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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.

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