How you perceive the playing qualities of a horn you are testing will be impacted quite a bit by what horn you have been playing lately and by mouthpiece choice and fit. At present myself I always have available three versions of my mouthpiece of choice, a standard shank version, a slightly smaller than standard version, and a European shank version. When testing a horn of a student I pick the one that I think should fit it best. For sure certain horns will test better when you have the right mouthpiece on them.
Horn Maker Jacob Medlin recently posted [but UPDATE: article no longer posted. But much more is there! Well worth a visit] in his blog an item on this very topic that reveals in his case what mouthpiece he has primarily set his horns up to use. He wrote,
Mouthpieces matter. I think that as horn players we all knew that but I have found the mouthpiece to be an annoying game changer when it comes to the final balance of a horn. A horn that I am able to get playing really well with my Laskey, suddenly plays stiffer and stuffier with a different mouthpiece. This is a problem for customers who are unable to pick the horn up at the shop.
He notes in particular that
My horns love the Laskey 775F (only because its my usual mouthpiece and the one I do my play testing on.) This means that deeper, more funnel shaped mouthpieces play the best on my leadpipe. If you play a smaller one, its possible the horn might feel “tight”. **Try to avoid a European shanked mouthpiece with my horns!** They will not hit the right depth to meet the venturi.
I have written pretty recently about European shank mouthpieces; for certain horns (for example Alexander) these make a huge difference but, by the same token, if you use a European shank mouthpiece on a typical American horn it really won’t play correctly.
Medlin also notes that for him another option is for you to send your mouthpiece to him and he can balance the setup of the horn to match it. I feel sure other custom makers can do the same; it is something to consider and is an element that every horn maker has given quite a bit of thought to.
Following up on one final point, at the start of this article I mentioned that how you perceive a horn you are testing is also influenced by what horn you have been playing. There is something about the general resistance of a horn that impacts many things subtly in your playing including such things as how you tongue, how you control your air, etc. The way you have developed these things is based on what worked on the horn and mouthpiece you play. When you test another horn it may actually be a fine horn but not play up to potential for you due to not only the mouthpiece setup but also how you try to play it. It is a big topic that I will come back to at some point in the future.
Today was the first time I had the opportunity to hear the line play, and I must say I was very impressed with the HUGE sound of a line of 35 mellophones. I had never before heard such a large section of them and it really was quite impressive to hear and see. For equipment types out there, they were using Jupiter Quantum mellophones with Curry 1TF mouthpieces. The sound up in the stands where I sat was great; big sound, in tune, providing lots of middle that to my ear often seems lacking in marching bands and drum corps. It also helped that the arrangements were very good and voiced the mellophone parts like horn parts; in drum corps they are often voiced a bit higher and begin to sound like low trumpet parts instead of middle brass to my ear.
Thursday was the day of the bass horn. We got our first look at that marvelous horn when Roger Bobo, tubist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, joined Frøydis Ree Wekre in her recital. The horn looks much like a French horn but with a bore size that fits a tuba mouthpiece, making the instrument appear as though viewed with double vision. Its range is that of the tuba, the sound a gorgeous mellow tuba/horn sound. The bell cannot be placed upright on the knee, so it is played in the rest position. Bobo designed the horn, and as he said, it made him, a big fellow, look like a small kid with a Conn 8D…. Bobo and Frøydis played two trios, with composer/pianist Roger Kelloway, in the world premier of Kelloway’s “Sonor”, and “Dance of the Ocean Breeze”. This was my mid-week highlight. They have also recorded an album, including these works, for Crystal Records to be released in the late fall. On the basis of these two works they performed in recital I shall certainly purchase the recording! The blend of Horn and Bass Horn is excellent; they complement and match each other quite well in sonority.
Yesterday I found myself three times in one day talking to current and former students about practice and the playing day. Many teachers suggest three hours a day of practice. This is a great amount when spread out evenly through a day of playing the horn–perhaps just over an hour in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, and under an hour in the evening–IF (this is a big if) you have no other rehearsals or concerts to perform that day. But, if you have, say, a coaching, a rehearsal, and a concert, three hours of additional practice is way, way over what you should be doing that day. You will bury your chops and will not be able to perform at your peak.