by Katy Carnaggio

Honestly, it gets to be easy. Okay…it is a little hard, but what follows makes it so much easier.

If you’ve ever wondered how great musicians have managed to turn their deep struggles into awe-inspiring strengths, consider this to be a kickstart. But instead of giving you vague, general advice like “Enjoy the process!” “Take it one day at a time!” and “Focus on the music!” we’re going to get a little gritty, because you’re never ever going to trill like Tryon if nobody teaches you how to work through the inevitable setbacks.

And speaking of the lovely Denise Tryon, next week, in collaboration with the Office of Wellness at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, I’ll be hosting a workshop that not only features her (along with Demondrae Thurman, euphonium, and Grigory Kalinovsky, violin) but was inspired by her, focusing on how each musician transformed struggle into expertise.

The first step? Seek evidence you’re not alone.

Earth shattering is how I describe my first lesson with Denise. And when you’ve unintentionally built your world with fear, doubt, frustration, and disconnection, a wake-up call can be a good thing.

At 12:52 p.m., I made my way to the lesson with her, weary from a long battle with embouchure issues that arose after an untimely surgery. At 1:14 p.m., my earth was shattered. Fear and doubt and frustration and disconnection had all become visible for Denise to see. But in place of all these were validation, self-knowledge, hope, belief, and a horn sound I actually kind of liked! Not only did somebody see me and understand what I was going through, but she knew exactly the way forward—because she had been there, too.

It gets to be that easy.

Whether facing a technique overhaul, injury, heartbreak, or simply exhaustion, the presence of struggle isn't the issue. These often signal that you're undergoing change. The issue lies in our fear that our struggles mean we’re inadequate. We fear that these experiences might confirm our worst suspicions about ourselves. Out of fear, we withdraw into the practice room, hesitate to pursue new opportunities, or conceal our experiences to avoid judgment or rejection. The fear that we are inadequate leads us to a limited world, where the solutions to our struggle seem just as limited. However, struggle more often reveals our talent rather than our shortcomings. “What is talent?” Grigory Kalinovsky mused during a preliminary discussion. “It’s not just ability. If you have natural ability, great. But if you have ability and burning need? That is talent.”

Talented to say the least, each of our panelists shares a burning need and sense of integrity in their stories of struggle. Am I doing the music justice? Am I doing myself justice? When the answer was no, each faced the vulnerability, resistance, or discomfort of change. But instead of withdrawing in self-doubt, they stepped out towards self-knowledge. In doing so, they connected with somebody who sparked a pivotal shift in their perspectives.

When you find yourself entangled in a struggle, consider taking a little time to expand your world beyond the practice room. Whether through books, podcasts, lessons, Facebook groups, or a simple conversation, you’ll soon find that a shift in perspective shared by somebody who's been there before is exactly what you've been missing. Cheers to all solution-finders and puzzle-solvers, with special thanks to Denise for holding my missing piece!

The IU Jacobs School of Music Wellness Workshop mentioned above is in person only, but it is open to the public if you are in the area and interested in attending. For details and information, see https://events.iu.edu/musiciub/event/1382103-expert-roundtable-how-to-turn-setbacks-into-skills.

by John McGuire

Hello fellow hornists!

This month has seen a flurry of activities in preparation for our August IHS 56 Symposium. The team has spent several weeks crafting what we believe will be a very strong schedule for the week. We have many wonderful performances, presentations, masterclasses, and other exciting events, and I would encourage everyone to go through the schedule—which is now posted at www.hornsonthehorizon.com—and find all the sessions and concerts that interest you. I guarantee that there are many opportunities for everyone to learn and be inspired!

Of course, we are all excited about the Featured Artists’ performances and masterclasses—who wouldn’t be! But I would like to draw special attention to a few other exciting offerings. Notably, there will be a large number of outstanding Contributing Artists sharing their talents and new works for horn, and presenting research that pertains to all of us. I personally can’t wait to see and hear them all…or at least as many as I can physically attend!

Additionally, we will be hosting late-night sessions after the evening concerts. These sessions will be informal interviews with many of our Featured Artists. It will be a chance for all of us to sit down with these icons of the horn world and get to know them in a more comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. (If you have ever had the chance to see the American television program Inside the Actors’ Studio, that’s how I envision these gatherings.)

Last, please make plans to attend what will surely be a wonderful and emotional tribute concert to Hermann Baumann, who recently passed away. Undoubtedly one of the finest horn players in history, Hermann’s impact on players around the world cannot be overstated, and it’s difficult to imagine someone who has had a greater influence on so many. This concert will be the featured evening performance on Thursday, August 1st—which would have been Baumann’s 90th birthday. There will be many terrific individual performances and tributes, and I’m sure there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Please register now for IHS 56, if you have not already done so. We look forward to seeing you in Colorado!

by Inman Hebert

Whether playing for juries, recitals, or even important concerts, many collegiate horn players have felt the effects of performance anxiety. Symptoms may include dry mouth, shaking muscles, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, and more. Experiencing performance anxiety is perfectly normal; however, learning how to prepare for and manage nerves is critical to the evolution of horn students in elevating our performances.

Musical preparation and visualization are the initial steps to managing anxiety. If a student cannot play a piece consistently in the practice room, no amount of managing nerves will overcome poor preparation. After a piece becomes second nature, performing the music in our practice sessions, including others (fellow students, for example) as our audience, and being creative in simulating performance conditions can give us the confidence to perform under pressure. Aside from regular musical preparation, visualization of successful performances can also help mitigate anxiety. Imagine warming up pre-performance, stepping on stage, and playing the music. These steps can make a performance feel familiar instead of foreign, and this helps a horn player stay focused in the moment which leads to more success.

Recognizing and accepting performance anxiety symptoms as our body’s normal reaction to pressure allows us to refocus our energy on coping strategies. Physically, hydrate with water and limit caffeine intake the days before a performance since caffeine can raise adrenaline levels and worsen the effects of stress. Anxiety can trigger dry mouth, muscle tension, and shallow breathing; however, incorporating stress reduction techniques into our pre-performance can alleviate these symptoms. Stretching releases tension and helps improve posture. Deep breathing lowers our heart rate and blood pressure, and reduces stress hormones. Airflow is foundational to our horn playing. Take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and connect to the present moment.

Mentally, reframe your emotions and develop mindfulness. Interpret your anxiety as excitement, and create a mental checklist of positive performance memories. Hear the music in your head and remember how you want it played. Having the right mindset before and during the performance can help mitigate anxiety. Accepting that mistakes may happen, not all performances will go well, and perfection is unrealistic helps us not to panic and to stay in the moment. Instead of dwelling on a mistake just made, an upcoming phrase, or pending feedback, refocus on the present. Your audience will most likely appreciate your authentic self who communicates a convincing musical message over technical perfection.

Many horn professionals share experiences of overcoming performance anxiety. As horn students, we cannot see anxiety as taboo. Instead, we must view it as another area to navigate. With proper mental and physical preparation tools, we can manage performance anxiety, allowing our musical selves to shine.

by Marty Schlenker

Dear Fellow Ambitious Amateurs,

This month, I tackle a topic that affects us all: organization.

I am a member of the “players just wanna play” crowd. If I had all the time in the world, I’d have horn-to-face each day until I couldn’t stand it, anywhere, with anybody—like a songbird in a tree, regardless of the technical and interpretive limitations. I know that I am much like my fellow amateur readers of Horn and More. Horn is more than just this thing I do on Monday nights when I go to community band.

Those of us in the “players just wanna play” school, of course, owe a debt of gratitude to those from the “let’s get organized” school. If we are to walk in, get our horns out, and sit down to a stand of music, a member of the “let’s get organized” school will already have been on the job.

I am fortunate to be in the company of such people as a member of Brass Triumphant. Brass Triumphant is remarkable in its longevity for an amateur group, active continuously since 1985. The founding members (trumpeters Becky Speck and Mike Stahl—who continue to lead the group—plus horn, trombone, and piano) were brought together as pit musicians for passion plays put on by the Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) chapter of Youth for Christ. When the organization chose to dispense with a live pit, the players had to find other outlets for performance.

Members of four different churches, the players had the advantage of being able to take repertoire “on the road,” and steady participation in church worship services followed. Performances at retirement centers, weddings, and other events came, too. A big motivator to staying organized is having those performance dates on the calendar. Nearly all dates have come via members’ personal connections, but we’ve had business cards since the 1990s and a website for 7 or 8 years.

Brass Triumphant at a summer church service on a well-known riverboat in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Instrumentation is currently a well-balanced 4 trumpets, 2 horns, 3 trombones, and tuba, but it has varied over the years. Brass Triumphant could fit into members’ basements for rehearsals when the group was smaller, but we now rehearse in the showroom of Mike’s commercial flooring business on Saturday mornings at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Organizational advantages include a sufficiently spacious and reliably available rehearsal site, and a consistent time slot.

The group was fortunate to add trumpeter and arranger Dave Rutman in the early 1990s. He has adapted dozens of pieces to whatever the instrumentation has been at the time. Dave is modest about his arranging skills, but he has Finale software, a can-do attitude, and a sense of humor that can surprise you.

His most common adaptations are to insert additional trombone lines into brass quintets (which trombonist Jeff Schwartz will also do, ad lib) and to simplify unnecessarily challenging lines for the benefit of players and listeners alike. Dave states, “If I can mess with it before it gets passed out, no one feels like they’ve had notes taken away.” In 39 years, Brass Triumphant has assembled a library of close to 200 selections, much of which has been scanned for space efficiency and to reduce the risk of a lost folder; this is another investment of time that continues to yield organizational benefits.

Being the least-tenured member of the group, I was introduced to its history over a post-rehearsal breakfast, and one of the things that struck me was the matter-of-fact way in which the ensemble’s well-oiled functioning is organized. Things that are intimidating to many, especially for players new to self-promotion, are routine here. Want people to play with? Go find them! Want gigs? Cultivate them! Want to be asked back? Set clear expectations and come prepared. You don’t have to be virtuosos, but being organized surely helps.

And for anyone still paying attention to how my re-started lessons are going…uh…I am still far from practicing the organization that I preach. I returned last week from three weeks away from Pennsylvania, during which I was only able to practice a couple of times. I’m not back at square one but the irregularity sure isn’t helping. The good news is that the coming month will be much more settled. Check back!

And as always, please get in touch and share your stories! marty.schlenker@cavaliers.org

Marty Schlenker, Amateur Hornist