

The first one is on her new and recent publications, Rangesongs for Horn and The Horn Player’s Songbook, available from Mountain Peak Music. When Rangesongs came out we did a print interview as well (which can be read here). I think the interview below opens up some new details on that publication, and both are interesting publications to be sure!

The other podcast is focused on her recent enterprising activities including the Mill Avenue Chamber Players and more. It touches on topics we addressed in a print interview a few years ago (which can be read here), but with a focus on her current activities.

Podcast-snip-articleMore interviews of this type are planned. I am happy with how these two came out and do be looking for more.

A direct link to these videos and more may be accessed here.

Introducing the Horn Notes Video Podcast — low horn episode

John Ericson
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Back in 2013 I produced a series of three videos that were to launch an idea I had, HornMattersTV. Of those videos, the one on the Wagner tuba (described here) has been the most popular, with as of now over 23,000 views. In the past, too, I was a regular guest on a podcast, the Mellocast, and some content along those lines has remained on my mind, such as this episode that looked at The Brass Gym. I was not lacking for ideas for more videos, but the way I set it up each one required some time, etc.

Fast forward to today. As of this moment I have five episodes in the editing stages for a new video podcast series. The first episode out, on the low horn, is in the same general format as the old HornMattersTV episodes, and offers a few low horn tips and some notes on my new “Low Horn Boot Camp” publication.

The direct video link is here. Future episodes will more commonly be in a video podcast format, with guests and still photos rather than video clips (which besides extra production time creates a volume/balance issue which is seen to a point in this video and even more so in the older ones from 2013).

Podcast-snip-articleMost likely not every episode will be featured with an article here in Horn Matters, they may just be shared via social media so keep your eyes peeled!

And a final note. This first link below will take you to the overall channel that these video podcasts are posted on:

but this very similar link below will take you to the YouTube channel of Sarah Willis:

Which is part of why the name has been changed from my original idea of HornMattersTV, I would rather you search for the “Horn Notes Video Podcast” than get directed accidentally to another horn video series. Thank you for watching and be looking for more episodes.

Let’s talk about … rotor bumpers

John Ericson
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Back in the day we called them “corks” because they were always natural cork (and fell apart pretty regularly), but today “bumpers” seems to be the preferred term.

Horn-bumperQuite a variety of these are available. I for years have mostly been using O ring or drive belt material, but I was feeling not completely happy with the results, and there was too much noise associated with the bumper material on several horns I regularly use.

At the risk of going Scientific American on our readers, there are quite a variety of options out there for bumper material. The article and list over at the Siegfried’s Call website (here) is the most comprehensive I know of, with materials including Buna-N, soft Neoprene, Silicone, and more!

I opted to buy from them their soft Silicone in the .210 diameter, which they describe as follows—

Softest feel with a little bounce particularly with lighter springs. Very little noise, if any. Fairly durable and resistant to oils. Our shop favorite feel.

The first horn to get it was the ASU Chinese Wagner Tuba which had certainly a very hard bumper material from the factory. It made a HUGE difference! The second horn to get the treatment was my own main double horn, which I also felt had valves that made more noise than they should. Again, it made a noticeable difference. Initially it seemed just by a degree, but the more I played it the more my horn felt like a higher end horn! Bumper material does impact your perception of the feel of quality of a horn.

The big picture point being that quiet valves are possible!

I think people these days tend to use bumpers too long that are from materials that tend to harden over time, slowly creating extra noise. Don’t rule out a change of bumper material to reduce your valve noise.

Schantl and Meifred for low and high horn in three more innovative E-publications

John Ericson
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NOTE: These are now available in a second edition. available worldwide in print and Kindle versions. More information in this article. 

The newest releases from Horn Notes Edition are three versions of a collection of 35 melodic etudes. Set at standard pitch and also in special versions targeted for high and low horn study — areas where there is great need for more studies of this type — these etudes have been “rescued” from the method books of two important 19th-century horn teachers, Josef Schantl and Joseph Meifred.

35-etudes-standardThe Große theortisch-praktische Horn-Schule of the great Viennese hornist and teacher Josef Schantl (1842-1902) was published in four volumes in 1903. The best know portion today is volume III, which was reprinted in 1941 in abridged form as Preparatory Melodies to Solo Work, edited by Max P. Pottag. The etudes excerpted here are found in the original but not the Pottag version; Pottag selected just 98 melodies from the original Schantl collection of 120 melodies.

Schantl was a major teacher and player of the late nineteenth century. He was a Principal Horn of the Imperial and Royal Court Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, and has been credited with founding the Vienna Waldhornverein. Among many significant performances he performed on the premieres of Brahms second and third Symphonies and also the third and eighth Symphonies of Anton Bruckner.

Joseph Meifred (1791-1867) studied the natural horn with Louis-François Dauprat (1787-1868) at the Paris Conservatory, where he was awarded the First Prize for horn in 1818. In 1833 the Conservatory instituted a valved horn class with Meifred as professor; he held this position until his retirement in 1864.

35-etudes-highMeifred’s Méthode pour le Cor Chromatique, ou à Pistons, published in 1840, was the first method for the valved horn written by a major performer. Being first, he developed quite a few interesting and unique exercises, including within his method a group of etudes.

A number of these etudes of Schantl and Meifred I selected and included in my earlier publication Ultimate Horn Technique (Horn Notes Edition), but all of them are now together for the first time.

In the Standard French Horn Version the etudes are presented in the keys they were originally published, in order by key and with only light editing (and that primarily limited to the Meifred etudes). The Low French Horn version transposes these etudes to lower keys, targeting the lowest notes of the horn, and the High French Horn version transposes these etudes to higher keys, targeting the highest notes of the horn.

These are effective and new materials worthy of checking out! For a variety of innovative horn and brass publications visit www.hornnotes.com

UPDATE: And now I have done a Video Podcast that tells you more:

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