Research to Resonance—Developing Expertise
by Katy Carnaggio
Here’s Why Developing Expertise Is So Hard (and how to enjoy it more)
When we work to improve our skills, we’re trying to transform something that requires conscious effort into something we can do easily and automatically. Think about riding a bike: at first, you wobbled and focused on every little movement. Now, you just hop on and go!
But here’s the kicker: expertise isn’t about finding and sustaining ease. It requires continuous and systematic effort to stretch your comfort zone further and further. Expertise involves the aspiration to improve and is thus resistant to automaticity. If you settle in that place of hard-fought ease for too long, research indicates that your skills can start to slip.
The Common Sidequest: How to Stay Focused
Many people hit a satisfactory level of quality and automaticity and then get stuck. They find it hard to stay focused because the skill no longer requires much mental engagement. But zoning out leads to mistakes, skill deterioration, and even anxiety. So, what’s the middle ground?
Seek The Extra Mile
Expert performers develop increasingly complex mental representations to attain higher levels of control and awareness. It’s like increasing the power on a microscope because you're curious to see a more complete picture—finer details, nuance, and relationships.
When we are curious, focus comes naturally. It's not difficult to get lost in a good book or show—you’re eager to find out what happens next. That same curiosity can continually add clarity to your ideas, refine your skills, and help you avoid the traps of overthinking or mindlessness.
So if you’re struggling with focus or feel stuck on a plateau, try training your curiosity instead. There are, in skilled action, several levels of bodily consciousness that cannot all be reduced to deliberate thinking or reflection. Yet, curiosity evokes wonder, receptiveness, allowance, and awareness. It opens us up to the kinesthetic logic of our bodies, allowing more effective exploration than verbal direction.
How to Practice Total Absorption in Music
Try this the next time you listen to your favorite hornist perform:
First, take a moment to settle your thoughts. Then, as you listen to the music unfold, vividly imagine that you are creating the sounds you hear. Consider: “If I were to play like that, how would I? and how would it feel?” Notice how your body naturally adjusts in subtle ways from head to toe. You might notice differences compared to your habitual approach, as certain places become supple, responsive or open and others engage to stabilize and support. Consider the breath, sensing where it originates and how it energizes, fills, and rests.
Then, listen beyond kinesthetics to horn sounds. Turn that aural microscope up to a higher power and challenge yourself to find more details about which to be curious. What is happening during the fronts, middles, and ends of notes? What shapes, vowels, colors, contrasts, connections, emotions, and silences do you hear?
Listen beyond the horn to everything in and around the piece: texture, interaction, other voices, balance, twists, and synergy. Strive to hear the composer’s presence; ask, “Why did they choose that note over another?”
Your curiosity will naturally lead you to more questions that will expand your abilities and genuinely interest you. However, it may take a few tries to find it. Listening is a fantastic way to practice without the added complexity of the instrument.
Hone Your Edge Daily
Expert performance is more than just creating inspiring sounds with purpose and precision; it's about demanding more of yourself day in and day out. Expertise thrives on humility and a willingness to be amazed by something you've known for so long. Even on days when you're not feeling it, commit to searching for that spark of intrigue. Go deeper instead of mindlessly executing. Allow curiosity to lead you beyond "pretty good," beyond anxiety, beyond boredom, into skills that stretch and fascinate you!
Horn Playing in Guatemala: An Exciting Update
by Josué E. Jocop Siney, FECOGUA Representative
Dear readers, the purpose of this article is to tell the story of a group of musicians, my colleagues and friends, who have decided not to remain silent as concern—generated as the institutions in charge of promoting music in Guatemala have suffered due to socio-political difficulties—grows. But before introducing our solution, I feel the need to first present some background information to put it in context.
Guatemala is a country located in Central America, long known for being the cradle of the Mayan civilization, for its lakes, volcanoes, mountains, jungles, and rainforests. In addition, Guatemala is a multicultural and multilingual country; four peoples coexist: Maya, Xinca, Garífuna, and Ladino (Mestizo). The nation’s history has had episodes as bloody as both the Conquest and the terrible internal armed conflict that subjugated its greatest treasure, its people, for 36 long years. It is incredible, then, to observe how colorful and artistic the towns in Guatemala are; you can hear the notes of the marimba everywhere, playing the rhythms of sones, danzones, waltzes, and many other genres that live on in the imaginations of Guatemalans. It seems that there are no economic, social, or political obstacles that prevent our people from expressing themselves in this most sincere, creative, and human way.
Guatemala has seen the birth of musicians and composers among whom I will mention: Eulalio Samayoa, one of the first symphonists in the Americas and founder of the Guatemalan Philharmonic Association in 1813; Jesús Castillo, ethnomusicologist, and author of the book La Música Maya Quiché which rescues, classifies, and studies the memories of pre-Hispanic music in Guatemala; and Maestro Joaquín Orellana, composer of contemporary music whose most notable contributions are the creation of his own musical notation system and of his “Sound Tools,” instruments he built, derived from the marimba and other elements.
After having broadly presented Guatemala and its people, I can tell you that the Horn Festival in Guatemala “FECOGUA” was born from the need of musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Marcial Symphonic Band, to create a platform which allows players to connect with each other and with the world to improve all aspects concerning the horn. In this process, collaborative efforts were made with institutions dedicated to teaching, as well as with music lovers, students, and international professors to bring together the largest possible number of instrumentalists in one place, teach classes, and create space for ensembles and concerts in which everyone may participate.
In 2018, the first Horn Festival was held, thanks to the support of the Spanish teacher Samuel Pérez. This was our first attempt to organize an activity of this nature. Teamwork with well-defined roles helped us realize that we could have a positive impact on and contribute to the comprehensive development of new generations of horn players in the country. The second Festival welcomed Mexican teachers as guests: Ernesto Miramontes and Esmeralda Pazos, both academics from the Universidad Veracruzana. This was very motivating for the participants because it broke, in some ways, with the model of the teacher as a being who knows everything, who makes no mistakes, and who remains distant. On the contrary, the teacher's role was that of a friend who makes it easier for you to get to know him or her and gives you tools to work on bettering yourself.
Against all odds, the year 2020 was very productive for our organization, despite the fact that the world faced the covid pandemic. Over the course of three months, 18 conferences were held with teachers such as Lucca Benucci (ITA), Keith Eitzen (USA), Edward Brown (USA), Luis Murillo (CR), João Gaspar (PORT), and Joel Arias (VEN), among others. It was very useful to have contact with so many professors, to learn their life stories, including the adversities they faced throughout their careers, and to receive valuable information in their masterclasses.
In 2023, the Festival was held with Joel Arias, representative of the region for the International Horn Society. Maestro Arias is an important figure for our festival since he has a lot of experience in pedagogy and interpretation. In 2023, the first student performance competition was held, and the winner performed Mozart's Concerto No. 3 with orchestra, the first time such an event was held in our country.
The primary purpose of this organization is to provide participants with the opportunity to attend masterclasses where they can receive the guidance needed to master the instrument, develop interpretation, and perform a piece accompanied by a pianist or an orchestra. This process offers a total of 30 hours of study which includes warm-ups, individual and group lessons, conferences, recitals, and collegiality. It should be noted that the Horn Festival in Guatemala is a non-profit organization and that all activities are carried out through negotiations with government institutions, donations from altruistic people, and now also with the support of the IHS.
Chamber Music Corner—Ernő Dohnányi’s Sextet Op. 37 (1935)
by Layne Anspach
Hello musicians!
Ernő Dohnányi (1877-1960) was a Hungarian pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer. He was born in Pozsony, now Bratislava, where he was musically trained by the cathedral organist and his father. He finished his formal training in piano and composition at the Budapest Academy. Dohnányi quickly achieved recognition for his skills as a pianist, cementing himself as both a soloist and composer in Europe and the USA by 1900. This acclaim led to positions at the Hochschule in Berlin and the Budapest Academy. While at the Budapest Academy, he taught piano and composition, eventually becoming the director. Through the difficulties surrounding World War II, he eventually found his way to Florida State University as composer-in-residence from 1949 until his death.
While bedridden with thrombosis for a few months, Dohnányi wrote the Sextet for Piano, Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 37, which was his final chamber work. The first movement, Allegro appassionato, begins with piano and cello providing the foundation for the opening. The other voices interject with the horn leading the first statement. While itself not overly bright, the opening theme is countered by a dark second statement in unison strings and piano. The piano cascades downward into another character, and all this occurs within the first minute. The entire movement can be described as tempestuous with only hints of calm and tranquility; the twists and turns warrant a close listen.
The second movement, Intermezzo, adagio, begins with a tranquil scene set by strings and piano. The serenity is broken with the introduction of a march, led by the piano. The tranquility of the opening returns, this time including the winds. The movement ends with the tranquil theme and a short interruption by the march. The third movement, Allegro con sentimento, features a loose set of variations. The clarinet presents the melody with string accompaniment. There is a definitive change at the Presto which emulates a scherzo. A lush section, Meno mosso, follows with all voices. Prior to the end of the movement, the horn presents the theme from the first movement, setting up an attacca into the final movement.
The final movement, Allegro vivace, giocoso, starts with a light theme in the piano, which is passed to the clarinet. The ensemble descends into a haphazard waltz seemingly by accident. After a few attempts to break away from the waltz, the ensemble finds its way back to the initial theme. Then, the theme from the first movement finds its way back as the movement comes to a victorious conclusion.
The reference recording features hornist Alec Frank-Gemmill.
South Asia—Classically Challenged
by Vidhurinda Samaraweera
“Pa pa pa Paaa…. Pa pa pa Paaa” (pause).
I am certain that anyone reading this article will instantly recognize the motif illustrated. Yes, it is the opening of Beethoven’s well-known Fifth Symphony. This landmark work is likely being performed at multiple locations around the world as you are reading this or is, at least, programmed for an upcoming concert. Be that as it may, the last time Beethoven’s Fifth was performed in Sri Lanka was approximately 12 years ago by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) under the direction of German conductor, Dr. Hans Nagel. Unfortunately, the concert was not a success as had been hoped. Dry acoustics in the newly built concert hall and the technical inadequacies of some sections were likely contributing reasons. I was contracted to fill in as second horn for the performance as a young 14-year-old. Of course, I had an older player on first to guide me, someone who had played the symphony multiple times during his tenure.
Although Beethoven’s Fifth is considered a staple in an orchestral musician’s extensive repertoire, one would be surprised to learn that it is not frequently performed in Sri Lanka—or in this part of the world. Even though I have orchestral experience, having performed on the island for over 14 years, the 2024/25 Season opening concert of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo, held on June 15, marked only my second time performing this masterpiece. (I personally do not know of other orchestral musicians around the world who would have experienced similar infrequent performances. This is one reason why I appreciate your feedback to my articles; they allow me to get a better reading of the global orchestral landscape.) The handful of orchestras currently operating in Sri Lanka having specific performance goals, and the irregularity of concerts is likely to have contributed to a lack of frequency. I must also note the tough economic circumstances with which most of our people are burdened, leading classical music aficionados to reconsider even the simple purchase of a concert ticket.
Nevertheless, playing Beethoven’s Fifth on a modern instrument (for the lack of period instruments) was a pleasant experience. The 12-year hiatus caused us to savor the work that much more. As much as it is difficult to replicate the timbre of the natural horn—the alternating open and stopped or partially stopped notes on the modern instrument in the manner Beethoven would have imagined—treading the tutti parts while not upsetting the overall balance of a Beethovenian orchestra proved to be a delicate operation. The initial horn call which transitions to the second theme of the first movement was fun to play but, giving some “oomph” to the opening statement of the second half of the movement was even more satisfying. The second movement was particularly enjoyable, especially playing the heroic theme with the trumpets, all the while restraining ourselves so as not to overplay the orchestra.
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(L-R) Jude Fernando and Vidhurinda Samaraweera, horns
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My ever-loyal comrade on second horn did not let me down in the third movement where we led the orchestra to establish the faster tempo. I like to think that horns bring clarity during calamity in the third movement. The fourth movement is full of excitement, yet the pivotal role the horns play often goes unnoticed. The two fanfares which lead up to the presto, bolstering the piccolo, are both delicate and uplifting. To play alongside the fellow members of the brass section in the finale almost feels like the final fight scene in a Kung-Fu Panda movie!
The biggest challenge when performing Beethoven was the range Beethoven covered with the brass section. From the high-flying trumpets to the three-member trombone choir (featured in a symphony for the first time ever), covering the wide range was too much to ask since there was no alto trombone available on the island. Thus, the original alto trombone part was covered by a third horn player. Interestingly, there is a revised edition of the trombone parts to suit the modern orchestra where the alto trombone line is not notoriously high. The tenor and bass trombone parts were not different from the original and revised editions. The performance was, ultimately, a bringing together of new and old.
Why I focused on performing Beethoven’s Fifth is two-fold: first, to note some horn highlights in this under-appreciated work which are both glorious and subtly virtuosic; and second, to bring some perspective to readers of this Newsletter. I am aware that Horn and More is read by enthusiasts from different parts of the world. While we all accept that music is a universal language, we can also acknowledge that music-making is not the same for everyone. We live in different conditions depending on the part of the globe in which we live. Some of us have valuable resources—great teachers, vaster knowledge, cultural context, more orchestras, libraries, etc.—available, whereas in some communities, these can be hard-to-afford luxuries. In this beautiful month of July, I’d like to leave with you an important message: cherish your resources, regardless of how little you may think of them, and do not think twice to share with those in need.
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(L-R): Dharmasri Jayantha, Nuwan Gunawardhana, Prasanna Kumara, trombones;
Senira Prematillake, Jude Fernando, Vidhurinda Samaraweera, horns |
Composer Spotlight—Vivian Fine
by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello horn friends!
This month, I would like to introduce you to the music of prolific composer Vivian Fine (1913-2000). Fine studied composition under one of the founders of the modernist movement, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and was a member of Aaron Copland’s Young Composers Group with other major composers such as Bernard Herrmann.
Fine’s compositional style is a far cry from last month’s composer, Margaret Bonds; while Bonds firmly inhabited the realm of tonality, Fine’s often angular and dissonant works are more challenging on first listen but are fascinating studies of texture and contrapuntal writing. She composed well over 140 pieces of music, from orchestral pieces and operas to a variety of chamber works, several of which used the horn to great effect. Her 1991 work, Hymns, a substantial eight-minute chamber piece for two pianos, horn, and cello, is atmospheric, alternating moments of thick voicing with solo lines to create incredible colors. There’s an especially interesting moment in the second movement, “Toward the Distant Shore,” with unison cello, horn, and piano in the low register of all three instruments, while the second piano floats on top. (Visit her website to hear Hymns and other works.)
Fine also composed a woodwind quintet entitled Dancing Winds (1987), which musicologist Heidi Von Gunden described in The Music of Vivian Fine, “…the title is descriptive—the instruments express themselves as dancers and also relate to each other in dance-like fashion. The piece is in four sections, and the textures and tempi resemble a baroque dance format of slow, fast, slow, fast…. The slow first movement, “Andante molto,” features the quintet as a composite instrument, with long phrases created by different pairings amongst the group…. Although dissonance is present, it is not the focal point…. Counterpoints of spacious ascending and descending gestures, long phrases, and some exchange and reordering of material give the first section a graceful ballet-like character.”
Fine composed several other pieces for horn, including Songs and Arias (1990), a work for horn, violin, and cello commissioned by David Jolley, and Quartet for Brass (1978), both of which are well worth a listen or a performance!
Student Column—Thoughtful Listening
by Inman Hebert
Throughout my first year of college, the word “listen” has been a central theme. From teachers asking me to listen to specific recordings of solo repertoire to conductors asking us to study our music to theory professors sharing examples of concepts, listening has proved critical to the music student experience. While music permeates our lives during the school year, the silence of summer removes us from these constant reminders. Even in this time of relative quiet, the concept of listening can still offer us opportunities to grow as musicians. Hearing music with thoughtful attention is a frequently suggested but often forgotten skill for horn students. Listening to ourselves and to the form, harmony, melody, rhythm, and expressiveness in recordings can be made intrinsic to our daily routines.
Music has been described as the universal language, and learning any language requires immersion. To become proficient, students should start with active and dedicated listening. When working on a piece of solo repertoire, such as Mozart 4, the internet allows us to discover the classic Dennis Brain recording and modern interpretations from the famous horn players of this generation. With these recordings, we can analyze the intricacies and musical expressions of the soloists, from different tempos to stylistic choices to different cadenzas. Such exploration allows us to understand how to form our own nuanced interpretations.
The summer also offers students opportunities to grow in their understanding of the orchestral repertoire that we study. For each excerpt we learn, we should know our role in both the greater orchestra and in the horn section. Listen to recordings of complete symphonies, concertos, tone poems, operas, or other works to better understand each excerpt in its complete setting. As with solo repertoire, we can listen for the different interpretational styles of conductors and seek to comprehend how each excerpt fits into the broader context of the work. By noticing these differences, we can learn to make subtle musical choices in an excerpt while still playing in an appropriate style for the piece.
Reviews of college curriculums will show aural skills classes as part of every musician’s training; however, using that training in practice with the horn may be the most overlooked aspect of listening. Intonation is a fundamental skill for playing successfully in an ensemble and should be incorporated into our practice. While a visual tuner can improve intonation, daily practice with drones teaches students to match intonation aurally rather than visually. Adjusting each note according to its role in a chord with drone practice, rather than a set tuning standard, trains our ears to hear and respond. We must develop our aural sense so that we can learn to trust our ears and adapt.
Making time to listen can have immense benefits for our musical development. Practicing with drones helps us apply our aural skills directly to our intonation on the instrument, improving our ability to blend in an ensemble. Listening to the vast library of recordings on the internet, both solo repertoire and orchestral works, can inform our practice and musical choices. Dedicating daily time to listening, both within and outside one’s dedicated practice time, can accelerate our maturation as musicians.
Research to Resonance—Beyond Mental Discipline
by Katy Carnaggio
Why do negative experiences have such a strong hold on our progress with the horn? that one disastrous performance that clouds your practice with anxiety? the critical voice of a mentor you can’t get out of your head, inspiring defensive drills over artful exploration? or perhaps a serious issue that makes you want to avoid the instrument altogether?
You might think rumination is the problem, right? Well, not exactly. If overcoming a difficult experience with your horn was as simple as banishing negative thoughts, you would have moved past it months ago. The issue isn’t about needing more mental discipline. The issue is that it’s not all in your head!
Hear me out.
Our minds aren’t disembodied computers that we can program to process, store, and retrieve information at will. Our minds are inextricably linked to our physical bodies, deeply influenced by our surroundings. Or, as a fascinating theory within embodied cognition suggests, person and environment are inseparable. People cannot exist without the environment surrounding them. Environment implies that there is a person (or sentient being) to be surrounded.
Embracing embodied cognition is the key to transforming a troublesome relationship with the horn because if you focus solely on changing your internal narrative, you'll find yourself in a constant tug-of-war with an external world that tells a different, more tangible story.
In other words: it doesn’t matter if you manage your self-talk, write off whoever made you feel “less than,” and do your best to focus in the practice room if you’re not also addressing your environment.
Our environment includes mediums, objects, surfaces, and people who perceive and behave within them.
Environments are subjective, meaning no two people can experience the same environment in precisely the same way. Two people in the same room can’t sit in the same chair, at the same height, with the same eyesight and sensory experiences. Instead, we sit in different chairs, with different lines of vision, in different bodies, experiencing differing sensations, with different sensitivities, points of attention, and memories.
Objects within our environment may seem like separate fixtures, but many of them can become integral and operative parts of our body's processes. More simply put: objects can transform from environmental features into tools.
For example, a dress flung on the floor of my bedroom is an obstacle to step over or a surface that hides my missing shoe. But when I wear that dress, it becomes a tool. It moderates heat loss, changes the texture, color, and expressive qualities of my body’s surface, and modulates my emotions. If it fits well and I enjoy its qualities, I feel confident. If it’s wrinkled or unflattering, I might feel insecure.
Objects around us can become deeply personal extensions of ourselves. They can be used to extend our reach, strengthen our efforts, amplify our voices, and store our thoughts. This capacity to attach something to the body that influences its processing suggests that the boundary between us and our environment isn’t fixed at the surface of our skin. There is no absolute distinction between the subjective and objective.
Even a dress, which might objectively be viewed as an article of clothing, has infinite possibilities for use. When tied to a stick, it can bestow respect and pride to the winning team in a game of capture the flag. It can be the roof to a corner room of a fort you’ve built with your little brother. Or it can be one link to freedom when tied to a bunch of other clothes and hung out your second-floor window to sneak out to a party.
Theoretically, an object's action possibilities (affordances) are revealed through its characteristics, rather than stored in our minds. In other words, objects share with us how they might be used depending on our capabilities. We come to understand these possibilities through perspective, experience, and exposure.
Take that dress on the floor, for example. Initially, it was just a pretty dress. But after wearing it on a rainy day, to your dismay, you see its white material becomes transparent when wet. Now, you recognize that this dress has additional affordances that can evoke embarrassment and stress.
Social and cultural norms we’ve absorbed since birth also shape our expectations and preferences for how something might be used, imposing limits on what is acceptable, valuable, and appreciable.
In embodied cognition, it becomes beautifully and maddeningly clear that we don’t process a similar world through a centralized computer brain, where the only difference between us might be the make and model of our processor.
Instead, we navigate the world through a continuous interaction with our physical surroundings. Our perception, action, and cognition are all interconnected with the environment, shaping how we move, behave, and learn.
The world and the objects within it tell us unique stories.
Many of us fell in love with the horn because it is a tool that turns breath into sound. It amplifies our voice. It can communicate in ways more truly and completely than words can. It affords beauty, power, fun, transcendence, connection—and yes, the ability to gross people out with a simple twist of a tube (say it with me: it’s condensation).
But what do you do when your experiences with the horn become less like a capture-the-flag-victory dress and more like a rainy-day-shame-white dress? when the experiences you’ve had taught you that the horn is full of possibilities that are not only beautiful but painful, judgmental, or worse?
Untangling painful affordances from our love for the horn can seem daunting, but the secret is to start with one small thread.
It looks like this:
- → Building your morning practice routine around safety and positivity by setting clear boundaries of who and what gets to be a part of your practice.
- → Using resources like The Kindness Method to cultivate a new practice or performance behavior in line with who you want to be and how you want to feel.
- → Incorporating your signature character strengths in your approach, so when you pick up the instrument, you are working from your favorite personal qualities.
- → Practicing along with guided motivation activations when negative narratives get too loud (try the Super Human App).
- → Seeking mentorship with discernment. While charisma and great horn playing are inspiring, seek mentors who listen, believe in you, and align with your goals, as they can help you see new possibilities and expand your perspective.
Our approach to the horn shares common features, much like our environments do, connecting us to people all around the world. Yet, it’s in our unique differences that our practice transforms into artistry. How do you want to feel and sound and be on horn? Who and what gets to be communicated in the sounds you create? What gets to be in your mind when you touch the horn? Exploring these tools can help you craft a world of messages that honor the very best parts of you.
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