by Matthew Haislip

Dr. Matthew C. Haislip Mississippi State University

“Ugh. I missed some notes.”

All hornists have been there. We stressed. We feared. We performed. We missed notes. So, at least in our minds—and maybe in the minds of others—we failed. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t what we love most about music. In fact, was this even a musical experience at all? Or was it a torturous humiliation ritual?

Our culture bombards each of us with a façade of confident excellence on social media. Auto-Tune and quantization have made popular music “perfect” in pitch and rhythmic time…even when performed live. Classical music videos and recordings are often edited and spliced to perfection. We rarely see the vulnerable human reality in our digital world. This can be daunting for motivated hornists of all ages.

Then we attend a live performance. Or we ourselves perform live. Reality sets in. But it is truly a beautiful human reality. I have heard many of the greatest hornists and orchestras perform live. They all missed notes. Some fewer than others. Some more than others. But what about the music? Was I not inspired beyond any recording to hear such excellence and passion coming from their bells regardless of the number of notes missed? Was I not motivated to practice with inspiration for countless years to come from what I heard them do with our instrument? Did I not also come to understand that the greatest players in the world will make mistakes too? Absolutely.

Music is a human endeavor. By definition. Humans are not consistent machines with mechanical perfection in the execution of intricate tasks. The horn’s slippery overtone series at higher altitude presents true obstacles to perfection for everyone who commits to learning the instrument. The fear of failure will either stop us in our tracks or so hinder us from passionate expression that we won’t be able to perform well. So, how can we make music with the necessary freedom to soar on the horn when we are faced with imperfections that must be met head-on to advance on our instrument?

We must change the way we approach music. Fear-based music-making is not artistic expression. Fear-based music-making is oppression. It is ugly. Even if it sounds good. The worst performances I’ve ever played came from a very fearful place. Even though some of those performances sounded good. The greatest performances I’ve ever given were great because I was totally immersed in the music. The focus wasn’t on me, at least not from my perspective. The focus in my mind was the musical material at hand and the role my horn played in each moment. I shared the music with the audience and with my colleagues. I didn’t play perfectly, but I was truly connected to the artform, and this enabled me to perform better. My accuracy was strengthened by my focus on the music instead of on me. The artform shined brightly in the room.

We as a musical culture need to celebrate the human element of music even as we strive for greater excellence in every aspect of what we do. This demands that we relinquish fear-based perfectionism in our teaching and performing. We must develop precision with freedom. We must also embrace the humanity of musicians from the audience, celebrating live music without gossiping about a missed note afterwards as though accuracy is all that matters.

To be certain, there are things we can do to improve our accuracy as hornists. We must practice diligently without distractions. We must continue to train our aural proficiency beyond our ear training courses. We must perform live in front of people to become more comfortable doing so. But when these skills are pursued with a focus on the concept of sharing a musical idea with other human beings, we build the subconscious flow of playing our instrument artistically with freedom. We can then take this freedom to the stage to share it with others. As my teacher, Randy Gardner, wrote about accuracy on page 109 in his fabulous treatise on brass playing, Good Vibrations:

Messages sent from the brain to the body must be positive. Negative messages such as, “Don’t miss!” or “Oh no, here comes that passage I always miss!” or “If I miss any notes in this passage, I’ll be out of a job” invite negative results. Questions such as, “What will the conductor (or other important people in the audience) think of me if I miss this…?” significantly increase a musician’s probability of being inaccurate. Clear your brain screen of all verbal instructions or thoughts, and fill your brain screen with clear sound images. Hear powerfully what you intend to produce!

When we perform, we channel music to the audience with whom we share it. By removing “us” from the equation in our focus, we communicate musical sound directly from the composer to the audience. We may make mistakes. But what about the music? If music was shared free of fear and oppression, that’s a win for humanity in my book.

I’m just one person, but I want to do my part to keep the human element at the center of artistic expression as much as possible in my own little world. Let’s freely share our music with other beautifully human people.

Thoughts to prepare you for an orchestral audition. (re-post from August 2018)

by Nuri Guarnaschelli

If you are young and you are thinking that you would like to have a job as a horn player in a professional orchestra, you should already be thinking about the direction in which you are taking and the frequency of your training with this objective in mind.

Unfortunately, practicing for years may be far from preparing you for this purpose.  To be a good orchestral musician you must prove that you are able to withstand a trial year once you win an audition. 

The orchestra does not look mainly for soloists; rather they look for instrumentalists who know how to perform with their group, work as a team, and someone who is sensitive to what is happening around them. 

First of all, there are two fundamental technical aspects, rhythm and intonation.  We have to consider many others too, but without these two you cannot play in an orchestra or with other musicians. 

If you want to win an audition you should basically be a person who listens to a lot of many different versions of music and knows these works very well, because in an audition, a good jury will be aware of this aspect by the way you perform every solo. 

Training for an audition has several aspects to consider: the technical, the artistic and the physical.

The technical aspect includes your development to the point of having a clean technique, and good intonation with the appropriate articulation in the style of each piece you are performing.  The artistic aspect includes understanding of styles, articulation, sound, phrasing and character that is appropriate with each composition. 

Secondly, the physical aspect is something to consider.  Doing some activity that helps you feel physically and mentally fit.  Remember the famous "mens sana in corpore sano"! (“healthy mind, healthy body”!) . It can be yoga (for me personally, this practice has always helped me to feel balanced in all senses, mental and bodily) or your favorite sport.

The mental state and confidence in yourself is very important when you are auditioning.

Something very significant that I want to emphasize is that all these aspects must be added to your daily practice, even if you are already a professional.

If you practice only one or two months before an audition, you will not succeed.  Only a definitive change of your playing habits will define whether a jury will decide in your favor or whomever else they listen to that demonstrates better technique and musicianship. 

Remember, you will have a maximum of 5 minutes in the first round in which you must demonstrate to the jury that it is worth their while to consider you in the next rounds.  You must convince them with of your impeccable technique, musicianship and tone qualities.

What the jury values most in the first round is rhythm, intonation, articulation and tone.

For the next rounds, in addition to the qualities already stated, they will evaluate more closely your knowledge of style and your artistic quality. 

Remember that they are looking for the ideal "colleague" who will improve the quality of their team and their orchestra, and they are not looking for an advanced student, but look for a solid professional, capable of performing the job being offered. 

Another tip is that you should listen to important works of our symphonic repertoire every day, which also includes chamber music, string music, and opera.  This will cultivate your musical sense and development as a well rounded musician.

If you are not excited listening to music or you don’t want to play music in your free time with friends or colleagues, I recommend you seriously consider studying something else ... the music profession is very competitive.  Without a fanatical passion you will not achieve more than that of being a hobby musician.

These thoughts that I have shared are results of my own personal experience in preparation for auditions in Germany, France and Austria, and also my experience in orchestras where I was a soloist and I participated as a member of a jury including the Stuttgart Philharmonic for 4 years and Radio and TV in Vienna (RSO) for 16 years. I have experience as a teacher for over 10 years at the Brass Academy Alicante where I help my students achieve their professional goals as musicians. 

All professors in this International Academy train students to prepare themselves technically and stylistically as professional musicians so that in the long or short term they are able to perform good auditions and be able to make their positive contributions toward the orchestra that they achieve to get into.

For this purpose, we not only do individual classes, but we also include chamber music and orchestral repertoire in groups.  That way you not only get to know the solos and individual parts, but get to experience them in the context as they are in the orchestra. 

Group classes also train in live performing, developing emotional stability under real life situations 

You will only succeed with your solos in an audition if you know the context in which they were written.

I want to share with you some audio examples of our orchestral repertoire classes at the Brass Academy Alicante: 

Fidelio- Beethoven, Nury Guarnaschelli and her BAA´s students
Mahler´s 3th Symphony
Lohengrin-Wagner
Bruckner´s 8th Symphony

Finally, I want to share with you some points for your daily practice.

You should ALWAYS be prepared and ready to take an audition, not just prepare for a specific moment.

Your daily practice should develop:  

• Technique (Flexibility, breathing, attacks, etc.)
• Technical studies (rhythm, tuning, articulation, and phrasing)
• Concertos
• Orchestral solos, solo and playing along with a good recording.
• Concentrated listening to good orchestras every day, preferably with a score in hand.
• Listening to concerts and opera regularly.
• Play chamber music or in orchestras (young or professional) as much as possible.
• Daily yoga or sport.

SUCCESS !!! 

NURY GUARNASCHELLI  
Brass Academy Alicante

English translation by Gabriella Ibarra

by Angelo Nuzzo

Angelo Nuzzo has served as the International Horn Society Country Representative for Austria since 2020. Born and raised in Italy, he is trained as a biomedical engineer (PhD), a business manager (MBA), and a hornist (MA). His career has developed internationally as a bioinformatician, and he is currently working at the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) in Vienna.

He studied horn in Italy at the Conservatory of Music in Taranto and graduated from the Conservatory of Music in Trieste. Despite a non-musical career, he has continued to play in several amateur orchestras in Italy, and in Austria with the Vienna University Philharmonic, the Akademische Orchesterverein Wien, the Wiener Konzertvereinigung, and in various wind bands and horn ensembles.

His passion for the instrument eventually motivated him to take over the vacancy of the IHS representation in Austria. Working within the IHS gives him the opportunities—and the great pleasure—on one side, to connect with and get to know top professional and amateur performers, and on the other, to offer the horn community the possibility to enter a more international network. To this end, he works to promote a yearly event dedicated to horn playing in Austria and for connecting with horn ensembles across Europe for common projects and exchange.

English version

* Como prepararse para audiciones de orquesta
** Pensamientos que pueden guiarte

por Nuri Guarnaschelli

Si eres joven y estas pensando en que te gustaría tener un trabajo como cornista ( Hornplayer) en una orquesta profesional , debes pensar ya en orientar tu modo y ritmo de formación en esta dirección y con este objetivo.

Muchas veces lamentablemente el estudio que haces durante años y años está muy lejos de prepararte para este fin, para ser un buen músico de orquesta o para demostrarlo que o eres en una prueba ( Probespiel ) profesional.

En la orquesta no se buscan en primera línea solistas , se buscan instrumentistas que sepan del trabajo en grupo, en fila, que sean sensibles a lo que pasa a su alrededor. Y dos aspectos fundamentales son ritmo y afinación en primera línea, al que se suman tantos otros por supuesto , pero sin estos dos no puedes tocar en una orquesta ni con otros músicos. Si quieres ganar una audición deberás básicamente ser una persona que escuche muchísima música , muy diversas versiones y conozcas las obras profundamente, pues en una audición ,un buen jurado ,escucha este aspecto en tu modo de presentar los solos.

El prepararse para una audición tiene varios aspectos a tener en cuenta : el técnico, el artístico y el  corporal. El técnico incluye tu perfeccionamiento al punto de tener un modo de tocar limpio, afinado y una articulación precisa y adecuada al estilo que estés presentando en cada obra o los solos.  El aspecto artístico incluye el conocimiento de los estilos con la articulación, el sonido, el fraseo y el carácter que sean acordes al compositor y obra. Y por último el tema físico es algo que deberías tener en cuenta y considerar en hacer alguna actividad que colabore a que te sientas tonificado y mentalmente fuerte , recuerda el famoso “ mens sana in corpore sano “ ! . Puede ser yoga ( a mi ésta práctica personalmente siempre me ha ayudado mucho a estar equilibrada en todos los sentidos , mental y corporal ) o algún deporte de tu agrado. El estado mental y que tengas confianza en ti mismo es fundamental al momento de audicionar. Algo muy importante que quiero recalcar es que todos estos aspectos los debes tener en cuenta para tu estudio diario y durante todos los años de estudio y mas tarde profesión. No te servirá mucho el prepararse de un modo especial para una prueba 1 mes o dos meses antes de la misma, eso no te llevara a tener éxito, solo cambiar tu modo de tocar será lo que te llevará a que un jurado se decida por ti o por otro en el cual escuchen mejor técnica y personalidad musical.

Recuerda que en 5 minutos máximos de una primera ronda deberás convencer al jurado que vale la pena seguir escuchándote y en las próximas rondas lo mismo. Debes convencer con tu técnica impecable y tus calidades musicales y de sonido. Lo que mas valorará el jurado en la primera ronda será : ritmo , afinación , articulación y sonido. Ya en las próximas rondas , cuando estos aspectos antes mencionados ya estén claros , comenzarán a evaluar mas tus conocimientos de estilo y tu calidad artística. Piensa que ellos están buscando al “ colega “ ideal que mejore la calidad de su fila y de su orquesta y no están buscando un estudiante adelantado, buscan un profesional que conozca el trabajo para el cual te estas ofreciendo! Otro consejos es que todos los días escuches obras importantes de nuestro repertorio sinfónico , pero también mucha música de cámara , música para cuerdas y opera, ésto cultivará tu sentido musical y te desarrollará como músico.

Si no te emociona escuchar música y no estás ahora mismo dispuesto a hacer música en tus tiempos libres con amigos o colegas , te recomiendo darle un vuelco a tu vida y pensar en estudiar otra cosa… nuestra profesión es muy dura y sin pasión , aunque logres entrar a una orquesta, te Estos pensamientos que estoy escribiendo aquí son  el producto de mis propia preparación para pruebas ( Probespiel) en Alemania , Francia y Austria. Y también mi experiencia en las orquestas donde fui corno solista y participé como jurado : Filarmónica de Stuttgart durante 4 años y Radio y TV de Viena ( RSO) durante 16 años. Pero también de mi experiencia como docente desde hacer 10 años en la Brass Academy Alicante en donde intento ayudar a mis alumnos.

La formación que damos todos los profesores en esta Academia internacional está básicamente orientada a formar músicos profesionales ( orquesta , música de cámara o solistas) y a preparar a nuestros estudiantes  técnica y estilísticamente para que en un largo o corto plazo sean capaces de hacer una buena audición y poder contribuir como buenos músicos a la orquesta que lograrán entrar.

Para eso no solo hacemos clases individuales sino mucha música de cámara y repertorio orquestal en grupos , no es lo mismo conocer los solos y partes que escucharlos y tocarlos en el contexto armónico y musical como son en la orquesta. Las clases en grupo además entrenan el aspecto escénico , desarrollando experiencia de atril y firmeza emocional.

Lograrás solo presentar bien tus solos en una audición si conoces el contexto en el cual están escritos. Quiero compartir con vosotros algunos ejemplos auditivos de nuestras clases de repertorio orquestal en la Brass Academy Alicante (pinchar los links). 

Fidelio , Nury Guarnaschelli y sus estudiantes BAA
3 ª Sinfonía de Mahler
Lohengrin
8. Sinfonía de Bruckner

Por ultimo quiero dejaros un pequeño plan diario de puntos a tener en cuenta en vuestro estudio diario.

La idea es que SIEMPRE estés preparados y listo para hacer una buena audición y que no te debas  preparar especialmente. Tu estudio diario debería entrenarte automáticamente para este fin.

• Técnica  ( Flexibilidad , respiración, ataques, etc.)
• Estudios técnicos  ( ritmo , afinación , articulación, fraseo )
• Conciertos
• Solos de orquesta , solo y tocando junto a una buena grabación.
• Escuchar a diario buenas orquestas con mucha concentración y quizás con una partitura en la mano si fuese posible.
• Ir a escuchar conciertos y funciones de opera regularmente.
• Tocar lo mas posible música de cámara o en orquestas ( jóvenes o profesionales)
• A diario yoga o deporte.
  

    EXITOS !!!

    NURY GUARNASCHELLI
    Brass Academy Alicante