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Ultrasonic Cleaning FAQ

John Ericson
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Recently I made some decisions about what pieces I will perform at the Southeast Horn Workshop this year. Part of that decision making process was deciding what horn to play, which will be my compensating triple. With that decision made, there was another thing that needed done. When I first purchased this horn I played it a lot for about four years. Then the last couple years I have not played it much at all. The result is it developed a smell, similar to what I would call an “old tuba” smell. I tried to clean it and flush it well but the smell was persistent and I believe originated in some hard to reach (in terms of cleaning) corner of the high F side of the instrument. Which in short meant it was time for a professional cleaning, and I opted to have a horn ultrasonically cleaned for the first time.

What is ultrasonic cleaning?

Basically the horn is submerged in a tank of mild detergent and it is bombarded with sound waves.

For a bit more of a description, from a FAQ in the website of the manufacturer we learn that

Ultrasonic cleaning provides a more thoroughly cleaned instrument and utilizes environmentally friendly detergents.

What is the basic cleaning process and how long does it take?

The basic process is as follows:

Submerse the instrument in the ultrasonic cleaner for approximately 2-5 minutes at approximately 100 F. Thoroughly rinse the instrument in 100 F clean rinse water.

The photo of a machine in this article is linked from the manufacturer website.

Where do I need to take my horn to have it ultrasonically cleaned? How does the process work?

It must be done by a pretty well equipped shop as it is an expensive machine. We have such a shop locally here and in their website they describe the process as follows:

Ironically, we clean brass instruments using “sound waves”. The Ultrasonic cleaner delivers these “sound waves” into a cleaning solution, by means of a series of transducers mounted to the side of a tank. The sound travels throughout the tank and creates waves of compression and expansion in the liquid. This compression and expansion is so dramatic that the liquid molecules are ripped apart, creating microscopic bubbles. The bubbles are very small and exist for only a split second. The bubbles contain a partial vacuum while they exist. As the pressure around the bubbles becomes greater, the fluid around the bubble rushes in, collapsing the bubble very rapidly. This violent collapse, combined with the liquid jets velocity, provides a very intense cleaning/scrubbing action in a concentrated area. This scrubbing action exists throughout the entire cleaning bath. Utilizing application-specific detergents, I can get your horn cleaner than with any other approach.

Prior to Ultrasonic cleaning, you had a number of options, none of which were really pleasant. If your horn really got somewhat clean inside, your instrument was dunked in all sorts of acids, then brushed out, and hopefully rinsed out. This left the instrument etched, and who knows if it ever stopped etching? Have your valves ever been the same, since the first acid bath? The combination of Ultrasonic cleaning and the power flushing that I do, will leave your horn as clean as it can, or ever will, be. NO harsh chemicals. NO weird taste in your mouth. Just the cleanest, freshest, best playing horn you can imagine. Combine this service with Bore scope valve alignment, and in most cases, it will play better than new.

So how did it turn out?

The smell is gone and the horn feels great! No regrets at all. As noted above, there is basically no harm you can do to your horn with an ultrasonic cleaning. If it is a service offered by a shop in your vicinity I do recommend that you give it a try. I will be cycling other horns of mine through the shop in the coming months.

Transforming wood into brass; the alchemy of Rob Jones

Bruce Hembd
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Splendor in the grass.

Recently I had some some email exchanges with Rob Jones, an award-winning artisan who sculpts in wood. In our exchange he offered some specific insight into his instrument sculptures: a French horn, a trombone and a trumpet.

It was about a year-and-a-half ago that first I stumbled upon the amazing and unique wood carvings of Rob Jones. A few months later a video with more detailed pictures of his French horn project appeared on YouTube.

What is the story?

According to Rob Jones, each instrument sculpture has its unique learning curve and challenges. As an additional personal challenge to himself (and also for novelty purposes), he seeks to make each piece both artistically beautiful and musically playable.

I’ve had to reverse engineer the brass instruments. The local library doesn’t have any books on the engineering behind them.

Mr. Jones lives in Thomaston, an old seaport town in Mid-coast Maine. According to the United States Census Bureau the town is a mere 11.5 square miles (29.8km) – 5% of that space is water.

A history in wood

During the height of the shipbuilding era in the 1840’s, three millionaires lived in Thomaston. There was a grand total of seven millionaires in the U.S. at that time.

The “Thomaston Three” were all ship captains and boat builders. The port of Thomaston itself was in fact once known as the “town that went to sea” due to its rapid construction rate of large, ocean-faring wooden ships.

A wooden horn

Click on the image for a closer look at the valve cluster

His passion with woodcarving began in 2001.

Since then Rob Jones has been collecting tools and searching to find the limits of what can be done with wood. He incidentally does not own a lathe and prefers instead to think outside of the box when it comes to his work.

I had started doing some woodworking by making wood top banjos because I wanted to learn how to play.

Making a trip into the local music store to see the banjos, I saw a French horn hanging on the wall and I thought to myself, now there’s a challenge!

From the very beginning Jones aimed towards playability. With the French horn project he hollowed the slides, but did so without having a good idea of inner dimensions. According to Jones, while the finished horn looks great it does not play very well.

The sculpture ended up being constructed of 170 individual pieces. It was finished in two months, done during spare time.

The learning curve in this one instrument alone was immense. I started with making 1/8″ wall thickness, but realized that wasn’t going to work well once I got up around the lead pipe. I was trying my best to keep the outside dimensions accurate and let the interior walls fall where they may.

Trombone and trumpet

Tooling a wooden  mouthpiece.

The trombone was his second brass instrument project. The end-result was better but with one major caveat.

When you blew a note through the bell section it was quite loud and nice sounding, but the slide section really screwed up the sound.

With his trumpet creation, Jones asserts that it is much closer to being on pitch, citing that the entire interior bore is within .005″.

The trumpet had the internal bore perfect through the whole instrument, but, since I made all the slide elements work, there is a lot of blow-by. To a professional ear it may not be up to par, but I think it sounds pretty close to on pitch.

Compared to the 2 months it took for the French horn, this sculpture took only 3 weeks. (Click on any image below for a closer look at the finer details.)

While Mr. Jones waits for a good trumpet player to put it through its paces, he plans on making 2 or 3 more instruments to get an even better idea at how they work.

I mostly do it for the challenge, I consider it just a magnificent sculpture, with a surprise of it being playable. As I do more, the quality increases dramatically as I learn what makes them tick.

I tell my friends that I do for the ‘sheer torture of doing it.’

Future aspirations

At 36-years-old, Rob Jones still has plenty of time for more sculptures and long-term goals.

I’d like to eventually create enough of these pieces to start my own museum – a local attraction in Mid-coast Maine so people can come and enjoy my pieces as a collection.

Playable or not, Jones’ brass instrument sculptures are a sight to marvel and behold. The amount of thought, detail and creative craftsmanship put into these pieces is truly amazing. Bearing in mind too the area’s historical roots, a showcase in his hometown of Thomaston would indeed be appropriate.

As a final note it should be mentioned that if you would like to have a brass instrument sculpture from Rob Jones as one of your very own, you can certainly purchase one  – for around $5000.

Hornmasters: Berv on the Shorter Warm-Up

John Ericson
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Harry Berv clearly notes in A Creative Approach to French Horn Playing “THERE MUST BE a warm-up period before the practice session begins.”

A shorter warmup

As noted in prior articles in this series, there is a divide between teachers who advocate for longer and shorter warm-ups. Berv is on the side of the shorter warm-up. He begins by noting that

This warm-up is to be done in gradual stages. Its purpose is to allow all the physical and training aspects of the act of horn playing to awaken and combine gradually….

The F horn should be used extensively in the warm-up session. Its tubing is longer than that of the Bb horn and it requires more air and also makes the embouchure work harder. This strengthens the embouchure and gives it greater flexibility and endurance.

As to how long to warm-up Berv has clear instruction.

One most important rule, not only in the warm-up, but also in the practice session, is this: Do not strain or fatigue the embouchure. This can strain the muscles in the area and set the player back for an indefinite period before they are healed. The warm-up session should have a duration, at most, of ten minutes of actual playing. In this time all the areas involved should be limber enough to cope with any problems encountered in the actual practice session.

More specifically, 15 minutes total

Berv highly recommends long tones as a part of the warm up and a total warm-up of fifteen minutes—“ten minutes of actual playing time interspersed with brief rest periods as needed.” He cautions

If the warm-up session is too long, it will undoubtedly cut down on your endurance. In my opinion, too many players succumb to the idea that the warm-up session should last for a half-hour or more. It becomes fixed in their minds that this is a necessity and feel they cannot function properly without it.

Berv-Creative-Approach-Horn

Personal aside: When Farkas told me I warmed up too much

In closing I would offer this personal aside. Years ago in one of my few private lessons with Farkas I described my warm-up to him and he told me that I was warming-up too much. At the time I had a hard time with that advice, it surprised me a bit actually as the warm-up in his book is rather long, and at that point in time I felt that I could not easily change my warm-up. At present however my warm-up is quite a bit more flexible and I realize that the actual warm-up part of the initial routine really is that initial ten to fifteen minutes, similar to that described by Berv. Certainly it is a topic that horn players need to keep evaluating over the years. Especially if you are locked into the very long warm-up it is worth experimenting to figure out something shorter that works for you.

Continue in Hornmasters Series

Getting a Solid ‘Leg Up’ on Bell Support: Introducing the SockBlock

Bruce Hembd
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When playing within a section, I typically default to an on-leg position; I rest the bell of the horn on my right leg. The reasons for this are many but primarily I do it so as not to stick out above the principal.

This is not to say that a section player must avoid an off-the-leg position of course, and for the purpose of this article I would like to put this issue aside and focus solely on one particular aspect of the on-leg position.

I have seen many of my colleagues over the years dealing with making this playing position comfortable and more importantly, making it physically sustainable over the long haul.

I have seen flute and horn players using guitar foot stands and even a few horn players now who use PipStick-type devices. Some horn players, myself included, will prop up the heel of the right leg on their chair in order to get the right leg to a good height for a resting, on-leg position.

A few years ago I started using a different method in order to achieve a better fit for myself and to avoid stressing out my right foot with propping it up on my chair leg.

(Imagine the awesome opening to Strauss's Zarathustra playing in the background...)

The Amazing SockBlock

Pictured here is a pair of SockBlockTMs.

Amazing aren’t they?

Actually there is nothing to be terribly impressed about; they are made from old black socks fitted over blocks of scrap wood.

I have two versions – the Symphonic Monkey and the Pit Viper. They both go on the floor and are used as supporting pedestals for my right foot and leg.

By my own estimation, my viewing angle in the pit to the opera conductor is something like 70 degrees upwards. Compared to a concert stage where the angle might be anywhere from 60 to 30 degrees, this is a huge difference.

This difference was something that my SockBlocks needed to compensate for and it explains the two different versions. They are of different heights.

Do-it-yourself

Using an old black sock, blocks of wood (that fit the necessary height requirements) and a pair of scissors (if needed), the SockBlock is easy-to-make.

I happen to have lots of old, orphaned black socks laying around and so sacrificing one or two is not a big deal. I also happened to pick up these small scraps of wood from a throw-away pile at opera productions.

Because the Symphonic version is so square, the flexible area of the sock needed to be removed. (Insert joke here.)
Putting a sock on the Monkey.

For the operatic version, my wood-block was more rectangular and so no surgery was required. It holds a thicker piece of wood that raises my right leg higher than it normally would be on a flat, concert stage.

Rather than fastening or gluing the remaining sock material shut, I leave it be. It is useful for extra padding when needed and, as a very nifty carrying handle.

Why SockBlock?

The Amazing SockBlock - Pit Viper and Symphonic Monkey

Beyond giving my right leg some solid support, the black material itself makes this device stealthy onstage and virtually invisible in a pit. The fabric grips the floor nicely and it also pads the wood inside from loudly knocking around on the floor.

As further testimonial, I would attest that my personal SockBlock set has contributed significantly towards my overall survival in heavily-programmed Pops concerts and 3-hour operas.

A Pit Viper, primed for action

Speaking of long-term survival: holding the loose fabric like a nunchuck the amazing SockBlock is also a weapon of defense, worthy of an avenging Charles Bronson or madly-skilled Bruce Lee.

This defensive capability comes very much in handy, especially when the need arises to wave off potential muggers and derelicts on the way to your car in the downtown parking garage.

Imagine their bitter surprise when you start twirling your SockBlock Pit ViperTM in the air…

Other do-it-yourself projects

Interview: Jazz Hornist Mark Taylor and Notes on Embouchure Dystonia

John Ericson
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Last weekend I noted that in Episode 120 of The Mellocast the topic of Focal Dystonia came up with jazz hornist Mark Taylor. There he noted that he found this recent Horn Matters article and the links there helpful in sorting out some nagging embouchure problems of his own. Typically when seen in brass players Focal Dystonia relates to instability of the embouchure in often one specific register. It can be among the most difficult things any brass player has to work through. Mark agreed to answer a few questions about his recent experiences.

JE: Starting out at the present day, where are you presently in regard to your embouchure?

MT: It has been a real rollercoaster over the last couple of weeks. I stumbled onto the idea of FD just as my embouchure “wobbling” was returning and I was getting really frustrated with not being able to work on ANYTHING in my practice sessions other than getting my chops to work. Oddly, once I actually started playing music (in rehearsal or performance) I had almost no problems! Warm ups, however, were sheer hell and drastically affected my confidence in being able to play well. I felt my embouchure was “unstable”.

I’m ecstatic that making one little conceptual shift and taking a zinc supplement (I have a copper sensitivity and an unlacquered horn) seem to have really, FINALLY, turned things around.

JE: Tell us about the conceptual shift that you recently made.

MT: Well, after reading the articles on FD on Horn Matters I went to David Vining’s website and read about his experience. I have to be clear, though. I haven’t been diagnosed with Focal Dystonia, or anything else except being more sensitive than most to copper (and, possibly, nickel). It’s just that everything I read about FD seemed to mirror the experience I’ve had over the last 10 years.

The shift I made was simple. Like David Vining, I redefined what embouchure meant to me. I realized that my attention, especially when warming up, had shrunk down to that tiny area of my face involved in making a buzz. I widened my focus, specifically to include my air column and posture and on maintaining what I call a “supported” setting AND a relaxed, non-stressed mental state.

JE: I find it interesting that you use the term “wobbling” to describe it as this is exactly how it looks and feels for many players who struggle with embouchure issues. I have also seen that it may be of benefit to support the embouchure in relation to the mouthpiece and to find that non-stressed place mentally. When did you first notice it? What is the history of it in your playing?

MT: I guess it started in the late 90s when I was working with Max Roach, among others. It first showed up in actual playing and rehearsing more than practicing (which is where I get hit now). I remember being in Finland on tour and asking trumpet player Cecil Bridgewater to come to my room and look at my chops to see what was going on! His observation was that I seemed to have no “set” for my corners which I attributed to my sort of schizo attempt to create a sound that was simultaneously big and fat AND lean and agile. Balance and projection are always an issue, for me at least, in jazz and improvised settings. Anyway, things deteriorated from there and pretty soon I couldn’t maintain a setting at all. It felt like the horn was just bouncing around on my face!

I finally went to see John McNeil who is the jazz trumpet professor at New England Conservatory. He and Laurie Frink wrote a book called Flexus which is a based somewhat on Carmine Caruso’s approach and is aimed at improvising trumpet players. They’re both known in NYC as great folks to deal with embouchure problems. John helped me start over and build a setting that would work. The only issue was that it would take ALL my attention to keep it working! Things have steadily gotten better but have felt unstable ever since. Recently, I felt that instability increasing and some “wobbling” had returned – mostly on mellophone, actually – so I felt the need to do some research online and see what I could find out.

JE: Turning a corner, this summer you are being featured as a contributing artist at the International Horn Symposium in San Francisco. What will you be playing?

MT: I’m very excited about appearing at the IHS Symposium this summer! I have to talk to Wendell Rider more to find out when and how long I’m supposed to play (and with whom!?). If I have a little time then I’d love to do a standard (or two) and one of my compositions. A lot will depend on who the rhythm section is and what they’re comfortable with. Also, I’d love to sit down with folks, either formally or informally, and talk about what happens “after chord-scales”. What do you do after you know which notes to play when? That’s the sort of stuff that interests me and that I’d like to share with other improvisers.

JE: Any other projects underway?

MT: As you know, my RocketHub project was fully funded, so my third CD “At What Age” should be out by the time of the Symposium and I’m currently working on a small tour out West around that time. I’m hoping to play somewhere else in San Francisco, go to LA and, maybe, up to Portland or east to New Mexico. We’ll see. Also, look for the start of a new project (or three) I’ve got up my (virtual) sleeve.

JE: Thank you Mark! Looking forward to the CD and to hearing you in San Francisco. I will close below with quotes and links to more information on Mark Taylor.

+++++++++++++++

“The French horn is a notoriously finicky beast to master in a fast-paced improv setting which is probably why not many players have made their mark with the instrument. Add Mark Taylor’s name to the list of the chosen few.”
— Time Out New York

“Mark Taylor’s quartet certainly is unlike any other performing in today’s jazz scene.”
—Don Williamson, JazzReview.com

“An incisive soloist …”
—JazzTimes

“Taylor plays French horn boldly and lyrically…”
—Bob Blumenthal, Atlantic Monthly

MARK TAYLOR MUSIC
http://www.marktaylormusic.net

Facebook Fan page:

“Circle Squared” CD is available at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/marktaylor

Day 145: Lessons from a Patterson/Yamaha

Bruce Hembd
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Last summer I sent my old Yahama 667 to James Patterson in New Mexico for a conversion. I am happy to report that I remain very pleased with it.

For the cost-conscious student, professional or amateur player looking to make simple and affordable improvements, customizing an instrument with a new leadpipe or bell is an excellent option to consider.

The details of my experience are here:

I got lucky and ended up with an instrument on par with a higher-priced, hand-crafted instrument. And like with another custom horn I once owned, over time I continue to learn new things from playing on it.

To lacquer or not to lacquer

Click for a larger view.

At Day 145 the horn’s complexion has taken on a darker, brassy hue. A rustic patina grows on its skin.

I should mention that prior to this conversion my horn was fully lacquered. I really like shiny horns, purely for the aesthetic sheen. Shiny horns reflect light and look really nice onstage.

Sometimes though with my old lacquered bell, the polished surface would get very slippery when wet with condensation or even worse, with valve oil. That was horrible.

After 145 days my newly un-lacquered horn has now been played and tested in symphony, opera and chamber music settings. The tone feels warmer and freer than before, and I imagine that having the lacquer removed had a hand in that transformation.

And with the right hand especially, the crustier surface is much easier to maintain a grip upon.

Response and control

One of the major adjustments for me was that the upgraded horn felt faster. In other words, the overall response felt much quicker and more sensitive to phrasings shaped and controlled with the breath.

This observation hits on a key element that, generally speaking, separates most stock instruments from hand-built or customized horns.

Think of how an automobile responds to fast turns, rapid accelerations and hard-braking. High performance vehicles make challenges like these much easier for the driver to execute and to take advantage of.

It is response and control that separate good cars from the great cars; with customized instruments I would suggest that it is more-or-less the same idea.

Mouthpiece magic

As noted previously in Day 28, I took some time to experiment with different mouthpieces. I was caught in a cycle of several Moosewoods and an old Stork.

At about Day 40 I settled on old favorite, a D6 MegaMoose made by Tom Greer. I love the sound I get on this heavy-weight mouthpiece.

I actually own two of these beasties; one is annealed and the other is not. I have chosen the non-annealed version for the simple reason that it sits deeper in the new leadpipe.

The fit could hardly be any better and I took that as an omen that it was the right choice.

Hocus pocus & other imaginings

A cosmic connection? Take note of my initials on the mouthpiece.

I noticed too how the beveled tapers of the Patterson leadpipe ferrule aligned with the taper of the MegaMoose mouthpiece.

It is almost eerie to me how closely it all lines up – with both the shank fit and the tapered thicknesses of the ferrule and the mouthpiece.

(Click on any image for a closer look.)

I pretend to myself that this convergence was somehow destined. I imagine it as a bonding of mystic Southwestern powers: Patterson and Moosewood. It is a marriage that embodies my horn with a cosmic desert spirit.

Perhaps I should name my horn… something like Desert Wind or Cactus Flower…

A cosmic connection? Take note of the empty bottle.

Beer-bottle logic

Then again on second thought, I take a deep breath.

I pause to recall another “magical” convergence, one that shines light upon this metaphysical fantasy.

I am sure that almost every college horn student who has consumed beer from a bottle has had the same epiphany at one point or another.

Upon discovery, the wild exclamation – of pure amazement – typically goes something like this:

HEY GUYS!! WOAH!! You ever notice how the rim of a beer bottle feels … JUST LIKE A FRENCH HORN MOUTHPIECE?!

Aesthetics and facts

The point of this story being that with anything that is based purely on anecdotal evidence, it is a good idea to take it all with a grain of salt before drawing any foregone conclusions.

This all being said, I do know of several respected, in-demand instrument makers who profess a connection between the aesthetic beauty of a finished instrument and its playing quality and potential.

Certainly, my new horn has given me plenty to think about.

Hornmasters: Yancich on the Second and Third Warm-Up

John Ericson
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One type of warm-up that is rarely discussed in print is the second and third warm-up of the day. One of the few to address this topic is Milan Yancich in A Practical Guide to French Horn Playing.

A second or third warmup?

The volume starts with warm-ups. The first several exercises are quite similar to those presented by Gunther Schuller and others are quite similar to those of Farkas, with an emphasis on dynamics and control of breathing. More notably at the end of this publication Yancich introduces the concept of a type of warm-up routine geared specifically to begin the second or third playing session of the day.

When practicing the horn for the second or third time in a day, it is advisable to have another short warm-up. In the event that the lip is unresponsive or stiff, a few minutes of limbering is helpful for another good practice session. There certainly is no harm done by this practice, and during this short period one can review scales, arpeggios, and general facility. The exercise takes on an improvisatory quality in regard to rhythm, phrasing, and key signature.

Professional hornists and concerts

And for pre-concert warm-ups he specifically notes that

Most professional musicians have their own preferred method of preparing themselves for actual concert performances. This comes about after many years of playing and experience. Some warm up in an elaborate manner and others are satisfied with a casual touching of a few notes. I myself favor chromatic scales before going out on the stage. I would suggest that one should try to note and remember the procedure followed before what he considered a successful concert—a concert where lip, control, and endurance all seemed in optimum condition. Take that routine and stick with it for your pre-concert warm-up pattern.

Continue in Hornmasters Series

Getting bumped

Bruce Hembd
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A story about getting voted down a chair at the Interlochen Summer Music Camp brought back memories of my own experiences there. If only I had heard this tidbit at the time:

Life is full of bitter defeats, but they can provide the very lessons we must learn and could learn no other way. Someone said, “If mountains were smooth, no one could climb them.”

This being the beginnings of a new school semester I imagine that others might take note as well.

[Extracted from a “Random Monday” post, 2021, JE]

Podcast: Practice More Effectively by Listening to Music

John Ericson
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The latest episode (120) of The Mellocast is on the topic of practice, and one of the main points made is that you can practice most effectively by not only practicing but also by listening to the works you are learning.

The starting point of the discussion was the article “How Much Should We Practice?” recently posted on Wired.com. There they offer this brief summary of a larger study on the topic.

A great deal of previous work has shown that simply presenting the stimuli to the participant is usually not enough. They actually have to do the task. This is where our group comes in. Basically, what we say is, yes you do have to do the task, just not for the whole time. The main result is that if you practice for 20 minutes, and then you are passively exposed to stimuli for 20 minutes, you learn as if you have been practicing for 40 minutes. You can cut the effort in half, and still yield the same benefit. This finding could be important for clinical training programs, such as the ones that attempt to treat language-based learning disorders.

What I pulled out of that quote is that the study really reinforces the need to listen to music, not only the works you are practicing (how many of you have tried to teach a Mozart concerto to someone who has never listened to a Mozart concerto?) but also just good music in general of any type really. Because you will pick up by osmosis phrasings, nuances, etc. that all relate to what a quality performance is. But back to Mozart specifically as an example, if you have in your ear a good idea of how the movement you are working on should sound it really will help your practice be much more effective.

Our discussion on The Mellocast also turned to the topic of warm-up and the playing day, with some expansion of topics related to these articles on how different players approach the warm-up and also how much playing/practice can really happen in one day. All things balance for effective practice; warm-up, pacing in the day, and listening to music.

Finally, I should note that there is also some discussion in this episode with Mark Taylor about Focal Dystonia. I plan to follow up further on this topic soon.

On Making Recorded Auditions

John Ericson
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It is audition season for schools and festivals. Recently a video and an article made the rounds featuring one particular video audition this year for the YouTube Symphony by hornist David Cooper. If you have not seen it, the article is here, and the video below.

Listening to the video there are a number of points that could be made but in particular the video points at one of the elements that you need to really stand out in the crowd; the recording needs to be perfect.

Derek Wright recently had a great post on how to make an audition tape. His list has ten points, but the first one is a key one and relates strongly to the clip above. He wrote,

1. Don’t miss any notes. Period. Not even small chips are acceptable. It is likely that your tape is one among many and one person has to spend gross amounts of time going through them. Many people will stop your tape and move on to the next one once they hear any chip. Record as many takes as necessary to make a note perfect tape.

You want the recording to sound great on many levels, Derek in his article points to those clearly, but step one is being to the level that you can record and not miss anything. Because those listening will have to assume if you miss two or three or four or five notes that really is the best you can do, that on average you can’t play accurately for whatever reasons. Which may not be true but the world is a tough critic and there is no way around the fact that the first step is to hit the notes. Good luck!

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