A modern-day Odyssey of learning

by Anneke Scott

My colleague Ab Koster kindly invited me to contribute a few thoughts about my approach to teaching for the IHS e-newsletter. This request came at this strange point in our recent history, which has required many things that we have taken for granted to change. Being asked to stay at home and isolate ourselves has led to huge modifications in how we teach and share our expertise. The last couple of months have entailed me mixing the past, in the form of my specialist work with historical horns, with cutting-edge present-day technology, in the form of online teaching. It has additionally provoked me into thinking a lot about the future.

Over the course of my career I have been slowly collecting a large number of old horn methods, instruction books and treatises. These have been written over the past couple hundred years. I use them to help me develop my own understanding and interpretation of how the instrument has been played. Moreover, I find that, in order to help my teaching of these instruments, I very much enjoy raiding these old sources for exercises and techniques, not to mention that many stories and anecdotes in them that can help inspire and intrigue students.

I’m certain I’m not the only one who has been reflecting on how fortunate we are, thanks to the internet, to have access to so much information. Besides that, I’ve been thinking about how much harder the current crisis would be if we were not able to access so many things online. Surfing the internet, one finds recordings, videos, concerts, sheet music, books, and so much more, all of which are available quickly and often for free. Many of the sources in my collection are now accessible online via sites like IMSLP. You can drown in all the opinions and discussions being bandied about in social media forums dedicated to our instrument. We find ourselves awash with choice and sometimes we find ourselves suddenly overcome with waves of frustration when we can’t access something swiftly, or if we are only able to access it by being forced to pay for it!

A side effect of this sea of knowledge can be that we find it hard to navigate our way through it all. Where do we start? How do we first plunge into these sources? It can be hard at times to know which are the trustworthy ones, which are less so, and why? One of the great things about having been able to collate so many sources is that one starts to see what the common practice may have been and, what is more, the outliers start to be visible. These outliers can be incredibly valuable, often just nudging us out of the normal way of approaching things, and sometimes this can be the key that offers a breakthrough moment in learning.

In 2019 I published the first volume in what is planned to be a series of "Historic Horn Handbooks." The initial book focuses on the basics of natural horn playing, and in it I explore a number of the sources that I have found personally useful as well as in working with my students. In it I introduce practitioners of the horn throughout history and share the exercises that they constructed, guiding the reader through the various challenges we have on the instrument. Like many other teachers, my goal has been to share information and knowledge in a way that will lead students to become self-sufficient and for them to steer their own autonomous learning, hence it being critically important for them to be able to dive into the same sources I use. I’m always delighted when they independently retrieve new treasures out of the depths of these old sources.

When, in March 2020, everything suddenly needed to change I was very thankful that I had been teaching online for several years. I wonder if it is a particular characteristic of horn-players, or perhaps something to do with the flexibility of the instrument but many horn-players (both professional and amateur) have been drawn to the natural horn and have bought an instrument, only to find that there is no teacher in their local area. Whilst there is an ever-increasing number of highly skilled performers on the instrument, horn specialists are comparatively rare and specialists in the historical instruments are even rarer. Again, I wonder whether it is something to do with the mindset of horn-players, but I’ve been delighted by the attitude of many such neophytes who have looked to the internet in order to find a way around this problem and thus have found their way to me for online lessons. Regardless of the benefits of my pre-pandemic experience I’ve found myself quickly learning new skills. Rather than seeing online teaching as an occasional pursuit I’ve been looking to the future and developing it as part of a more long-term, holistic way of teaching. It is undoubtedly incredibly beneficial for teachers to be put in the position of students, to remember what it is like to be on that side of the partnership, and I have found it hugely stimulating learning a number of new skills and new resources in order to enhance the experience that my students have of learning online with me.

One of the motivations for me in writing my first "Historic Horn Handbook" was a desire to get away from Louis-François Dauprat and his Méthode pour cor-alto et cor-basse. This is such a canonic work. For a long time I had felt that it has rather monopolised some aspects historic horn pedagogy, hence me setting out to collect as many other points of view as I could. But one of the things that I have found myself returning to of late is Dauprat’s thoughts on the art and philosophy of teaching, subjects that he considers in great depth not only in his Méthode but also in other writings. In 1836 Dauprat wrote a short autobiography in which he quoted a line from Fénelon’s Les aventures de Télémaque (The Adventures of Telemachus), with which I find myself nodding in agreement right now: "Heureux ceux qui se divertissent en s’instruisant" ("Happy are those who are entertained by learning").

by Klayton Schaefer

In May of 2020, I was fortunate enough to graduate with my master’s degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a student of Denise Tryon. The two years I spent working on this degree were both incredibly challenging and extremely rewarding. In March, like almost every college in the United States, all instruction at CCM moved to distance learning due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. This shift offered up some new and exciting challenges and completely changed every part of my time at school. I had no idea going into it how much this pandemic would change everything I considered to be normal.

At the start of the pandemic, many of my colleagues and I felt overwhelmed by all the drastic changes and measures being taken. When schools started to announce their closures, my entire campus community rushed to retrieve their belongings from lockers and studios not knowing if we would have the chance to return. I tried to remain positive that things would be okay, but being so unsure of the future created a great deal of anxiety. I was sad no longer to have the opportunity to attend my private lessons and classes, perform and work with my colleagues, and go to the numerous events on campus. However, I was comforted to know the school administration and faculty were doing everything that could be done to continue our education as safely as possible.

Going into the pandemic, I was extremely lucky to be living with two fellow CCM horn players. Having these friends helped immensely as we would often warm up and play duets, trios, and orchestral passages together. With the aid of Zoom, I was able to connect with a wider group of friends from CCM and others across the country. Together, we warmed up and chatted about horn history and pedagogy on countless video calls. Being able to connect with these musicians made the end of my degree special.

One of the biggest disappointments during this transition was the cancellation of my master’s recital. I was excited to be able to share the music into which I had put months of work. At first, we were given the possibility of performing to an empty hall, but it quickly became obvious that even this was not a safe option. After careful consideration, Denise and I decided to cancel my recital. This decision certainly left me unsatisfied, but I am hopeful for the day when I can perform another recital. On a positive note, one of the benefits to come from canceling my recital was the opportunity to work on aspects of my playing that Denise and I felt we did not have the time to cover prior to the pandemic. This allowed me to direct focus toward the playing of etudes and fundamental exercises. It felt nice to have the chance to slow everything down and truly focus with no distractions.

The biggest academic requirement I had to finish during the pandemic was passing an oral board. The oral board is a presentation on the history of the horn, its pedagogy, and its mechanics. Thankfully, Denise made preparation as streamlined as possible by providing many opportunities to study the materials with her and another graduate student. The test itself was completed on Zoom during finals week and once it was done, I had officially completed my degree. The immediate feeling of relief and joy was overwhelming. I will always remember hearing Denise tell me I was officially a Master of music.

Graduating during this time is certainly an experience I will not forget. This pandemic has changed everything we consider to be normal and has made me appreciate the times I spent with all of my teachers, friends, and colleagues at CCM. I was so lucky to spend two amazing years studying with Denise, working with so many wonderful horn players, and exploring as much music as possible. I cannot wait for the day when I can celebrate in person with all of the wonderful people I have met. Congratulations to the entire class of 2020!

A native of Upstate New York, hornist Klayton Schaefer is an active teacher, orchestral, and chamber musician. As a freelance performer, he has played with ensembles in New York state and Ohio, including the Orchestra of Northern New York, Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, and the Northern Symphonic Winds. An active chamber musician, Klayton has played with the Potsdam Brass Quintet, Frackenpohl Brass Quintet, and in collaboration with the Canadian Brass. He has been in masterclasses and coachings with Frøydis Ree Wekre, Bernhard Scully, Anthony Plog, David Wakefield, Joe Alessi, and Lisa Conway.

Klayton completed his Master of Music degree in Horn Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. His primary horn instructors include Denise Tryon, Elizabeth Freimuth, Lauren Becker, and Joshua Thompson.

• Develop an ever-increasing network of colleagues among horn teachers, performers, and enthusiasts from all walks of life and from all around the world.
• Receive the IHS publication Horn Call three times a year.
• Broaden knowledge of horn history, pedagogy, literature, recordings, and equipment.
• Receive reduced registration fees for regional workshops and international symposia.
• Strengthen job security with a stronger annual evaluation portfolio through active involvement in the horn society, i.e. attending workshops/symposia, presenting at workshops/symposia, submitting articles to the Horn Call or e-newsletter, taking students to workshops/symposia, involving students in IHS sponsored events.
• Increase awareness of changing dynamics and expectations in the horn world for both the teacher/performer and the student.
• Increase awareness of new literature for the teacher and the student.
• Increase awareness of new equipment, equipment trends, equipment costs.
• Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better you teach. The better you teach, the stronger your horn studio. IHS and everything IHS offers is there to build this knowledge.

by Jennifer Sholtis, IHS Country Representative - USA

by Lene Aadalen Skomedal

My name is Lene Skomedal. I am a Norwegian horn player, living in Gothenburg, Sweden. Some years ago I also became a yoga teacher. For me the most interesting thing is that I can do positions that affect my body and calm down and focus my brain! Even if yoga is a very old tradition, I would absolutely say that I am a modern yogi, and I only practice to music. Some of you might have been to my Yoga for Musicians workshop at the IHS 51 symposium in Ghent. As a horn player, yoga has of helped me a lot to find a better posture, which also means almost two liters more air capacity, less pain, less tension and a stronger body and mind. This is what I want every musician to experience, and it is never too late to start!

IHS 52
We had huge plans for IHS 52 in Oregon. I was going to perform a brand new solo piece, and I was also going to give a lot of different yoga sessions. We were planning a "Practice Room" lecture, an evening session on how to calm down after a late rehearsal/gig, three different energizing morning classes, a longer, powerful and more advanced workshop, a fun session for the junior seminar and on the last day - a public Yoga Concert. In this concert I was going to guide an outdoor yoga session, and YOU, different horn ensembles from the symposium were going to play the music! I was going to make connections to the music and the people behind it. My plan was that you could sign up for this during the seminar, and then I would put together a program and make a yoga session to it. And then sadly it got cancelled.

I send some love to Lydia and her team that had already put SO much effort and time into organizing everything!

THE IDEA OF A YOGA CONCERT
The whole idea of my Yoga Concerts is of course inspired from different types of "yoga with classical music in the background.” Just like with my Yoga for Musicians, I combine my knowledge from yoga and music. The fact that I am a musician myself makes it possible to get a closer connection between the music and the yoga; that is what makes it unique. I pitched my idea at the concert house in Gothenburg. By now we have done several Yoga Concerts here with the Gothenburg String Quartet, comprised of musicians from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

THE PROCESS

When I put together a Yoga Concert, I pick a theme, think about the yoga and how we can work with the theme, and then ask the musicians for suggestions, doing my own research etc. Then I listen. I have listened to more string quartets the last two years than in my whole life! And it is actually very nice to dig into another part of the music world, that doesn’t have much to do with horn playing. It really inspires me in many ways, and I believe that it also improves my horn playing. When I have the music more or less ready, I try out yoga sequences, change some of the music, realize I need something else, look for that, try again, and so on - this can be a long process.

WHY ONLINE
When we have the concerts here, we usually have 120 people. The April concert was sold out already in November…and then of course cancelled due to Covid-19.
For the past 8 years, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra has had some of the most modern equipment with cameras and microphones for live streaming in a concert hall. They live stream and record a lot of their concerts, and I asked them if we could do an online Yoga Concert instead. They wanted it to be in English, and FREE for everyone out there. Already many thousands of people from all over the world have done it!

FREE ONLINE YOGA CONCERT
I made a special theme for what we are in the middle of NOW, that I have called METAMORPHOSIS, and I hope it can make it possible for you to be in the moment and enjoy a new experience to just breathe music and listen with your whole body. From the bottom of my heart and with love, I give you this Yoga Concert, and I hope you will schedule 1 hour and 20 minutes for YOU. Feel free to share it with everyone you know, and remember that you can use it over and over again and jump to your favorite parts!

QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions, want the playlist, or just want to share your experience with me, please get in touch thru my website yogalene.com - or you can also find me on Instagram @yogalene.se

I hope to see you at a future symposium or other event. Take care and stay safe!

Namasté (which means - I see the light in you and you see the light in me - that we all inspire each other!)
Yoga Lene

You can read more about Lene and her story on her website, yogalene.com.