Skip to main content

Listening

Listening
Something that I feel gets missed a lot in the music world is time spent listening to music. I am not just talking about listening to horn repertoire, but listening to music across the whole spectrum of “classical music.” You can learn just as much information from listening as you can from practicing and finding some time to genuinely listen to and enjoy music each day is valuable.
Finding things that interest you is a great place to start. You can absolutely incorporate music from the horn repertoire, but I do stress that you expand upon that. The things that have helped me the most are finding pieces with voice. These can be music from the opera literature, but also songs from the standard vocal repertoire. Listening to the way that they shape phrases and the way that they treat breathing can be educational and transferable to our own playing.
YouTube is a great resource for finding recordings. You can look into new symphonies or operas you have not heard before and also get a list of suggested videos to the side to introduce you to related works. Much of the popular horn repertoire is on there as well, just make sure you are finding quality recordings. Many students post their recitals on youtube and while these recordings are great, listening to these works performed by professionals is a better example to follow. Student recordings are useful in a different way. They can help you learn things you like and dislike and can build your positive critiquing skills.
Spotify is another great resource we have these days. You can search your favorite orchestras or performers and find related works already created into a playlist for you. This is another way to help you discover music because spotify also shows you related works and has suggestions for further listening. Whatever you do to find your music, keep and open mind and open ears and do not be afraid to listen in directions you have never been in before.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women Writing Chamber Music

Women Writing Chamber Music For my Chamber Music Literature class, I created a presentation on chamber music works that have been written by women that include the horn. I wanted to write about works by women because they are so seldom heard. My goal was to find a video performance of each work so that the audience would have an audio and visual representation of the piece. This project was more difficult than expected in some ways. While there are a few resources that highlight chamber music by female composers, they are typically outdated and include pieces that I was not able to find any information on the composer, let alone the piece itself. The project was enjoyable to work on and I hope to be adding more pieces in the future. The current list highlights selections from 1849 to 2018. If you have any suggestions on pieces to add, please comment below! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MMmnOz8YykQakaPRcjYDzzHg0uwH97ch5ClT6KJjK8U
Post a Comment
Read more

Intonation

Intonation Learning how to play in tune with yourself and others should be a fun process for you. It takes patience and attention to detail, but the end results are life changing for your playing. First off, make sure you have a metronome and a tuner. There are lots of apps that exist today for these, but if you are willing to spend a little money, I recommend the TonalEnergy Tuner. This app lets you have the metronome and tuner going at the same time. You can also have the app play drones, which we will get to shortly. First, make sure that your horn is in tune with itself and a tuner. There are many different types of horns with different tuning systems so it is best to get help from someone with experience tuning the horn the first time you do this. I also have found this video by Matthew Hogan useful for students to get an introduction to tuning the horn. The best place to start is by learning your tendencies. Each note will require a little adjustment to get perfectly in
Post a Comment
Read more

Articulations

Articulations When you are playing each note, remember that there is a beginning, middle, and end. Each part of the note requires definition and equal attention. Articulations are often what causes us to make the most mistakes. There are different ways to approach articulations, but we are going to keep it simple with a “too” approach. Start by just slowly saying the word “too.” Feel the shape your mouth makes and where the tip of your tongue makes contact. It should be around the back of your top teeth, just where the roof of your mouth meets the teeth. This creates a well-rounded attack that works great on the horn. The higher in the range you are playing, your tongue will move further up from that position, and the lower you play, your tongue will move further down. This motion should happen naturally, but if you find yourself making unclear beginnings to notes, check in with where your tongue is making the initial attack. Make sure that after you make the attack, your t
Post a Comment
Read more