Horn

If you’ve watched just about any sport, you’re certainly familiar with athlete’s and their love of rituals. But, it turns out that even arbitrary or even silly rituals can have a meaningful impact on your performance and reduce anxiety. The important thing is not necessarily what you do, but what […]

Pre-Performance Rituals Recently updated !

9 Oct, 2019 in Horn tagged horn playing / horn practice / orchestra music / performance anxiety by Colin Dorman (updated 6 days ago)

A new resource is available for horn players from John Ericson, horn professor at Arizona State University. According to John’s description on his Horn Notes Edition page: A practical collection of inventive scale and arpeggio exercises to develop technique and intonation, carefully selected from the classic horn method books of […]

New Horn Studies from John Ericson

2 Oct, 2019 in Horn tagged horn books / horn equipment / horn playing / horn practice / horn teaching by Colin Dorman (updated 12 days ago)

Using one or two words to improve your concentration or establish the character of a piece is not a new teaching technique. I know I’ve personally heard about using these kinds of “trigger words” for a couple of decades. These are especially useful to establish the mood or style of […]

Trigger Phrases to Improve Performance

18 Sep, 2019 in Horn tagged horn playing / horn practice / horn teaching / practice by Colin Dorman (updated 26 days ago)

samsung pro portrait mode with music — It’s no secret that I’m a fan of technology, and that I’ve enjoyed using my tablet as a music reader. While originally I was looking forward to the convenience of always having the music I needed at my fingertips, I didn’t anticipate one of the more unique use-cases for digital […]

Outdoors with a Tablet: Pros and Cons

11 Sep, 2019 in Horn tagged digital music / first world problems / horn equipment / horn playing / orchestra music by Colin Dorman (updated 34 days ago)

One of the first things I put on this site (way back in 2014) was my page on basic horn maintenance and cleaning. And in recommending it to a student, I realized that it was due for an update. So I’ve just recently overhauled almost all the text and some […]

Cleaning and Maintenance Page Updated

4 Sep, 2019 in Horn tagged horn cleaning / horn equipment / horn maintenance / horn teaching by Colin Dorman (updated 43 days ago)

It’s almost September, which means high school and band camps are well underway (or done). One of the hardest shifts that most brass players make is the switch between “summer chops” and “band camp chops”. Most brass players play very little from June-August. Even those that do practice usually don’t […]

Prepare for Fall Band Camp (and Auditions!)

28 Aug, 2019 in Horn tagged band / horn playing / horn practice / horn teaching / marching band / practice by Colin Dorman (updated 52 days ago)

One problem that comes up a lot with students, especially younger students or when there aren’t clear short-term goals, is what to practice. When the All-State music comes out, or if there are upcoming seating auditions, then the practice plan becomes clear. But one thing that separates the average students […]

Simplify Practice Decisions: The Practice Menu

21 Aug, 2019 in Horn by Colin Dorman (updated 57 days ago)

It’s mid-August, and that means that not only is summer winding down (and marching band is back in full swing), but the All-State and All-District etudes for Kentucky are out! Like the past few years, I’ve put together a page to help students get a jump-start on these etudes. Even […]

2019-20 KY All-State Etudes Up!

14 Aug, 2019 in Horn tagged all state / horn practice / horn teaching / kentucky all state / practice by Colin Dorman (updated 61 days ago)