I just wrote a long email describing the excerpts that I use to evaluate a fresh horn and I thought it would be interesting for everyone. These are the baseline excepts that I use to decide what adjustments need to be made before sending it off. You can use this as well when trying horns [...]
Easy answer, they are way cool and work extremely well!
I’ve heard ascending Bb horns called the “poor man’s descant” but the fact of the matter is, if you look at what each horn does well, single Bb horns with ascending valves are lighter than descants and can play things like Beethoven and Mozart with a [...]
I had these at the Southeast Horn Workshop and will now offer them for sale on my website. These pipes simulate your leadpipe, minus the rest of the horn (just the pipe!) to give your chops the resistance that they need to form a correct embouchure.
As many teachers will tell you, free buzzing or buzzing [...]
Don’t forget!! Plan to visit the Southeast Horn Workshop March 6-8th in Cullowhee, NC. I will be there with a few horns to try and chat about. Hope to see you there!
I wanted to make sure that everyone has this link, I am surprised at the number of people still unaware of the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP). This is a completely free collection of sheet music in the public domain for your printing and playing pleasure. Since many of the scores and parts are scanned [...]
A favorite blog of mine to read is John Ericsons Horn Notes Blog and a recent post of his asked some tough questions about what your body is really doing when you play a brass instrument, (including a very cool and slightly creepy x-ray video). I was inspired to share an experience from a few weeks ago that relates.