by Katy Carnaggio

Every note you play begins before you move. Before muscles shift or breath flows, your mind is already running mental simulations that predict what your body will do and how it will feel. Skill develops by testing those predictions against experience, adjusting with every breath and sound.

This predictive process is part of a larger system called internal modeling: the brain’s way of anticipating outcomes before they happen, and refining them over time.

Internal modeling relies on two processes:

• Inverse modeling: predicts the actions needed to achieve a musical outcome, sending motor commands to your body.
• Forward modeling: predicts how those movements will feel and sound, even before a note is played.

Together, these processes create a continuous flow of intention and anticipation.

As you play, sensory feedback streams in. Your brain constantly compares prediction to reality. When they align, the model is reinforced. When they diverge, it’s adjusted, sharpening future predictions and improving precision.

Think of internal modeling (what you intend and imagine) and sensory feedback (what you actually hear and feel) as two oars on a paddleboat. Used together, they move you forward with ease. Neglect one, and you may find yourself gently circling without realizing it.

This is why imagining, choosing, and feeling the sound before you play matters so much. It strengthens your internal model (the often-overlooked oar), priming your movements to become more precise, reliable, and free. Like an internal GPS, it gives you something you can trust every time you play.

To refine your internal models, incorporate deliberate prediction into your practice: predicting both the actions needed to create sound and the sensations those actions should produce.

This can look like:

Embodied Imagery

• Choose an image, emotion, or physical sensation (like "an icy lake" or "velvet dusk").
• Organize your breath, body, and focus around becoming that internal world.
• Let sound emerge naturally from embodiment, not mechanical control.

Active Listening

• While listening to great performances, imagine you are creating the sound:
• Feel the breath, the embouchure, the posture shaping each phrase. (How does it shift when you imagine singing like Avi Kaplan versus Luciano Pavarotti?)

These strategies draw from current research on predictive motor control and skill acquisition. Their specific applications to music performance are an exciting and growing area of study. You'll find additional ideas linked here if you'd like to explore further.

And as you do, remember: building a stronger internal model isn't just about adding new detail; it's also about letting some things go. As Brené Brown says, “Change always includes a series of small deaths.” Even positive growth carries loss—the shedding of familiar ways of moving, familiar ways of thinking, even familiar versions of yourself.

But each time you release an old way of moving or thinking, you clear the path for something more true, more grounded, more yours.

You don’t just change how you play.
You become someone who plays differently because you are different inside.

Article Series Map
Part 1: Prediction as a Tool for Letting Go
Part 2: Your Sound Starts Here
Part 3: Strengthen Your Inner Map (This Month!)
Part 4: Surrender in Spotlight (Coming Next Month)

by Szabolcs Zempléni, Professor of Horn, University of the Arts Berlin; IHS 57 Featured Artist

"The Athletic Horn Player." That was the headline when Gramophone magazine interviewed me after my first big international win in Markneukirchen at the age of 20. I loved cycling even then, though I was far from a typical athlete. What I didn’t know was that sport was already shaping me in ways I couldn’t yet see.

Today, I know: Playing the horn is a sport.

The Physical Side

Horn playing is physical. We push muscles to extremes: loudness, high notes, low notes, stamina across hours. Your range, endurance, strength—it’s not just talent. It’s training.

There is no such thing as impossible. Only the limits we accept.

Muscles don't grow during practice—they grow during rest. The body needs time to process, build, memorize. The same is true for the brain: slow, deliberate practice, careful repetition. Athletes know it. Musicians must embrace it too.

Mastery is Built, Not Found

Physical training is essential—but so is mental strength. Chess. Snooker. Strategy games. They teach focus, patience, fine motor skills—all critical for musicians. Not every training happens on the instrument.

I’ve always had it—the need to win. Even losing—painful as it was—taught me resilience. Every setback became a lesson: Get up. Start again. Fight for your goal.

The Importance of Breathing

Reading Zen in the Art of Archery was a revelation.
Breathing isn't secondary—it's the foundation. High notes, low notes, loudness, endurance—all depend on the breath.

Arnold Jacobs taught me: Breathing empowers muscles. Without it, they fail.

Breathing, both in sports and in horn playing, became a cornerstone of my teaching philosophy.

The Mental Game

Athletes embraced sports psychology decades ago. Musicians are still catching up.

The Inner Game of Tennis changed everything for me.
Its musical version (The Inner Game of Music) is wonderful—but the original carries a universal truth:

Your mind is your strongest—or weakest—partner.

Three Pillars of Horn Playing

Horn playing rests on three pillars:

• Technical mastery
• Breathing mastery
• Mental mastery

Each must be trained. Each must be respected.

Inspiration Beyond Music

Some of my greatest inspirations come from outside music:

• Roger Federer—for balance and serenity.
• Cristiano Ronaldo—for relentless work ethic and belief that nothing is impossible.
• Ronnie O’Sullivan—for his raw journey to greatness.
• Katinka Hosszú—Hungary’s Olympic and World Champion swimmer, whose motto “HWAPO” (Hard Work Always Pays Off) became my own.

Conclusion

Horn playing is a sport for the body, the mind, and the soul. And like all true sports, it demands everything you have—and gives back even more.

by Haeree Yoo, Solo Horn, WDR Sinfonieorchester; IHS 57 Featured Artist

There are many effective ways to practice, but the impact of quality practice on a musician's growth is often overlooked. Since I began playing the horn at the relatively late age of 15, I had to progress quickly, and I believe that effective practice played a crucial role in that journey. In this column, I'd like to share the approaches that have worked for me. While I'm still early in my teaching career, I hope my experiences can offer useful insights to students preparing for competitions and auditions.

For over ten years, I have kept detailed practice notes, documenting my daily plans, reflections, and lesson feedback. Before each session, I wrote down what I planned to practice, and afterward, I noted my observations. My notes included specific exercises, such as scales, arpeggios, and articulations, as well as personal insights into what techniques were working.

I always set clear goals for my exercises. If I was working on articulation, I focused on clarity. For legato, I aimed for smoothness and softness. One of my biggest challenges was lip trills. To improve them, I systematically increased my tempo using a metronome, gradually building up from 60 to 180 bpm over a year. I tracked this progress in my notebook, ensuring steady improvement.

I also connected fundamental exercises directly to the pieces I was working on. For instance, after practicing lip trills, I immediately applied that technique to the trills in the first movement of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4. Similarly, after working on one-octave intervals, I practiced the singing passage after the fanfare in the first movement of Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1. This approach refined my repertoire while reinforcing technical development.

When learning a new piece, I followed a structured method:

• Step 0 Research background information on the piece and listen to multiple recordings.
• Step 1 Read through the entire piece and mark challenging sections.
• Step 2 Practice difficult sections in isolation.
• Step 3 Focus on musical expression and phrasing.
• Step 4 Check intonation and tempo using a metronome and tuner.
• Step 5 Review and apply lesson feedback.
• Step 6 Work with the accompaniment to synchronize with the pianist.
• Step 7 Record my playing and analyze areas for improvement.
• Step 8 Simulate a performance with mental training in front of an audience.

I assigned each piece to an appropriate stage based on my progress, ensuring a regimented and efficient practice routine. After each session, I wrote down my reflections and reviewed past notes to track improvements. If I discovered an adjustment that worked particularly well—such as modifying my embouchure or mouthpiece placement—I documented it carefully for future reference. In addition to personal notes, I recorded my lessons (with my teacher's permission) and listened back to them during practice. This helped me absorb feedback more thoroughly and refine intonation, rhythm, and timing.

I structured my practice schedule by balancing essential daily exercises with rotating exercises based on their relevance. When preparing for competitions or recitals, I distributed my repertoire practice throughout the week, adjusting my focus as needed. For major events like auditions, I planned my practice flow well in advance. Two days before a performance, I limited my sessions to three hours to manage fatigue and adjusted my practice times to match the audition schedule. For auditions, I incorporated long breaks to simulate the waiting period between rounds, helping me stay mentally ready.

My structured approach might seem intense, but it was incredibly helpful. Organizing my practice gave me a sense of accomplishment, as I could track my progress and stay motivated. Daily practice can sometimes feel repetitive and exhausting, but breaking it into clear, manageable tasks made it more rewarding. Checking off each item on my to-do list provided a sense of satisfaction and helped me stay engaged.

Of course, this method may not work for everyone, but since it played a significant role in my own development, I wanted to share it. Every musician has a different approach to practice, but I hope my experiences can offer useful guidance. With thoughtful and structured practice, I believe that anyone can make meaningful progress.

by Caiti Beth McKinney

Hello everyone! This month I wanted to share with you the music of composer Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025) to honor her recent passing on March 13. Gubaidulina was an incredibly brave woman who dedicated her life to her music, and, against all odds and obstacles, continued to create in ways that felt honest to herself. She was born in the Soviet Union in 1931 in a time where musical tastes were strictly controlled; in fact, during her early career, the study of modern music from the United States and parts of Europe were completely banned. She and her fellow students smuggled scores from composers like Ives and Cage, all so they could learn as much as possible.

During and after her post-graduate studies, Gubaidulina’s music was frequently scrutinized by governmental figures who argued that she was on a “mistaken path,” but other composers like Dmitri Shostakovich supported her work and encouraged her to continue. Throughout her life, her music was accused of being too religious, too Western, and at times, even “irresponsible.” In the face of such blatant opposition, Gubaidulina remained undeterred; she used the less-regulated realm of film music to experiment with her ideas and develop her compositional voice. She became internationally recognized in the 1980s thanks to her violin concerto Offertorium, and this work launched her into the world of orchestral music. Her many pieces for orchestra include the deeply powerful The Wrath of God (a tour de force of low brass writing) and Fairy-tale Poem, a distinctly avant-garde work of plucked strings and flighty woodwinds.

Gubaidulina also composed an immense amount of chamber music, including her 1979 work Zwei Stücke für Horn und Klavier (Two Pieces for Horn and Piano). The piece shows the dynamic range of Gubaidulina’s musical palette; the composer plays with the full range of the piano and the dynamic capabilities of the horn, and the work is an approachable starting point for engaging with Gubaidulina’s compositions. (Enjoy Der Jagd from this work.) I find her compositional philosophy particularly inspiring and wish to leave it here for you to consider. In her own words, “The art of music is capable of touching and approaching mysteries and laws existing in the cosmos and in the world,” and it is “is consistent with the task of expanding the higher dimension of our lives.”