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Hornmasters: Fox on Tone Production

John Ericson
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One of the things I enjoy in working on this series of quotes from classic horn method books is seeing different perspectives on topics. With respect to the topic of tone production Fred Fox in Essentials of Brass Playing presents several tactics toward finding the best tone quality.

Vowel shapes and tone color

One first area he explores is that of finding the best vowel shape that will produce the best sound.

The tone of a brass instrument can be pleasant, or it can be unpleasant—either too dull or too edgy….

Play a note in the middle register of your instrument using an extreme “ee” (as in the word “see”) tongue position. The note will sound thin. Play the same note again using an extreme “aw” (as in the word “law”) tongue position. The note will now sound dull, like a foghorn. Play the note a third time with the tongue midway between both extremes. The sound is now more satisfactory because you have both the highs and lows present in the tone. Some players may prefer a few more highs or lows…, but there should never be an extreme imbalance in either direction.

Start the same note again. As you sustain the note vary the tongue position from “ee” to “aw” and find the position midway between the extremes that sounds best to you. The note is now in focus.

What he is saying is true, to a point, on any specific note. However, do remember that by range your tongue position will be different, high notes require an “ee” formation and low require an “aw” formation, that insight is completely confirmed by the recent MRI horn studies.

Improving loud dynamics

Fox addresses as well another source of a poor loud tone quality.

Excessive brassiness can be caused by overblowing, that is, using more air than deeded for a given dynamic. In earlier discussions it has been shown that the purpose of the air stream is merely to vibrate the lips. True, more air is needed to get a larger vibration, but only the smallest possible amount of additional air pressure should be added for the louder dynamic. The instrument will amplify the larger vibration, thus producing a louder tone. The instrument should fill with vibration and the sound should float out, not be pushed out. If more air than necessary is used on any given dynamic level, the note will sound forced and will not float effortlessly as it should. Check it out. Overblow a note; then, as the note is sustained, ease off slightly on the air pressure, but remember to keep the diaphragm as firm as if you are still blowing hard. Notice that the sound floats more and has a singing quality.

It is true that on a fortissimo a brassy sound is sometimes desired. That brassy sound can always be gotten by simply blowing hard. Overblowing does not have to be practiced too much.

The singing position?

A final suggestion from Fred Fox, one that worries me a bit but horn teachers should be aware of, relates to what he calls “the singing position.” It relates to opening the throat as you play in the same manner you would keep it open if singing with a full, resonant voice.

In my teaching experience over the past few years I find ‘the singing position’ one of the most important essentials….

The throat can be set in a talking or a singing position at will. In other words when talking one does not attempt to get the same throat resonances as when singing. There is a change in the vocal production between the two.

…The throat can be set in singing position or talking position at will when playing a wind instrument. One must consciously set the throat in the singing position when playing, and keep it in that position at all times in any register and/or dynamic. By doing this, it seems as if you are virtually singing through the instrument, rather than blowing through it.

That last section worries me a little, as in it can lead you to worry too much about artificially maintaining some position that is not really correct. Still, though, it is a visualization that it may be helpful to explore if tone production is of concern.

Continue Reading in Hornmasters Series

Anatomy of an Orchestra Gig: Getting Out-of-Town and Staying Overnight

Bruce Hembd
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When working in Chicago as a freelancer many years ago, a portion of my work involved commuting very long distances. For a few jobs this meant travelling out-of-state, to northern Indiana, southern Wisconsin or as far as southern Michigan.

While the hidden travel costs took a big chunk of money out from the final paycheck the experience was, at the time, worth the effort. Back in those days, when offered any job to play I would usually say “yes” – even if the pay was not huge or even if I was, in actual fact, losing money.

I needed professional experience and for that, these long-distance gigs offered a significant long-term value that went beyond the immediate cash reward. They had a time and place.

On the road again

These days I no longer need to pursue this kind of experience, but I still regularly travel long distances as a veteran member of the Arizona Opera Orchestra.

For each opera, two sets of performance cycles are engaged: a set in Phoenix and another in Tucson. I live in Phoenix and for the performances in Tucson (pronounced as TOO-sän), I travel by car and stay overnight in a hotel provided by the company.

It is not a terribly long commute. The trip adds up to about 120 miles one-way; it takes around 2 hours driving at a reasonable speed. Still, I prefer to camp out in a hotel rather than to drive back and forth for each performance.

It saves time, money and (most important), energy.

For this trip, the trunk (a.k.a. the boot) is packed with my horn, a book bag of miscellaneous stuff (more on that later) and a suitcase with clothes and overnight supplies.

I should also mention that underneath all of the luggage is a portable music stand. This stand is a permanent fixture in this car, one that gets used for other gigs and for emergency situations where an extra stand might be useful.

The car for this trip is a Honda Fit. It was purchased a few years ago with the notion to save a little money on gas. The mileage has been about as good as it gets and I am quite happy with it.

Sometimes I will drive the whole trip in one session without a break, but on this occasion I made a quick stop at a state-provided rest stop. In the winter, Arizona is a beautiful place and sometimes it is nice to take a break and stretch out a little at this rest stop.

(See this video for another look at this rest stop and its desert scenery.)

A room with a view

At the hotel in Tucson, my room this time had a view of the back end of the hall. The Tucson Music Hall, which is part of the Tucson Convention Center, is at left in the picture below.

It is certainly very nice to be able to walk to performances and not worry about commuting or parking. I am literally yards away from the backstage entrance and this convenience provides for a very relaxed and stress-free arrival at the hall.

Book bag

Like my horn, my book bag is a regular appendage at gigs. For this trip I packed a number of items, to execute this specific job, to prepare for future jobs, and also to work on other projects.

Some of its contents on this trip included:

* These particular items will be the topic of future articles at Horn Matters.

Other equipment

Being a technology-oriented guy, I come equipped with a number of electronics.

I am not a watcher of live or cable television and instead prefer to read my eBook tablet or to watch movies online for entertainment. I always bring a laptop to get some work done, and on this trip a scanner was also brought along in order to make and send a few PDFs.

Oil spill containment

There is a slight difference in altitude between Phoenix and Tucson – about 1,000 feet –  and the shifting air pressure occasionally causes valve oil bottles to leak.

For this Phoenix-to-Tucson trip, I put all lubricants in a plastic bag to help keep spills contained.

Also, to help prevent “burping” – a pressurized spray of oil when opening containers at the lower elevation after returning home – I loosen the caps a little on each bottle, before each trip. This seems to help with the changing air pressure and oil leaks.

An excellent mute

The opera on this trip was Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. It has a number of extended passages with mute (as do many of Puccini’s operas) and the shining star in this venture was my new straight mute from Ion Balu.

It is feels to be about twice the weight of my previous mute and the opening at top looks to be about twice as large. It has a great sound, one that blows evenly in all ranges. I bought this mute at the Southwest Horn Conference, and it is quite possibly the best mute I have ever owned.

And too, with Ms. Butterfly looking over my shoulder, the timing of this new purchase could not have been better.

In the pit, two-by-two

This final picture comes from the rear of the orchestra pit where I sit. In this production I was seated in my designated position as third horn, but otherwise for the rest of the season I have been and will be playing principal. It has been a lot of fun.

The Arizona Opera horn section seats itself in two rows, at stage left.

Below, is a diagram I made a few years ago of our pit seating. It illustrates the two-by-two seating of the horns.

Our pit areas are partially-covered and in this graphic, the gray area represents the area that falls underneath the stage.

Click on this image for a closer look.

This two-by-two formation allows the horn section to hear each other much better than when situated in one long row and placed in front of the trumpets and low brass. Under the roof of a stage pit, this can get way too loud and uncomfortable for everyone concerned.

Fortunately, the trumpets and low brass did not like having a horn section in front of them either, so rallying support for a move to stage left and to be set up in two rows was not incredibly difficult.

Practicing in the hotel

Myself, I have no apprehensions about practicing at a reasonable dynamic and at a reasonable hour in the hotel room. Any time after 10am or before 6pm is fair game in my book, and at least for the time being, I have received no major complaints.

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Related to this topic and to close out this article, here is a video that features members of the New York Philharmonic in a hotel scenario.

It illustrates – with tongue-in-cheek humor – the dangers of practicing in a building full of musicians.

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What your Mozart Concerto needs to Sound Like for an Audition

John Ericson
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Recently I was pointed to the blog of Barry Stees, Assistant Principal bassoon of the Cleveland Orchestra and a former colleague of mine at the Brevard Music Center. Two very recent articles caught my attention, related to the second bassoon auditions in the Cleveland Orchestra. A specific topic area that caught my attention was on the solo portion of the audition.

When I played in the Nashville Symphony I observed the same thing: the solo portion of many professional auditions is not often what it needs to be. The way I usually word it is the solo needs to sound magical, but what happens way too often is that the solo drops back into some deep “default mode” that sounds like the player has not worked on it seriously since high school. At the very least too much effort was taken to master the excerpts but not enough to master the solo, as it too often sounds mechanical and etude-like.

Along those same lines, in the first article Sees notes 

In addition, there were a number of players who exhibited a rough, percussive style in the Mozart Concerto. Accenting every downbeat, emphasizing bar lines, and using explosive articulation in a piece that has a nobility and grace made the bassoonists on the committee embarrassed at times for the way our instrument was being treated.

In the second article he offers this useful thought.

Even more important, imagine yourself as an ambassador for the music you are playing. You are playing some of the greatest music ever written and it’s your job to show the listeners (even if they are really jaded orchestral musicians) the wonders of what you’ve brought to play.

Thus, the Mozart Concerto becomes a wonderful display of the nobility and grace of the instrument and not a grim minefield of mistakes waiting to be checked off by the committee.

There is much more to be gleaned from each of the articles linked above but I would close again by noting that the concerto must be very well prepared. Besides being completely accurate (if you can’t lay down an entire Mozart exposition with no chips you are not ready for a professional audition) make it musically magic! The Mozart horn concertos are great music and must be prepared to a high default mode in any audition you perform them on.

Raise your personal bar. Memorize the Mozart horn concertos, and perform them often.

Reflections on my vintage descant and updates to “Playing High Horn”

John Ericson
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Last week I was able to post a video of my performance last year of the Bach B minor mass on descant horn. Randomly in another search I also stumbled upon a very interesting 2011 University of Miami dissertation, “An Equipment Guide to Performing Baroque Horn Music” by Joseph T. Falvey. The full text is online and it is well worth checking out if it is a topic of interest to you.

My vintage descant

Besides that dissertation quoting and citing several of my publications, I was very interested to actually learn something new about my descant horn! It is the one I was playing in the video, an early Paxman that in my contact with Paxman I had learned was made in 1959 by Robert Paxman himself, before Richard Merewether joined the firm. What new thing I learned from the dissertation was that, according to Paxman, my descant was a new model introduced in that year, 1959. I don’t believe a lot of these were made, with this layout and the double change valve set this way, but really it is a very fine descant. The only note being it does need a mouthpiece with a larger than standard shank diameter.

This past twelve months I have had three works come up in fact that I could have chosen to play on this vintage descant or on my triple. I did back to back tests and every time the descant has won out. If I were to cut it all down to just two horns at this point in my life I would keep this descant and my current double horn.

A topic I am enthusiastic about

Descant and triple horns are a topic that I am enthusiastic about in general. They are tools that every serious horn player needs to be familiar with on at least a basic level. As I often tell people, a descant horn can save your life! I had a short, general article on the topic in Horn Articles Online for years, which has been updated and moved to Horn Matters (here). 

That became the topic of a book

Seeing it as a topic that had not been covered in much depth in any existing source, I set out to in fact write a book on the topic, which expanded on materials that had originally been online in Horn Articles Online and then later in an article in The Horn Call. It was one of my first four publications at Horn Notes Edition, and was initially the best seller!

A book that went out of print

Dedicated to the memory of my father, parts of the book I really like still but honestly I tried to do too much in this book. Part of the problem was it was a little hard to categorize in a way as it was a combination method and excerpt book with solos and more! And I did not make that much money from it, in the end. It had some real overhead to cover in particular with paying for the rights to publish the Shostakovich and Ravel excerpts.

UPDATE: A book that is back

A helpful thing to me was the recent dissertation helped confirm in my mind which sections had the most value in the original high horn book. A short article with a video on the topic of this new version may be found here.

And a few years later Playing Descant and Triple Horns was updated further in a new, affordable second edition in print and Kindle versions. For more information please visit hornnotes.com or search for it on Amazon.

On Playing the B-Minor Mass (on YouTube)

John Ericson
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This past week was my week to become a YouTube star, as in addition to the Konzertstuck from the Southwest Horn Conference my performance of the Bach B-Minor mass from January of 2011 was uploaded to YouTube as well. It is below, with a few more comments to follow. (Direct link to video here).

This was performed as a part of the Arizona Bach Festival. I really enjoyed this event and the opportunity to perform this great work.

For those equipment junkies out there, it was performed on a vintage (1959) Paxman descant. In my opinion a descant is certainly the way to go on this rather than a standard double horn or a triple.

The big challenge of this work is the long wait to play the movement, about an hour with nothing to play. What I did was bring a silent brass mute on stage and play along nearly silently with the choir on several of the movements. I doubt anyone actually noticed but it really helped in keeping things fresh and ready to go.

It is great to now have a couple of quality performances on YouTube that I can point people toward, and I hope to have a few more things out there in the near future.

The Cabbage Speaks on ‘Wolf Notes’

Bruce Hembd
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In response to a question about bad notes on a natural horn crook, both John and Dave have taken a crack at an answer.

Behind-the-scenes we also heard from Brian Holmes a.k.a. the “Cabbage.”

The initial question:

My question is why a natural horn instrument with a certain crook might have a bad note. What is the explanation, the physic behind it? … For example, on my Courtois horn, the top G on the C-crook is terribly sharp in pitch, and has a very poor tone quality.

My first thought was that it might not be clean inside (after all, it’s more than 200 years old!), or maybe a dent was interfering with the vibrations. But I got both the crook cleaned and the dents removed, and the “wolf” note is still there.

Mr. Holmes has been a member of the Physics Department of San Jose State University for fourteen years. His interests include the physics of music and sports, and physics education. A sought-after speaker, his topics include musical acoustics and sports physics.

Mr. Holmes offered his own opinion on this topic and given his background and expertise, we thought that it would be interesting to pass it on to our readers. It is reproduced here with permission.

In response, Brian Holmes

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I’m not sure I understand what Dave means by “equalizing.” And I do not understand the physics whereby such equalization would produce a shortening of the air column. Let me offer another explanation.

Sound consists of oscillating pressure. Without sound, the pressure in the horn would be one atmosphere. With sound, the pressure in the air oscillates, sometimes above atmospheric pressure, sometimes below. When I play concert A, these oscillations occur 440 times a second (different on a natural horn played at “authentic” pitch.)

I buzz my lips in the mouthpiece. The resulting sound travels down the horn and reaches the bell. At the bell, the pressure wave inverts (that is, high pressures are converted to low pressures, and vice versa) and reflects back up the horn toward the mouthpiece. (Only 1% of the sound actually leaves the bells and goes into the room.)

Notice that I didn’t explain why the pressure inverts. But let me point out that if there were a wall at the end of the horn (you can simulate this by closing the bell with your hand) then the reflected pressure wave would not invert.

(Let me know if you crave a detailed explanation of the inverting/noninverting of the reflected waves.)

Imagine that you are a tiny insect living inside the horn. (There may be plentiful green goo to dine on.) You will be in the presence of an outgoing and a returning sound wave. At certain locations, the high pressure regions of an outgoing wave exactly line up with low pressure regions of the returning wave. In these locations, the two waves cancel, and the insect will hear little sound. These locations are called pressure nodes. In other locations, the high pressure regions of the outgoing and returning waves will line up, as will the low pressure regions. In these regions, the two waves reinforce, making the sound louder; these spots are called anti-nodes.

When you play a note on your horn, there is a standing wave inside. As the insect walks from the mouthpiece to the bell, it will notice a succession of nodes and antinodes.

Now suppose that there is a tiny leak in the side of the horn. This makes it more difficult for pressure to oscillate there: if the pressure rises above one atmosphere, the air rushes out the hole. And if the pressure falls below one atmosphere, the air rushes in from outside the hole.

Here is the result. Suppose you have a standing wave in the horn, and you open a hole in the side. If the standing wave has a pressure node where the hole is, the hole will have no effect on the pitch of the note. If the standing wave has a pressure node near where the hole is, then opening the hole causes the node to move toward the hole, changing the pitch of the note.

(I have a trumpet on which I demonstrate this effect. If I open the spit valve, the note G is unaltered. This means the standing wave for G has a node at the location of the hole. Meanwhile, the note A flat gets flatter, and the note F sharp gets sharper. )

Suppose, instead of a hole, you have a tiny dent. Then the tendency will be for pressure nodes to move away from the dent. And once again, the effect will be different for different notes.

My guess, therefore, is to look for some imperfection in the tubing of the crook that is causing the mischief. Since the other crooks behave acceptably, I suspect either a small obstruction (a dent, blob of solder, or a joint between tubing of different diameters) or a small leak. But it’s easy enough to test a crook for a leak.

Ask Dave: ‘Wolf’ Notes on a Natural Horn Crook

Bruce Hembd
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Back in November, John Ericson answered a question about “wolf” notes on a natural horn crook.

Here is the question once again, but answered by our contributing writer Dave Weiner.

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Pierre-Antoine asks:

My question is why a natural horn instrument with a certain crook might have a bad note. What is the explanation, the physic behind it? … For example, on my Courtois horn, the top G on the C-crook is terribly sharp in pitch, and has a very poor tone quality.

My first thought was that it might not be clean inside (after all, it’s more than 200 years old!), or maybe a dent was interfering with the vibrations. But I got both the crook cleaned and the dents removed, and the “wolf” note is still there.

Dave replies:

First, a disclaimer:  I am not an acoustician, and I only have a technician’s practical understanding of the physics.  I am willing to be corrected by those more learned than I.

The physics of producing a vibrating air column is all about pressure.  When you vibrate the air column with your lips, a wave of pressure moves down through the trapped air column in the horn, and back again.  It happens over and over at hundreds of cycles per second.

As the vibrations and pressure increase, certain points in the air column will equalize as the pressure from one direction equals the pressure from the other direction.  At the moment, the length of the vibrating air column will shorten and produce a higher pitch.  More pressure produces more and differing points of equalization, and even higher pitches.

As it turns out, to produce notes in tune the diameter of the tubing has to be in proper and precise ratios.  As the air column pushes back it also pushes against the wall of the tubing.  If the tubing wall is not the precisely the diameter it needs to be then one segment of the vibrating air column will “want to be” longer or shorter than it needs to be.  As you struggle to vibrate the air column to play in tune at the proper pitch, your horn is working to play out of tune.  Hence, the “wolf” note.

The problem may not be the C-crook itself on you horn, but the combined taper of the crook and corpus.  Even so, I would strongly urge you to consider the coupler as a possible source of the difficulty.  If it is leaking or worn or bulged in some way, that could cause your problem.

Otherwise, consider trying a new crook.

 

Tips on Auditioning Horns, Part II: Mouthpieces, Leadpipes, Hybrids and the Schmid Double

Bruce Hembd
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At the Southwest Horn Conference (SWHC) a variety of Kruspe and Geyer type horns were available to try out. I currently play on a hybrid Geyer-wrap horn and not wanting to miss out on playing some great Kruspe-wrap horns, I came prepared with an agenda.

This agenda began with a pocket full of mouthpieces.

Bring more than one mouthpiece

Being a staunch Moosewood customer, I brought three mouthpieces:

  • Moosewood D6*
  • Moosewood A10*
  • Moosewood RB12

The D6 and A10 are heavyweight models* and due to their unique profile (and short external shank) I was not able to use them on a number of the European horns with deeper lead pipes.

For those horns I used the RB12. As the numbering system implies, this mouthpiece is the smallest of the trio and so that factor had some bearing. For the most part, I tried out horns in which the D6 or A10 would fit. Next time I will be better prepared with a European shank mouthpiece.

Hybrid horns

There were a number of modified stock horns to try out and compare. Having owned a few hybrid horns myself, these horns intrigued me the most.

The Conn 28D 400,000 series horn at the Houghton Horns table – priced at $5,250 – got a lot of attention. It is a modified, hybrid horn with a traditional 8D sound and some extra spice.

Of all the Conn brand horns at the conference, this one was my favorite.

With the Houghton custom leadpipe it was capable of a nice range of colors – from muted pianissimos to brassy fortissimos. I had a hard time putting it down and also had fun listening to a number of other people play on it. This horn has a charm, warmth and clarity that is difficult to put into words.

Like mouthpieces, a quality custom leadpipe can add huge and even mysterious properties to a horn. It is not something that I fully understand, but it is suffice to say that I have never been disappointed with a custom leadpipe on a stock instrument.

Hoyers with custom lead pipes

Along these lines two Hoyer horns at the SWHC – both with custom lead pipes – stood out. A stock Hoyer is a fairly good horn to begin with and with a custom lead pipe, it takes a quantum leap forward.

This Kruspe wrap horn from Houghton Horns with a custom leadpipe is a bargain at $6,250.

It had the wide, traditional 8D sound with the added bonus of an excellent medium-low range and a nice colorful, fortissimo sound.

I have nothing but equal high praise for the Hoyer G10 with a Patterson Hornworks leadpipe, priced at $5,045. I had a chance to compare this horn to a stock G10 (with a stock leadpipe) and noticed a significant improvement with the addition of the custom leadpipe.

Diamonds in the rough?

Based on what I saw at the SWHC, the average cost for a premium double horn ranged from about $8,000 to $11,000, while hybrid horns ranged anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000.

In seeking out a quality horn to purchase, one does not necessarily need to invest in a high-grade import or expensive custom horn. There are some pretty good hybrids out there that are at least worth considering.

The Schmid double horn

On the highest range of the pricing scale for double horns, we have Engelbert Schmid double horns. At the SWHC there were several Schmid doubles to try out, as well as a few descants and triples.

Compared to my current double horn, the Schmid double felt like lifting a bag of marshmallows; its weight seems impossibly light.

Of all the horns I played at the conference, the Schmid doubles felt the easiest and most secure to play. Playing on it in fact, almost felt too easy. Its sound glows like sunshine in all ranges, but somehow, I remained suspicious.

A few passersby noted that Schmid double horns sound very good up close, but do not carry well in a large hall. Yet, some people – like James Boldin – really like their Schmid doubles and have nothing but praise for them.

For the time being at least, I remain somewhat undecided.

Delusions of grandeur

I would love to get this Schmid double horn – and well actually, all of these horns –  into a large room with other people listening.

In closing out this two-part article on auditioning horns, that thought is probably the most important tip of all. Before making a final commitment towards purchasing a new or pre-owned instrument, be sure to have someone listen to you.

There are any number of factors that can cloud any musician’s good judgment, and in terms of what an instrument actually sounds like at a distance an impartial listener (or two) can help to sort out what is fact from what is fiction.

On Performing the Konzertstuck, and being Ready to Play Horn

John Ericson
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Of all the memories of the recent Southwest Horn Conference, one of the strongest will be performing the Schumann Konzertstuck for four horns and orchestra as a soloist with a truly stellar group of soloists. It had a bit different flavor from that seen at other workshops, as all of the soloists are presently full time faculty at schools in the west and southwest: J.D. Shaw at the University of New Mexico, Laurence Lowe at Brigham Young University, myself from Arizona State University, and Daniel Katzen at the University of Arizona. A very exciting performance by all!

A number of people asked me subsequently how many rehearsals we had, and this is the answer: one, for only forty minutes. How does that translate into a strong and exciting performance? By all of us being ready to go. Myself, I played the work a number of times through with recordings before the rehearsal to be sure I had it as ready to go as possible at a tempo faster than I anticipated it to go in performance.

An audience member shot a video of the performance and did a great job with the production, especially considering it was recorded on an iPhone. It is in two parts below. On third horn I carry the melody quite often including for the entire second movement, as we are performing the version arranged by the American Horn Quartet. (If the videos do not load below, the direct link to the videos is here.)

Be sure to watch to the end, and yes, I can now cross the Konzertstuck off my bucket list.

For those interested in the equipment used, Shaw used a Conn descant, Lowe a Schmid triple (high F), I used my Geyer style Willson, and Katzen used an early (CA made) Rauch.

To close, it truly was an honor and a joy really to play this work with this great solo quartet before a packed house of lovers of the horn. I would love to play this work again with the same quartet; perhaps that day will never come, but still I am grateful for the opportunity to perform this work, especially with so many friends, students, and colleagues to hear it.

I will have more from the conference in a later article, but to close, again, the big key to any performance that you have coming up with short rehearsal time is to be ready, totally ready, to play. That is part of what being a professional or treating any performance like a professional is.

Tips on Auditioning Horns, Part I: Carl Geyer, Paxman 25, Patterson Custom and Finke Americus

Bruce Hembd
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My main agenda for the Southwest Horn Conference (SWHC) – besides hearing concerts and talking shop – was to play on as many horns as possible. It had been a long while since I had an opportunity to play on so many different instruments, all in one convenient location. I was positively giddy at the prospect.

But before getting started, an agenda for consistent testing was needed in order to determine as fairly as possible what horns played the best. Based on my own personal and subjective set of standards, I wanted to come up with a wish list of what I would deem as “top gear” for this conference.

Keep it simple

Basic scales and arpeggios can tell a lot about a horn.

With even the simplest patterns, one can quickly and fairly judge intonation, response and many other determining factors. Myself, I prefer basics over solos or excerpts for one simple reason: to concentrate less on performing and more on critical evaluation.

Sometimes moving a slide or two may be involved. On my first morning of trials at the SWHC for instance, a door was open and the room was relatively cold; moving slides was a necessity on that occasion.

Bad notes

Next on the agenda is to find out if the horn has any weak spots, and in particular, any bad notes. Geyer-wrap horns, for example, can be fairly notorious for a few particular quirks and here is what I go for right away:

Geyer from Pope Instruments

On older horns too, grabbing the stop-arm rotor and giving it a good shake back-and-forth can reveal if there is wiggle-room in the valve. If the valves are tight, there will be little or no movement.

At the SWHC, this original Geyer with rebuilt valves and a new lead pipe by Ron Pinc was on Ken Pope‘s table. I played on it for a good while and enjoyed listening to others play on it too.

The valves seemed very tight and there were no bad notes to speak of. Characteristic of an original Carl Geyer horn in good shape, the tone felt like warm melted butter and it is well worth the price.

This horn is for sale from Pope Instruments, and another horn on the same table that caught my strong attention was the Paxman 25LGD.

I had never tried a dual bore horn before and thoroughly enjoyed the F-side of this instrument, among many other things. The Paxman 25LGD is a large-bore horn and it had a very open and free feel and response.

‘Wow’ factor

For any make or model of horn, I also like to slowly toggle between the different sides of the instrument to see how they do (or do not) line up. Again, moving a slide or two might be necessary. Be sure to give that a try before giving up altogether and putting a tester horn back down.

Patterson Custom Double

One of my favorite tests for Kruspe wraps in particular is to play a few loud forte-pianos and sfortzandos. I do this to see if the instrument can get some color and sizzle with having to work too hard for it.

If the horn just says ‘wow’ instead of WOW! I put it down and walk away.

One horn that had me saying WOW was the Patterson Custom Double. This was easily one of the best horns at the show. The Patterson Custom Double has the open feel of most Conn horns, but it contains plenty of sizzle and power for when it is needed.

Tone quality flows evenly throughout: the high range did not get shrieky and the low range did not feel stuffy or sound tubby.

Be aware of bias, stay open for surprises

Back in the day, the word fink was a pejorative for someone who is a tattle-tale and rats out their friends. You dirty rotten fink! Pinko commie fink!

This bias, I must sheepishly admit, has always been in my mind whenever I see or hear the brand name Finke  – and so to be fair, I had to put that aside and actually sit down and try one out.

Thankfully I put asunder my rather childish hangup and decided to try out the Finke Americus horn at the Osmun Music table. It was a nice surprise and a very fun horn to play on.

Finke Americus from Osmun Music

The Americus model is described as a large-bore Geyer-wrap design and it is made in nickel-silver. The tone quality and intonation felt even and smooth in all ranges.

Unfortunately, my camera lens had a smudge on it, but there is plenty of information at the Osmun Music site on the Finke Americus.

I felt an immediacy to the response of this horn, one that really intrigued me the more I played on it. The tone glows and radiates like an Engelbert Schmid double horn, but with perhaps more depth and weight.

Ultimately, the big lesson for me with the Finke Americus was that preconceived notions about a horn can lead to missed opportunities. I look forward to trying one of these horns out again.

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In Part II: Custom lead pipes, my favorite Conn horn and the dilemma of the Schmid double horn.

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