by Patrick Hughes

The “how-too” is an exercise first presented to me when I was studying horn with Doug Hill. It’s one of the regular high-range exercises I share with my students at the University of Texas at Austin. This exercise teaches a specific body rhythm when starting pitches in the upper range. Often, we start high pitches with a three-count approach (1=inhale; 2=close the throat and set tension in the lips; and 3=explode on the note). The “how-too” exercise eliminates count 2 where we tend to close our throats and overset our embouchures, basically creating tension before the note. So, the body rhythm is now a two-count approach: 1=inhale—letting go of tension in the upper body by inhaling “how” (this opens the back of the throat); and 2=the start of the note (or “too”).

The “how” releases any tension held in the upper body—it’s very “chill.” Conversely, the “too” is assertive and quick, and it happens at the moment our throat is most open, when we’re at the bottom of the breath. During the “how” inhalation, a deep breath really isn’t necessary, think of it more as a body relaxation rather than a taking-in of air—you’re only going to play one quick note, so you don’t need much air. Also, keep the mouthpiece “at bay” while inhaling/relaxing (“how”) and bring your lips to the mouthpiece as you say “how” (notice how your lips come forward when you shape the “w”). The “too” is a quick note with an open end at a comfortable dynamic. Be assertive with your “too.” Don’t hesitate! Articulate “too” before you think you’re ready to play a note. Most students find it easier to get the rhythm of the “how-too” by counting or setting a metronome to 4/4: inhale/relax the “how” on beat 4 and say “too” on beat 1. Be sure that your “how” lasts for the entire beat 4, and the “w” of how meets the “t” of “too” (as if you’re saying “howt—oo”). There should be no tension or stopping of the inhalation before the “too.” Follow through.

Pick a pitch higher than third space C and play five of the same pitch in a row with an intense focus on the approach (body rhythm) to the note rather than the note itself. Pull the mouthpiece away after each note, allowing the blood to flow back to the aperture, and so you can mentally reset to start the next one. Accuracy is not the point of this exercise—aim for a pitch but follow through and play whatever note comes out; don’t correct the pitch—let it be. Don’t judge! If the wrong pitch comes out, think, “Ah, very interesting! I think I’ll try that again!” Remember, the point of this exercise is learning a different and more relaxed body rhythm.

Start on a different pitch every day and ascend by half step through five pitches. Try for five good attacks in a row on any given pitch, but there is no need to practice more than ten. You’ve still rehearsed several great approaches regardless of hitting the desired pitch!

Special tips and reminders for the How-Too:

• Never correct. Just “how-too” and let the note be whatever pitch it is, whatever dynamic it is. Imagine the correct pitch before your play. If you get the pitch, add to your list of duties acquiring the muscle memory of getting back to that same pitch the next time.
• Don’t be in a hurry. You could hyperventilate if you go too fast. A relaxed approach is the key. Also, it won’t tire you out if you give your lips more off-time than on-time with this exercise.
• This is a great exercise in any range. This may also be effective in eliminating hesitation/stutter issues.

Tips on doing any high horn exercise:

• Practicing high range exercises with relaxation and effortlessness should be your focus!
• Work on all aspects of playing high:
  • moving into the high register with less tension;
  • starting in the high register with less tension;
  • slurring about in the high register with very little noticeable facial movement;
  • fast, relaxed articulations in the high register.
  Work on each of these areas separately, starting in a range that you can handle and have some success. Spend 5-10 minutes on them, or however long you can manage.
• Don’t force the issue. For most of us, it’s not that we’re trying to develop stronger chops to reach the upper register. Instead, tension in the face, aperture, neck, and shoulders are in the way of letting the air do more of the work; any tension we create above the lungs is inhibiting airflow which causes more tension, which inhibits more airflow, etc. So, go up there, do some work on playing in the upper register while maintaining control of extra tension in your body (or think of displacing tension lower, away from your head, neck, and chest) throughout the exercises, and stop while you’re having reasonable success. Then move on to something else in your practice—something different.
• Keep your right hand tight or compressed in the bell when playing in the high register; this helps to center the partials better.
• Pelvic floor breathing works GREAT in the high register, but we should be breathing down (i.e., throwing our tension down) to that muscle all the time!
• It’s not necessary to do every high range exercise every day. Put them on a rotation during your weekly practice regimen. Don’t play them all in a row. Don’t expect that you’ll have more success with these exercises at the beginning, middle, or end of a practice session. We should be able to play high, low, soft, loud, at any time, as long as we’re sufficiently warmed up.

Estou muito feliz em escrever para vocês e compartilhar boas notícias: O conselho da IHS aprovou em dezembro uma nova Visão, Missão e Valores da nossa associação.

Missão: Conectar artistas de todas as idades e contextos de todo o mundo e promover a performance, educação e parcerias através de eventos, publicações, prêmios e novas composições.

Vision: Uma comunidade mundial de trompistas vibrante e conectada.

Nossos valores:

• Comunidade
• Respeito
• Diversidade
• Inclusão
• Equidade
• Colaboração

Isso é muito importante pois nos oferece uma base clara para planejar e trabalhar pelos nossos membros e pelo futuro da IHS.

Vivemos em tempos de mudança em relação a vários aspectos ao redor do mundo. Com os nossos valores, tentamos apresentar como queremos seguir em frente em relação a como conectamos e nos importamos com a nossa comunidade.

Trabalhando juntos, podemos fazer muito pela arte e pelo mundo da trompa. É essencial que trabalhemos para contemplar diferentes culturas e pessoas (assim como suas respectivas particularidades) buscando ajudar aqueles que querem tocar, aprender, ensinar, pesquisar, compor, realizar eventos ou qualquer outra ação relacionada à trompa, o que no geral, faz com que se tornem parte da nossa comunidade. E tudo isso deve ser feito com respeito ao próximo.

Preconceito, assédio, bullying, intolerância e discriminação, por exemplo, acontecem no nosso mundo e é fundamental, na minha opinião, que trabalhemos no que pudermos para evitar que algo assim aconteça no nosso ambiente de trabalho e nas ações idealizadas pela IHS. Portanto, com essa nova Visão, Missão e Valores, acredito que temos inspiração e um norte claro para seguir liderando nossa Associação.

No último mês, como devem ter ouvido, perdemos dois trompistas muito representativos e que influenciaram muitas pessoas ao redor do mundo – Lowell Greer e Dale Clevenger. Meus sentimentos às famílias e amigos e desejo força nesse momento difícil. Teremos artigos específicos em memória deles nesta edição do Horn and More e na edição de maio da Horn Call.

Meu colega professor de trompa na UFRN, Adalto Soares, estudou com o Lowell por alguns meses. Algo que me chamou a atenção nos comentários de Adalto, sempre positivos, foi quando ele mencionou que Lowell ensinou a ele a partir de suas boas ações no dia a dia muitos aspectos importantes da vida para além de tocar trompa, destacando o quanto esses ensinamentos foram importantes para ele (Adalto). Acredito que é muito importante oferecer esse tipo de aprendizado quando passamos a ser parte da educação de alguém.

Sobre o Dale, cresci escutando várias de suas gravações, especialmente com a Chicago Symphony, que tiveram uma grande influência em mim. Me lembro de uma gravação da terceira sinfonia de Mahler, que costumava escutar em um volume alto com o meu pai no carro dele. Era muito legal e inspirador!!

Com essas boas memórias, apresento a vocês esta newsletter. Além dos artigos sobre o Lowell e o Dale, temos o artigo “Meu desafio de dez anos”, de Gary Kuo, “Horn happening” no Cairo (Egito) e em Manila (Filipinas), novidades da américa latina e a coluna de pedagogia com o Patrick Hughes neste mês.

Gostaria de lembrá-los que o livro “The International Horn Society: The First 50 Years” continua disponível no link https://www.hornsociety.org/257-uncategorised/1665-the-international-horn-society-the-first-50-years e espero vê-los no IHS54, em Kingsville – Texas, do dia 1 a 6 de agosto! Mais informações disponíveis no link https://ihs54.com/.

Abraços,

Radegundis

by Amr Abulnaga

There are two orchestras in Cairo, Egypt’s capital city: the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, and the Cairo Opera Orchestra, both of which provide full time positions with ten-month annual engagements. There is also a semi-professional orchestra in Alexandria on the north coast, the Alexandria Bibliotheca Orchestra, which performs once a month during their season. 

Since I returned to Egypt in 2008, I have performed a few solo recitals. I also established the Cairo Horn Quartet and the Cairo Brass Quintet. These groups, regrettably, only lasted until 2017. Beyond these, there is normally little else in the way of regular featured horn performances or chamber music. 

I have recently established the Mosaic quintet, a unique combination of musicians specializing in both Arabic and Western classical music. Besides myself, Hany Al-Badry performs on nay (or ney, a traditional end-blown flute), Mohamed Essam on piano, Ahmad Osman on double bass, and Hisham Kamal on percussion. Mosaic’s instrumental line-up recalls jazz combos in which one or more solo instruments (here, horn and nay) become the protagonists of the show, accompanied by a rhythm section. But in Mosaic, the horn adds a Western classical flavor while the nay provides the color of traditional Arabic music. The result is of interest to a large segment of the Egyptian audience which enjoys Western harmonies and Arabic melodies alike. The Western ear is not accustomed to the Arabic maqamat [musical modes], but the dialogue created between the horn and the nay appeals to those listeners’ tastes, as well. My colleagues and I share the same passion and the same inspiration, believing that we can present something new and “outside the box.” Mosaic’s concerts have been very successful, and this has encouraged us to continue our work and to think more deeply about realizing our mission.

We have three faculty members at the Cairo Conservatoire including myself and two senior faculty members, Khalaf Farag and Maha EL-Ghandour. Farag studied under Georges Barboteu in France in the 1980’s, and EL-Ghandour received her education in Cairo. 

Generally, the horn is a less appealing instrument for Egyptian students because it is more expensive than trumpets or trombones. Additionally, music classes are not offered in the K-12 school system; the only place to learn the horn is to be admitted to the Cairo Conservatoire where we normally accept just 4 to 6 students annually. Another difficulty is the funding needed to obtain instruments so that performers and teachers can establish a community and events through which our future players can grow and flourish.

From the 1940’s to the 1970’s, Egypt had fine hornists, most of whom were foreign players hired from Europe. Today, while our numbers are still small, there are enough local players who are strong enough to fill the sections of the two orchestras in Cairo.

Amr Abulnaga

Dr. Abulnaga received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Cairo Conservatoire, a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and his DMA from the University of Alabama in 2007. He has been a member of several orchestras both in Egypt and across the southern United States, and he has appeared as a soloist with many of these orchestras. He has performed as soloist on the recordings of Mozart’s Symphonie Concertante with the Orchestre Pour La Paix, and St. Säens’ Romance with the Alexandria Bibliotheca Chamber Orchestra.

Dr. Abulnaga is the former principal horn with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. He currently serves as horn professor in the Cairo Conservatoire, and he is also a member of the faculty of The American University in Cairo where he teaches introduction to music, world music, and music fundamentals courses.