Tag: horn technique

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  • Chicago Symphony Orchestra Horn Hangout

    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 down with all five members…

  • 20+ Warm-up Routines Available Online

    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 a daily basis. While you…

  • A New (To Me) Resource for Brass Players

    I recently stumbled across TromboneTools.com, a website by David Vining. David Vining is the trombone professor at the University of Northern Arizona and a co-owner of Mountain Peak Music, as well as a member of the Flagstaff Symphony and a freelance trombonist. Although (obviously) geared toward trombone players, TromboneTools.com features lots of great resources and…

  • The Theory Behind Stopping The Horn

    The Theory Behind Stopping The Horn

    In honor of releasing his newest CD, “No Limits”, Frank Lloyd has put together three different videos describing his playing and I thought his video about hand-stopping was quite interesting. Hand-stopping – How AND Why In the video, he describes a bit about the specific technique of hand-stopping, but he goes into quite a lot…

  • Tradition vs Progress in Horn Pedagogy and Playing

    Tradition vs Progress in Horn Pedagogy and Playing

    A new post over at HornMatters.com by John Ericson about the future of French horn playing raise some very interesting points about the negative side of “traditional pedagogy”, and raises quite a few good points for teachers (and students) who want to continue to move forward. Tradition Vs. Progress The basic premise of Mr. Ericson’s…

  • Minimum Viable Warm-up – Never Feel Unprepared for Playing!

    Minimum Viable Warm-up – Never Feel Unprepared for Playing!

    Most brass players know the importance of a good warm-up. This is probably the single most important session of playing that you do each day since it gives you a chance to focus on the basics of playing. If you’re curious about some of the exercises that I use with my students, I have some…

  • In a Practice Slump? This 5-minute Video Can Help

    In a Practice Slump? This 5-minute Video Can Help

    If you’re like most people, at times you’ve struggled with making progress in the practice room. Sometimes it seems that you can slave away for hours, days, or weeks and make little to no progress (or even regress!). When you feel like your in a practice slump like this, I find that the most effective…

  • Fix Your Focus, Improve Your Playing

    Fix Your Focus, Improve Your Playing

    Focus, especially when playing a piece with many challenging sections, can often make the difference between a successful performance and a not-quite-successful performance. However according to a recent study on golf, where you should focus matters just as much as if you focus. The Golf Study According to this blog post on the Bulletproof Musician, a study…

  • New Metronome Practice Idea: No Instrument Necessary!

    New Metronome Practice Idea: No Instrument Necessary!

    “Have you practiced this with a metronome?” Just about every music student has heard this from their teacher at least once. There’s a very good reason for this – being able to maintain a steady tempo is very important. If you can’t stay in time, you won’t play well with others! Protip: If your teacher…

  • Kendall Betts, Former Principal Horn of MSO, Dies

    Kendall Betts, Former Principal Horn of MSO, Dies

    Some sad news in the horn world today, as it was just announced the Kendall Betts – former principal horn of the Minnesota Orchestra (1979-2004), founder and director the Kendall Betts Horn Camp, and the current owner of Lawson horns – passed away on August 16 at the age of 68. In addition to a…