Have Horn, Will Travel: An Interview with Lauren Robinson, Part 1
Comparing Digital Audio Recorders: Zoom H4n and Edirol R-09HR
Recording Project Update: First Edits and Beyond
More Practice Room Modifications
More Online Practice Tools
Comparing Descant Horns»
Hiatus (6)
My wife and I recently welcomed our first child into the world, so I’ll be taking a hiatus from posting new content for the next month or so. The Job Postings page will continue to be updated on a monthly basis, and I plan to resume regular posting by the end of the summer. For… Read More ›
Area Horn News »
Recording Project Update: First Edits and Beyond (2)
Here’s another brief update on my Koetsier recording project (read the previous one here). As of my last update I was still working on liner notes and waiting to dig in to some first edits of the pieces. I’m happy to report that I’ve completed the liner notes, coming in at 1954 words (2000 words… Read More ›
Biographical »
Solo Bucket List (5)
Over the past several years I’ve been compiling a “bucket list” of solo works that I have previously worked on, but never performed. Some of them are major works in the repertoire that for one reason or another I haven’t yet had the opportunity to perform, while others are less well known but still worthwhile…. Read More ›
Chamber Music »
Upcoming Performances: Black Bayou Brass, Carrapatoso, and more (4)
I have several performances coming up in February, March, and April, making for a busy but very exciting semester. On March 27th, I’ll be performing with Black Bayou Brass for our annual faculty recital at ULM. Our program will include two substantial multi-movement works, Jean-François Michel’s Suite for Trumpet, Horn and Trombone, and Anthony Plog’s… Read More ›
Embouchure »
Video: Lip Trill and Range Development Exercise by Douglas Hill (0)
Here’s a short video demonstration of a great exercise for working on lip trills and range development. The exercise can be found in two publications by Douglas Hill, Warm-ups and Maintenance Sessions for the Horn Player, and High Range for the Horn Player. Both books are highly recommended, and I have used them regularly for… Read More ›
Ensembles »
Monroe Symphony Orchestra: John Williams Spectacular (1)
This weekend the Monroe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will present an all John Williams concert, featuring music from some of his most well-known film scores. You can see some of the titles in the image at right, and here’s a complete list. Superman March Call of the Champions E.T.: Adventures on Earth Jaws Harry Potter… Read More ›
Equipment »
Comparing Digital Audio Recorders: Zoom H4n and Edirol R-09HR (0)
Someone recently posted a question to the Horn People group on Facebook asking about various brands of digital recorders. Although I haven’t used all of the brands and varieties mentioned in the Facebook discussion, I have had a good bit of experience with the Edirol R-09HR and the Zoom H4n. I bought the Edirol a… Read More ›
Etudes »
Kopprasch Project Continued, No. 50 (0)
Etude No. 50 is similar to No. 48, but focuses primarily on diatonic (instead of chromatic) scales and arpeggios. Suggested tempo is quarter-note=104-120, although a more brisk Presto can work as well, provided that everything is clean without sounding frantic. The “espressivo” marking is interesting, and there are probably several ways to interpret it, including… Read More ›
Film Scores »
Friday Review: Video Games Live Concert (7)
Last weekend I performed with the South Arkansas Symphony for a program called Video Games Live. The show has been around for nearly 10 years, and has toured internationally. All of the music for the show is taken from current and past video games, and includes live and pre-recorded video footage, light effects, and other… Read More ›
General Information »
Thoughts on David Zerkel’s “Some Suggestions on Being an Effective Music Student” (1)
Recently David Zerkel, Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Georgia, posted a great Facebook note titled “Some Suggestions on Being an Effective Music Student, 2012 Edition.” The note quickly went viral, at least amongst music teachers, and can be easily found on Facebook. In addition, Kyle Hayes has reposted the note… Read More ›
Health »
Musician, Heal Thyself: Canker Sores (7)
Canker sores: these minor annoyances can become an issue for brass players, and over the years I’ve dealt with my fair share of them. First, the disclaimer: I am not a physician, and the following material is based purely on my own experience. It is not meant to be medical advice – when in doubt… Read More ›
Historical »
Another Summer Project: Create an Edition (1)
Ok, I know that today’s post was supposed to be about juries, but I needed a few more days to put together my thoughts, and I also remembered another project to add to Monday’s list. This project originated in an upper level music history course I teach as a viable alternative to a traditional research paper…. Read More ›
Instruments »
A New Toy (4)
Near the end of last semester I purchased a new toy — a natural horn. It’s a great little instrument, and perfect for my needs, which mainly involve demonstrations for students and general noodling around. The horn was created by removing the valve section from an old York single F horn, and the work was… Read More ›
Opera »
A Busy Week and The Horn in Opera (0)
Last week I had the privilege of playing principal horn for a production of Donizetti’s L’elisir D’amore (The Elixir of Love) by Opera East Texas. The performances went very well, and the conductor, orchestra, cast, and crew were all fantastic. Special thanks to Susan Rogers, the other half of the horn section, for an outstanding… Read More ›
Orchestral Playing »
Friday Potpourri (0)
An assortment of news, websites, gear, and other items of interest from around the horn world. Just Sayin’: A new (and free) smartphone app which allows you to “post any combination of voice, text, photos and video to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.” Definitely some possibilities here for musicians. Horn Playing from the Inside Out:… Read More ›
Performing »
Notes from a Master Class on Performance Anxiety (0)
To close out this week’s series of master class notes (read Part 1 and Part 2), here are my notes from a talk given by David Sternbach, Research Director of the Center for Arts and Wellness at George Mason University. A former horn player himself, Mr. Sternbach visited a studio class during my time at… Read More ›
Philosphical »
Is College Teaching a Stressful Job? (0)
Earlier this year an article by Kyle Kensing at CareerCast created a bit of a storm in social media, especially among my colleagues in higher education. The title of the article was “The 10 Least Stressful Jobs of 2013,” and college professor occupied the number one (least stressful) spot on their list. According to their… Read More ›
Physical Issues »
Lessons from a Lead Trumpet Player (0)
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but am just now getting around to it. The week before Thanksgiving, our brass players were treated to a guest master class and performance by Mike Williams, lead trumpet player of the famed Count Basie Orchestra for the last 25 years. Mr. Williams is originally… Read More ›
Practicing »
Wednesday Review: Horn Fundamentals, by Bruno Schneider (0)
Most horn players today are fortunate to have a wide variety of quality practice materials available to them. Using the internet, one can readily find dozens of great methods, etudes, and other exercises to purchase (for a list of some of them, see this article). One recent addition to these materials is Bruno Schneider‘s Horn… Read More ›
Random »
Students: Looking for Something to Do this Summer? (1)
We heard some great brass juries today – bravo to all the students on their hard work! I’m planning to post a bit more about juries on Wednesday, but for today here’s a list of some projects for horn students (and other brass players) to consider over the summer break. Summer is a great time… Read More ›
Recordings »
Review: The Horn of Eric Ruske (0)
Here’s a brief review of The Horn of Eric Ruske, a newly-released compendium by international horn soloist Eric Ruske (cover image linked from Amazon.com) . If you read The Horn Call, you’ve probably seen this seven-disc set advertised in its pages. It’s a great set of recordings, and I highly recommend it to anyone who… Read More ›
Reference »
New Page: Resources (2)
Borrowing an idea from Horn Matters, I have collected all of the original handouts from this website and made them available on one Resources page. As new handouts, charts, and other materials become available I will post them on the Resources page. Although not nearly as extensive as the resources found on Horn Matters, there… Read More ›
Repair »
Horn DIY: Changing Mute Corks (5)
Here’s another entry in the “Horn DIY” series, changing mute corks. My go-to straight mute is Ion Balu’s “Red Mahogany” model. Over time the corks that came with the mute have worn and even started to break apart in a few places (see below). If you look closely at the top of the corks you… Read More ›
Repertoire »
Upcoming Faculty Recital (3)
On November 29th I’ll be presenting my annual faculty recital. The big focus for this program will be works for horn with other instruments by Jan Koetsier, in preparation for a forthcoming CD. The second of two recording sessions for this project is scheduled for December, so I programmed this recital much later in the… Read More ›
Reviews »
Wednesday Review: Solo Works for Horn by Gallay: Anneke Scott, Natural Horn (3)
Here’s a new recording of unaccompanied works for horn by Jacques-François Gallay, one of the premier horn players in Europe during the first half of the 19th century (cover image linked from Amazon.com). The soloist is Anneke Scott, who performs in London with numerous period instrument ensembles including the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. You can… Read More ›
Solos »
Audio, Video Updates (0)
Although the Kopprasch Project is on hiatus until January, I’ve been adding a few videos to my YouTube Channel as well as updating the Audio and Job Listings pages on this site. The three most recent videos are selections from a recital at ULM on November 29th. Overall I was quite pleased with the outcome,… Read More ›
Teaching »
More Horn-Related Websites (0)
Here’s a selection of interesting websites related to the horn. Some are new, and some have been around for awhile but I only recently stumbled across them. Enjoy! Sarah Willis: Ms. Willis is a member of the Berlin Philharmonic’s world class horn section, and also an active teacher, soloist, clinician, and all around promoter of… Read More ›
Technique »
Semester Project: Intonation (3)
In Monday’s Fall 2012 preview, I neglected to mention one other long-term project, working on intonation. In general I have fairly good intonation, but noticed my pitch starting to creep up this summer. It was particularly noticeable during a recording session with organ at the beginning of August. The organ was tuned to A=440, and… Read More ›
Technology »
CMS/NACWPI Report (0)
Black Bayou Brass returned from San Diego yesterday, where we performed at the NACWPI national conference. Our performance on Saturday went well, and overall it was a very successful trip. However, the journey got off to a bit of a rocky start when our connecting flight to San Diego was cancelled (mechanical problems), leaving us… Read More ›
Uncategorized »
Review: hornetudes.com (3)
Hornetudes.com is an excellent new resource created by Ricardo Matosinhos, a professional horn player and teacher in Portugal. You can read his full bio for more details, but in short Dr. Matosinhos is an experienced player and teacher with a diverse musical background. Among his other horn-related projects are the Horn’s Pocket Guide, a handy… Read More ›
Warm-ups and Routines »
Long Tones: A Love/Hate Relationship (2)
This semester I added long tones back into my practice routine, and I’ve noticed some positive results over the past several weeks. To clarify, I normally play long tones in my warm-up routine, but it’s been a few years since I did any additional long tone work during the day. In graduate school I practiced… Read More ›
Websites and Blogs »
New Look, New Domain Name (0)
For me summer is a great time for practicing, but also for thinking and reflection. When I started this blog, I wasn’t really sure where it was going to go. I had several ideas for topics to cover, as well as a desire to write more about horn teaching and playing. Two years and several… Read More ›
