Horns A Plenty Christmas Virtual Ensemble
Don Krause, founder and leader of the annual Horns A Plenty Christmas ensemble, invites you to lend your chops and enthusiasm to this year's Covid virtual horn choir! The music and instructions are included in pdf this PDF(75 KB) , and the link to the click track is here.
Pedagogy - Erik Ralske
Five Essential Reasons to Subdivide
Have you ever been so excited to hear a recording of a performance you just gave, feeling certain that it was not only flawless, but also musically thrilling, only to be bitterly disappointed after hearing the recording? You may think, “how could it sound so bland when it seemed so exciting from behind the horn?” Upon a closer listening, you may hear the missed opportunities to really convey the emotions of the music. Maybe you let a long note die on the vine? Perhaps you now hear a less than perfect slur? If it seems odd to think of subdividing as the cure for your musical malaise or technical lapses, not so! Read on….
Students are told by their teachers to subdivide from the earliest lessons, with the emphasis solely on good rhythm and yet the ability to play steadily still eludes so many. However, the value of subdividing while playing goes way beyond “playing in time”. In fact, subdivisions are the force that propels music forward—either towards greater intensity and passion or towards moments of calm of resolution. If we recognize the power of this mini-engine that sits between the big beats of the basic pulse, and then learn how to drive this engine with precision in order to take our listeners on exactly the journey we envision, our performances can be transformed.
How to start?
The first step is to take a passage and break down every long note down to the next logical smaller value. Using the the overly familiar solo entrance of Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto #1 at bar 28 as an example, we would divide everything into 1/8 notes. Be careful not to articulate with your air, but instead, slice through a long block of air with your tongue. Play through the passage enough times with a metronome so that you’re certain of the rhythmic precision. Note: When practicing with a metronome, break free of being a passenger and “following the metronome”. By playing all the subdivisions, you are now the driver of the metronome, predicting with precision when the next click of the metronome will come.
The second step is to tie dynamics to rhythm. Now practice the phrase articulating every 1/8 note, thinking that each 1/8 is picking up more volume and intensity until you finally reach the exact high point, and then control the rate that each 1/8 note loses volume or intensity. This requires that you visualize in detail the contour of every moment of the phrase. Like a sculptor first roughs out a shape from a block of stone, your first few passes may not be fully refined. But with practice, the clarity of your ideal version of the phrase will emerge. I find it helpful to consider using numbers as though you had a volume dial that went from 1-20. So the first 4 bars of the Strauss Concerto passage might look like this:
By the time you’ve done this passage 10-20 times, you’ll hopefully notice a transformation, revealing 5 essential benefits of subdividing:
- Perfect rhythmic control.
- A much more clear and expressive line.
Communication of the intent of the phrase will be much more direct with a detailed dynamic plan based on 1/8’s (versus 1/4’s). It’s like having a much higher resolution photo versus a low resolution image from the 1990’s. For example, we all tend to decay on long notes even if the overall direction of the phrase is a crescendo. That can detract from your musical intent. - Better air flow throughout the phrase.
If you’re truly connecting the subdivision “dots” with your air, your air flow won’t lapse as long as you follow your dynamic blueprint. - Fewer technical glitches.
Better rhythm means better coordination of air, fingers and lips and therefore, fewer mishaps - Remedy for performance anxiety.
You will notice a deeper level of concentration and feeling of engagement while you play, as you control every moment, knowing the precise direction of the music at every moment, subdivision by subdivision. It’s as if you’re saying “now” with each passing subdivision,. Focusing on the present tense on a micro level, melts away attachments to past and future, where the effects of past mistakes or future expectations distract us from the task at hand: following the path you created with the stepping stones of the subdivisions of the phrase.
While this approach may be dismissed as overly analytical and lacking spontaneity, I maintain that with discipline comes independence. Once you’ve spent enough time experiencing your hands on the steering wheel of every moment of a phrase, one can spontaneously decide to deviate from your blueprint, as long as you maintain control of the direction of every subdivision. However, greatness is in the details. Great music and great performances are no different. Therefore, careful contemplation of the ultimate beauty of a phrase deserves no less attention.
Erik Ralske is currently Principal Horn of the Metropolitan Opera and a former member of the New York Philharmonic. He is a faculty member at The Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music and the Aspen Music Festival.
Area Rep Corner - Jonathan Luxton
Your Horn and More team is happy to bring you this new regular feature, the Area Rep Corner. Here our representatives and regional coordinators from around the world can introduce themselves and share news from their local horn communities. Our first contribution comes from Jonathan Luxton, IHS country representative for Ireland.
Notes from the Emerald Isle
Since joining the International Horn Society, I am still the only member in Ireland. However, I have not been idle!
I have been able to carry on teaching online since March, and for the last three months, I have started directing the historic Limerick St. John’s Brass & Reed Band.
We are now in lockdown again, so my efforts to start an outreach programme with the band for young students in the local area have been put on hold. We were sponsored by Fine Wines Limerick so we could start an instrument bank, and we were able to begin teaching adults. It was wonderful to see the band hall filled with colourful P bones and P cornets. When will they start to make P horns??
I teach at a small music school in Killaloe, the Munster Music Academy, where so far I have one trumpet student. The school offers a good variety of instruments, but the majority of students (or their parents?) solely want to study the piano. This I just do not understand. By playing a string, woodwind, or percussion instrument, students have the opportunity to play in amateur orchestras, bands, ensembles, etc. I believe the opportunity to play in youth groups is so important for social interaction, friendships, teamwork, and responsibility to others, learning about other instruments, and expanding your musical education. If you only study the piano, it can be a very solitary musical experience. Interestingly, in November last year, I was invited to deputise as conductor of a local amateur orchestra. The orchestra had a fine string section but no oboes, bassoons, or French horns. Where are these amateur players?
The band’s outreach programme for teaching brass and woodwind to students is called First Steps in Music. I’m excited to have the opportunity to introduce brass at the grassroots level with these young aspiring players, and hopefully through them and their parents help to begin to spread awareness of brass in Limerick.
I am passionate about children having the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. I was brought up in the UK when instrumental lessons were free. We are offering local schools in Limerick the chance to study for a small weekly fee, and we will provide the instruments.
I have only been in Ireland for just over a year. In my time freelancing and teaching, I have met some wonderful horn players, but I have noticed a surprising lack of amateur brass and woodwind players in general in the greater Limerick area.
I believe that there is a wonderful opportunity here in Ireland to bring brass players, old and new, out of the woodwork, in addition to inspiring a new generation.
Mike Hatfield Recollections Request
Horn friends and enthusiasts,
Please consider contributing any recollections, anecdotes, simple one-liners you heard and have remembered from working with Michael Hatfield throughout his career from public schools days in Evansville, college days in Bloomington, and professional and informal days throughout his performing and teaching career in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Aspen, Santa Fe and Bloomington for a tribute article being constructed. Photos from all those cities are being sought as well as recollections from administrators, audience members will gladly be included along with those from former colleagues and pupils. Mr. Hatfield has touched so many nationally and internationally. Please send your thoughts at an early convenience to John Dressler via jdressler293@gmail.com.
The Quarantine Stretch, Part 1
Solicited and Introduced by Mike Harcrow
This is assuredly one of the most bizarre seasons any of us has experienced. As one who is far closer to 60 than to 30 and who has performed in over forty countries on five continents—including a long stint in Seoul in the Korean Symphony Orchestra—I recall nothing like this since my career began four decades ago. Perhaps not since World War II has performing around the world been thrown into such turmoil. Having lost well over US$10,000.00 from performance cancellations since March of this year myself, I at least have a university teaching job that pays our bills; but I realize perfectly—and with genuine empathy—that many others have suffered far greater losses because of the global pandemic. What is so encouraging through all of this, however, is the resourcefulness of friends and colleagues in stretching themselves to remain creative, to learn new skills to facilitate their creativity, and to proudly and expertly display these newly-acquired skills in inspiring projects (performed on balconies, in front yards, on YouTube, in social media outlets, etc.) while negotiating cancelled seasons, taking on other full- or part-time jobs, home-schooling children, watching savings disappear, and enduring a great host of other challenges.
While I know there are so many of you doing this very thing, I asked a few of our wonderful colleagues who are in some way reinventing themselves to share their thoughts and experiences by responding to any or all of the following prompts:
• How are you diversifying or bolstering your musical skill sets for the future due to current orchestra closures and performance cancellations?
• What secondary skills are you honing or exploiting?
• Have you taken on another job to maintain an income? If so, what?
• What hobbies or new interests—music-related or not—are generating income for you?
I am grateful to each of our contributors for giving us a little insight into their personal struggles and victories. Let us continue to learn from, inspire, and encourage one another.
Peace and health to you all, dear friends!
Linnie Hostetler
Linnie Hostetler grew up on a family farm in the dairy lands of rural western Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Messiah University and the University of Nevada—Las Vegas, and she is currently Principal Horn in the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra in Lviv, Ukraine.
Bradley Tatum
Dr. Bradley Tatum is a natural and Baroque horn specialist and educator active around the Washington, DC area. Among other ensembles, he is Principal Baroque Hornist with the Washington Bach Consort.
Ellie Jenkins
Since the pandemic shut down almost all live music performances in March, I eventually found myself struggling with reasons to pick up the horn each day. Fortunately, just as I was starting to lose momentum, Anneke Scott offered an opportunity to study natural horn with her for ten weeks. I’d had a natural horn hanging on my wall, largely gathering dust, for several years, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to really learn to play it. “If not now, when?” I said to myself. It has turned out to be a wonderful experience. I’ve learned a tremendous amount, and on many days it has been a much-needed distraction from the real world. There’s no autopilot for me when playing (attempting to play) natural horn. I’m forced to stay focused on exactly what I’m trying to do, and that means I can’t worry about ramifications of the pandemic or anything else. I just have to play horn. It’s difficult, but it’s also very Zen.
My husband and I also started a farm this spring, Hissing Possum Farm, using organic methods and as little petroleum as possible. The farm was already in the works, but the shutdowns meant that we both had more time available to get things rolling. We started making contact-free deliveries in April, and joined a small farmers’ market a few weeks later. We’ve had great response, and it’s very rewarding to hear from customers how much they’ve appreciated the deliveries of fresh vegetables at a time when most don’t want to spend much time in grocery stores. With all credit to my husband Eric, who has planned every step of this, our first season has been a great success, and we’re looking forward to many more.
While I would never have wished for this year, I’ll forever be thankful for the things I’ve been able to do because I suddenly had more unstructured time than ever before.
Ellie Jenkins is Associate Professor of Music, Dalton State College; Artist Affiliate, Berry College; and Principal horn, Carroll Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Jöstlein
I am Thomas Jöstlein, associate Principal Horn of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO). When the pandemic started in mid-March, cutting the SLSO season during the Berlioz "Faust" week, I was determined to keep playing.
Starting with alphorn calls each night, gradually adding our sons on cello and violin, and of course my wife Tricia (frequent SLSO sub) on horn, keep playing we did.
With that first show on March 18, and ending on Monday, Oct. 5, our family presented 173 free concerts for our neighbors and friends, unrehearsed (mostly), unpaid (except for tips for the folk/jazz/bluegrass nights), but always with the highest artistry in mind.
We performed the Mozart Horn Quintet, Siegfried Idyll, Schönberg Verklärte Nacht, Beethoven Septet, the Moonlight music from Strauss' Capriccio (in my own arrangement for string septet and horn), and countless other masterworks.
I was proud of many things besides our persistence and excellence.
Variety: we had around 35-40 shows using SLSO musicians, about twice that using folk, bluegrass, jazz, and Irish musicians from The Focal Point (a local non profit venue), about 25 concerts using area students, 15 using my horn choir, and a few storytelling and Beatles nights to round it out.
Our series inspired others to host shows, notably SLSO chorus director Amy Kaiser (a friend of the MO History director), a few other SLSO players and many across the USA.
I was proud of our wide appeal: the series was featured both on STL Public Radio's Sarah Fenske show ("St Louis on the Air"), and several articles in the Post-Dispatch, as well as on the NY Times website.
I was equally proud of our safety record. Early on, based on calls to virologists, we realized that outdoor transmission of the virus when (mostly) masked and distanced is near impossible. Not a single Covid case was linked to our series.
Above all, we kept the fragile nature of music alive in this desperate time, providing solace and joy for neighbors from near and far.
I encourage all horn players to start such regular series in their neighborhoods in the Spring. You'll be amazed at what you gain in return!
Japan Horn Sound - "Jupiter" from The Planets
Japan Horn Sound plays "Jupiter" from The Planets by Gustav Holst. Video produced by Nobuaki Fukukawa, featuring all members of Japan Horn Sound
Japan Horn Sound
Japan Horn Sound plays "Jupiter" from The Planets by Gustav Holst. Video produced by Nobuaki Fukukawa, featuring all members of Japan Horn Sound
Coronahorns: conectando o mundo da trompa na América Latina
Por Gabriella Ibarra
Enquanto o mundo enfrentava o ataque da pandemia, as artes também procuravam maneiras de sobreviver, de se expressar e de conectar. A música não foi exceção e também continua a experimentar este fenômeno de busca incessante para se conectar apesar do isolamento. Foi assim que as distâncias foram encurtadas mais do que nunca e, em todas as latitudes, vontades ao redor do mundo se uniram para criar o que nunca poderíamos imaginar.
No Brasil, dois membros e colegas de naipe da OSPA (Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre) - Israel Oliveira e Nadabe Tomás - sentiram a preocupação de enfrentar a destruição que a Covid19 estava causando em colegas e alunos e que também afetou o dia-a-dia do seu trabalho docente. Eles estavam determinados contra todas as probabilidades a manterem as atividades com seus alunos, mas agora virtualmente. Quase imediatamente essa ideia cresceu e, em menos de um mês, tomou forma a partir das sugestões e colaborações de outros professores brasileiros que aderiram ao projeto, como foi o caso de Marcelo Das Virgens, Radegundis Tavares e Evandro Neves. A existência de uma comunidade organizada, muito entusiasmada e com imensa vontade de compartilhar conhecimento já era uma realidade. Rapidamente, o trabalho é intensificado e diversificado com seis reuniões semanais incluindo todas as atividades em nossas redes sociais. Para cumprir integralmente todas as tarefas, foi necessário expandirmos a equipe e nos organizarmos para que os novos membros assumissem responsabilidades no trabalho; elas seriam Gabriella Ibarra, Verónica Guardia, Gleice Viana e Paula Guimarães.
Quem poderia imaginar que as reuniões virtuais poderiam parecer tão reais, tão humanas e tão calorosas? Cada uma das entrevistas foi cheia de emoções e aprendizados através de cada história, de cada experiência e história de vida - e em muitos casos elas têm sido surpreendentemente elucidantes! Muitos momentos tocaram nossa alma, mas acima de tudo é admirável testemunhar como cada convidado mostrou sua verdadeira paixão pela música e pelo instrumento! Também conseguimos imprimir a alegria colorida e única que nos identifica calorosamente em cada encontro, para que de alguma forma pudéssemos dizer que nos sentíamos em casa, e essa tem sido uma imagem agradável que a maioria dos nossos convidados adquiriram em suas memórias.
A espontaneidade e as ocorrências também fazem parte da "centelha" que mantém nosso ambiente trompístico com um toque latino, independentemente das barreiras linguísticas! Um exemplo disso foi a rápida adaptação do público ao "portunhol".
Desde o início, contamos com a participação de vários convidados, todos dignos representantes do nosso amado instrumento na Alemanha, Itália, Portugal, Espanha, Estados Unidos, México, Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Venezuela, Uruguai, Peru, etc. Solistas, representantes do jazz, conjuntos, pedagogos, artistas online: todos - sem exceção! - nos honraram com sua presença, e como forma de agradecimento, nossas portas estarão sempre abertas para apoiá-los em seus projetos!
No Coronahorns, compartilhamos a mesma sensação de contribuir para nutrir e unir nossa comunidade e isso nos levou a criar o que foi o 1º Concurso Online Latino-americano para Trompistas Coronahorns e o Concurso de Composição Latino-americano para Trompa. Em ambas as propostas, obtivemos resultados maravilhosos, e vale ressaltar que sem o apoio essencial de nossos patrocinadores e professores, servindo gentilmente como jurados, tudo isso não teria sido possível.
De igual forma, fomos pioneiros na promoção do 1° Encontro Latino-Americano de Mulheres Trompistas. Quase uma centena de mulheres do Brasil, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Colômbia, Bolívia, Equador, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Paraguai, Panamá, Porto Rico, Espanha, EUA e Canadá se registraram.
O escopo e o trabalho que o Coronahorns expressou nas estatísticas alcançadas em apenas seis meses de existência inspiram agora o sonho de se conectar como uma comunidade latino-americana de trompistas; sonho que é finalmente realizado em um projeto que avança no sentido de continuar a crescer de forma consolidada e graças ao esforço do todo o mundo! Celebramos com imensa emoção e alegria tudo o que aconteceu e tudo o que foi conquistado com a certeza de continuar construindo o caminho para as futuras gerações de trompistas latinos com nossa transição para Latinoamericahorns!
