A few weeks ago, I had the dubious honor of being plagiarized.  One of my best articles from one of my other sites was re-posted verbatim without notification, permission, or attribution, as the very first post on a brand-new blog.

I knew this was illegal, but wasn’t quite sure how to handle it at first, so I sought guidance from the Google God, and found some excellent information and tools for dealing with plagiarism.  After I resolved the situation to my satisfaction, I wrote a post detailing what I learned and how I used it to take down the offending post.  Click here to read the entire article.

While you’re there, feel free to browse around and read some of my other posts.

I was reminded of this recently.  After a lesson in which I just couldn’t seem to play a certain excerpt well enough to satisfy my teacher or myself, I took a long hard look at my practice habits, and realized that I simply wasn’t putting in enough time.  I had gotten lazy and drifted into what I call “maintenance mode,” doing just enough to maintain most of my technique and endurance, and hold my own at gigs.

That week, I made a conscious effort to improve my practice habits.  I planned ahead, found some new convenient practice spots, made time in my schedule, and stayed at school longer when necessary.  Almost like magic, some of the problems that had been plaguing me just disappeared.  Things I hadn’t even specifically worked on became easier to do.  While I had previously felt like I was fighting the horn, I now began to feel like a virtuoso.  It was as if my increased practice time had “unlocked” an ease of playing that I couldn’t have if I didn’t do that extra hour each day.

That wasn’t the first time that has happened to me.  I can remember several times- usually while preparing for auditions or recitals, that I broke through a plateau by adding as little as 30 minutes of daily practice to my routine.

I don’t mean to say that all my challenges instantly disappeared, or that I won a full-time symphony job the following week.  Neither of those things happened.  I’m still the same player I was before I changed my habits- still a grad student trying to win my first job.  I still have a lot of work to do before I’m the player I want to be.

My point is that there is a price for playing the French horn, paid in time and sweat.  The higher the level at which you want to play, the higher the price, and it’s not enough to pay it once.  If you want to unlock your personal best, you have to pay that price every day for the rest of your career.

Rapid articulation was a challenge for me as an undergraduate horn student.  I had difficulty playing the Mozart concerti up to speed because I couldn’t consistently tongue fast enough to play the sixteenth note passages.  I tried a few different exercises, and eventually settled on the following:

• Set your metronome to 100 beats per minute for the quarter note.  Starting on middle C (concert F), take a deep breath, and play 4 beats of sixteenth notes plus 1 additional note on the 5th beat.

• Rest for four beats, then move up a step to D and repeat the exercise.  Rest for four beats, then repeat on E.  Continue up the scale in this manner, playing the exercise on F, G, A, B, and C.

• Begin again on middle C, and repeat the exercise in the same manner, this time moving down the scale.  Play the exercise on middle C, B, A, G, F, E, D, and low C.

• Increase your metronome speed to 104 and repeat the entire exercise.  Continue increasing speed and repeating the exercise until you find a metronome speed at which you cannot keep up.  That will be your new target speed.
• The next time you perform the exercise, start two speeds below your target speed, and work up to your target speed.  For example, if your target speed is 116, perform the exercise once at 108, once at 112, and once at 116.  116 will begin to be comfortable after a few days.  When 116 is comfortable, increase your target speed to 120 and perform the exercise at 112, 116, and 120.
• Continue in this manner, increasing your target speed each time you become comfortable with your current speed.

Tips

• Make sure you take deep breaths and use plenty of air.  This will help you to avoid excessive tension.
• As you articulate each note, think of “denting” the air column.  Don’t stop or interrupt the air- just “dent” the air enough to achieve the articulation you want.
• You’ll find that you have to articulate high notes differently than low notes.  When playing high, your tongue will make contact near where your upper teeth meet your gums.  In the low range, you’ll have to articulate near the bottom of your top teeth.  Experiment until you find the “sweet spot” for each note.

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I am a horn player – amateur but fairly serious.  I have a problem that I don’t seem to know the solution to.  I seem to accumulate much more condensation (‘spit’ but I am told it is mostly not ) in my horn than most.  I talk to the other players in my section and no advice.  This has been the case over ten years on two different horns (both Hoyers if that is relevant).  Just wondered if you have heard of this and have any advice.

It’s kind of embarrassing to be playing along a nice smooth bit and hear the gurgles!

Avoiding the “gurgles” is a challenge for many of us.  To keep the instrument free of water, it’s important to have two things: a good emptying routine, and good timing.

How to empty the horn:

I play a Conn 8D, which has three tuning slides besides the valve slides.  When I empty it, I start with the main tuning slide and empty all three of these before emptying the valve slides.  Then, I turn my horn so that the bell faces up, and hold down the 3rd valve while rapidly cycling the 1st and 2nd valves for several seconds.  I then rotate the horn so that any water that has run out of the first and second valve slides will run into the third valve slides.  I wait a second or two, then pull those and empty them.  I usually don’t pull out my first and second valve slides unless I need to lubricate them.

I also have a spit valve mounted on my lead pipe, which I frequently use.  I go through the whole emptying routine described above when I first take my horn out before playing it, and during long rests.  Most of the time, I just empty through the spit valve, or by pulling the three non-valve tuning slides.

Sometimes I get water in a place where my normal emptying routine doesn’t get it out.  When this happens, I rotate my horn clockwise several times until water runs out the bell.  If that doesn’t work, I press all the valves and blow air through the instrument, then repeat the rotations.  Once I’ve gotten water out of the bell, I empty all my slides in the manner described above.

When to empty the horn:

The air you blow through your horn comes out hot and humid.  As you play, you literally heat your instrument.  When you rest, the horn cools, and water condenses from the humid air inside.  Think of the layer of condensation on the outside of a glass of ice water on a hot day.  That’s what is happening inside your horn.  Even if you empty your horn right after playing, more water will condense inside it as it cools, and when you start playing again after a long tacit passage, you’ll get the “gurgles.”

To avoid this, make sure you always check for water immediately before playing.  You don’t have to empty every slide, but at least empty your main tuning slide right before you come back in.

Other things to consider:

Consider having one or more water keys installed in  your instrument.  It’s a quick and inexpensive procedure.  I recommend at least having a water key on your lead pipe.  Some players like having them on their third valve slides.

Do you eat close to when you play?  Some players have observed that their breath seems to be more humid after they eat for some reason.  As a result, they have to empty their water more often.

Have something to add?  Tell us about it in the comments.

“Dear Jonathan,

I am a junior high school student currently on his 2nd year of horn. What would you recommend horn players on how to improve their tone quality, endurance, and range (lower and upper).

thanks,

J”

Hi J,

Thanks for your interest. Here are a few thoughts which will hopefully be useful to you:

If you aren’t already taking private lessons, I highly recommend finding a teacher in your area. It’s well worth the cost.  I will suggest some exercises and advice to help you, but it’s hard for me to teach you anything without being there in person.  A good teacher can show you how to do things, and can watch you to make sure you do them right.

Now, to your specific questions:

Tone quality:

Long tones:

• Take a deep breath, and play a middle C on your instrument. Start at a pianissimo, crescendo to a comfortable forte, then decrescendo back to a pianissimo before releasing the note. How fast you do this is up to you- find a pace at which you can comfortably finish on one breath. Focus on the feeling of allowing your air to flow through your embouchre and into the instrument. Try to maintain a steady pitch and beautiful tone as you change volume.
• Repeat this exercise going up by half steps to the G above middle C, then start on middle C again and go down by half steps to the G below middle C. This should be a comfortable exercise. You can expand the range when you feel ready, but don’t force it.

Endurance:

Your endurance depends on how consistently you practice. Start by making sure you don’t miss a day. Slowly build up your daily practicing until you are playing at least an hour each day. You don’t have to be playing every minute of that time- make sure you take time to rest when you need to.

Be careful when you increase your practicing. It’s normal for your embouchre muscles to get tired.  Don’t try to play continuously for a long time- a single practice session should include both playing and resting.  When you get tired, rest for a minute or two, then play some more.  When you get tired again, rest again, then play some more.  If you get to the point where you can’t maintain firm corners anymore, stop and rest. Don’t use extra mouthpiece pressure as a substitute for firm corners.  Your muscles need time to adapt to what you make them do.  If you are coming back to the horn after several weeks without playing, you will have lost much of your endurance.  You won’t be able to play as long or as high as you could before.  Be patient as you rebuild your endurance.  There are no shortcuts.

High Range:

Scales are a good way to develop your high range.  I’m going to tell you a specific way to play scales for this purpose.  Please be careful with this.  Make sure you are fully warmed up, take time to rest as your chops become tired, and don’t try to force yourself higher than you can go.  Don’t use pressure as a substitute for firm corners.  Expanding your range takes time and patience.

• Start with one octave major scales in the mid range, such as from the G below middle C to the G above middle C.  Play each scale twice slurred and twice tongued, pausing for breath when needed.  Don’t rush- maintain a moderate steady tempo.  Focus on consistency of sound.
• Take a few moments to rest, then move up a step and play another scale in the same manner as before.  Continue playing progressively higher scales until the highest notes you play begin to exceed your comfortable range.  When you are exceeding your comfortable range by one or two notes, you should stop trying to go higher and spend some time on producing a steady, beautiful sound as you play those scales.
• Once you start to be comfortable on your new notes, you can move up to the next higher scale and repeat the process.
• If you start to play a scale, but can’t play its top notes, that means you are trying to go too high and you need to back off.  Rest, play some lower scales, and give yourself time to adjust.

Low Range:

Scales can also be used to develop your low range- you just have to do the reverse of what you did to develop your high range:

• Start with a comfortable midrange scale.  Start and end at the top instead of at the bottom.  Play each scale two times slurred and two times tongued.
• Repeat on progressively lower scales until you start to exceed your comfortable range.  Take time to get used to the new notes before you continue moving lower.
• Don’t change your embouchre to play low.  You should drop your jaw and frown a little, but try to keep the mouthpiece in the same place on your lips no matter what range you play in.

Have something to  add?  Tell us about it in the comments.

“Hello!

What would be some advice that you would give a young horn player to get better at their playing?

E”

In General:

1. If you aren’t already taking lessons, find a good teacher. Even the best band directors can only do so much.  One on one private instruction is essential if you are serious about playing horn. Take ownership of your learning by bringing questions and concerns to your teacher. As you become more advanced, it’s less about what the teacher assigns you, and more about what you bring to him. Don’t think of your teacher as a boss; think of him as a mentor or a consultant. Progress is up to you; your teacher just points you in the right direction.

2. Air is your friend. It is the source of your power as a wind player. Breathe deep and allow full expansion of your chest and abdomen.  Take in as much air as you can and learn what that feels like. You should feel tension leaving your body when you breathe.  Don’t push the air out when you play.  Instead, allow the air to flow through your embouchre and into the instrument.

3. Learn about pure intonation. This is one of the major differences between professionals and amateurs. If the tuning isn’t right, nothing else matters. In the orchestra, notes need to be played slightly higher or lower depending on what part of the chord they are. Octaves, minor thirds, and perfect fifths, for example, need to be spaced slightly wider, while major thirds and minor sevenths need to be slightly narrower. Ask your teacher about this. One of the best things you can do to learn this skill is to work with a partner on the Verne Reynolds Intonation Exercises for Two Horns. I’m not sure if it is still in print, but your teacher might have a copy or know someone who does.

4. Etudes are essential for developing good technique. Yes, they are hard. That’s intentional. Working to master the etudes develops the tools you need in order to play everything else. I recommend Koprasch “Sixty Selected Studies for French Horn” and Maxime Alphones “Two Hundred New Studies in Six Books for Horn”. I also recommend practicing major and minor scales.

5. Orchestral parts and solos require different skills and mindsets. You need to work on both.

6. Take good care of your body by eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly. Playing the horn is a physical activity, and you will learn and perform more efficiently if you are fit, healthy, and well rested.

Practice Habits:

1. Spend the most time working on what’s hardest for you. If your Mozart sounds great but you are struggling with your Strauss, then spend more time on Strauss.

2. Make friends with your metronome. Work the hard stuff slowly, then gradually build up speed.

3. Break things down into bite-size pieces. One of the first things I do when I start a new piece is divide it into sections. I work on one section at a time.  I isolate difficult technical passages and work them in smaller sections.  For example, if I have a series of rapid 16th notes, I divide it into overlapping sets of 3 or 4. I’ll spend days working on half a measure if that’s what it takes to master it. I don’t work on the larger section until I’m comfortable with the small pieces. Then I put the pieces together, starting slowly, and working it up to speed. If I am learning a piece for the first time, I often repeat the process several times before I or my teachers are satisfied.

4. Record yourself. When you think you have mastered something, record yourself playing it, then listen critically as if it were your student playing it. Think what advice you would give them, then apply it to yourself.  You should also record yourself at the beginning and end of each semester, and compare the two recordings.  This will help you to hear how you improve over time, which often occurs so gradually that you don’t realize it.

5. Don’t miss a day of practicing. Even if all you have time to do is 30-45 minutes of fundamentals, do it. It’s easier to recover from a week playing 30 minutes per day than from a week with no practicing at all.

Manners:

Success as a musician depends heavily on your ability to get along with people, more so than in many other professions. As a freelancer, most of your work will come from people you know, so it pays to develop good working relationships with your colleagues. I recommend reading the following articles about the social nuances of professional horn playing:

1. The Seven Deadly Sins of Horn Playing – This presentation was originally given by Larry Lowe, my undergraduate horn professor.  It’s good advice.

2. Top Ten Rookie Mistakes

If you want to be a professional horn player, I recommend this article on choosing a school for advanced horn study.

Have something to  add?  Tell us about it in the comments.