I think that it goes without saying that Julie Landsman has had an incredible and inspiring career. Julie was the principal horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for an incredible 25 years (1985-2010), a teacher at Julliard since 1989, and has long been a proponent of mind and body balance […]
Horn
Too much pressure. Incorrect mouthpiece placement. Too much “smile” in the embouchure. Lousy right-hand position. Too little attention to intention. These are some of the bad habits I’ve had in my playing over the past 20+ years of playing the horn. These bad habits weren’t learned overnight, and moving past […]
Looking to Remove Bad Habits? Two Strategies You May Not ... Recently updated !
As I write this post, I was able to try out a new model horn several weeks ago from one of the best custom horn makers working today – Dan Vidican. Dan is fairly well-known for his excellent Lukas horn, and this new horn will likely become just as popular […]
New Custom Horn Model – Lukas/Pinc Horn Recently updated !
Embouchure health is something that is probably not talked about enough in most brass-playing groups. While you’ll find hundreds of discussions on how to play high(er) or loud(er), or what mouthpiece is the best, you won’t necessarily find a lot of discussion on how best to manage the very sensitive […]
Keep Your Face in Shape – Embouchure Health Thoughts Recently updated !
Masterclasses are a great and underrated resource. I went to my first master classes when I went to my first horn workshop (a pretty awesome experience in and of itself) and I still enjoy going whenever I get the chance. I feel like watching a great teacher work with a […]
Online Horn Master Class Resource Recently updated !
The Chicago Symphony is probably best known for their incredible brass section. The sound of the CSO brass section has been a legend for decades, and one of the core components of any great brass section is the French horn section! In this episode of Horn Hangouts, Sarah Willis sits […]
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Horn Hangout Recently updated !
Nothing. Well, almost nothing (I kid – mostly). John Ericson, Horn Professor at Arizona State University, and one of the founders of the French horn website HornMatters.com, has a book about playing the various marching horns called A Mello Catechism: A Guide to the World of Mellophones and Marching Horns. This […]
What do “playing musically” and the mellophone have in common? Recently updated !
Most intermediate to advanced horn players have at least some sort of warm-up routine. While warm-up routines are great for maintaining and improving your playing, I find that periodically mixing things up can really highlight blind spots in your playing or help with certain repertoire demands that aren’t encountered on […]