Horn is such a versatile instrument, thus the concept of characteristic tone is actually quite situationally dependent. But for our purposes as teachers, horn sound should be really round, warm, open and resonant. I talk to my students about what the sound would look like, and often think of it as a giant bubble that comes out of the bell and then sweeps out into the room, growing to fill up all of the space.

Characteristic Tone on Horn

Selecting horn players and switching from another instrument to horn 

I believe the most important factor in successfully switching to any instrument is that the student likes the sound of the instrument and really wants to play it. If real desire is there, anyone can figure an instrument out and teachers can guide their path. For horn in particular, there will be challenges—many unique. Different from other instruments is how the partials lay on the instrument and the need to maneuver across both the F and Bb harmonic series. Students have to be willing to play some wrong notes as they work to gain pitch confidence and discern intervals. It can help if a student is fairly laid back, ok with the belief that they will not be perfect all the time, and accept that mistakes are opportunities to learn.

Selecting Horn Players

Switch students to horn alongside a buddy 

For new horn players, it’s especially awesome to have a buddy. Pairs are great when learning horn, as it gives you someone to lean on and helps create a safety net. It’s great to learn alongside an experienced player, but that is not needed. It’s just helpful to have someone to go through the process with, and it helps take off some of the individual pressure.

Switching to Horn: Buddy System

Posture is very important in developing the best tone on horn. You HAVE to bring the instrument to you! I help students get set up in a relaxed position to avoid tension and muscle strain. If they are on the smaller side, it may be helpful to place a block or book under their right foot, or to put a rolled up towel on the chair beside their leg on which to rest the horn bell. You can also experiment with sitting on the corner of a chair, rather than straight on. There are lots of options on how to set up, but the starting point is that students have to get set up in a way that enables the horn to come to them and allows them to stay relaxed. 

While I do like starting students on double horns when possible, single horns are great options for students who cannot comfortably support the horn due to the weight or size of the instrument or the student’s size, particularly torso length. And while hand position in the bell is so important, it really does not need to be a non-negotiable from the start. Teachers just need to keep visually assessing students to make sure they are set up on equipment that allows them to stay tension-free and will help them experience success rather than make it harder – i.e. left hand grip width, weight of horn, tightness or openness of instrument wrap. Teachers need to figure out what individual students are ready for, make accommodations as needed, and then adjust and refine placements and grip as they grow.

Horn Player Posture

Habits 

One of the big habits to keep checking in on with horn students is their right hand position. Students can get laxed on this while teachers assume they are all set. It’s important to keep peeking into the bell or asking students to show their hand position outside of the bell to check for the proper shape. And for this, assess needs for adjustment and refinement as they grow. If they are smaller when they start playing and cannot demonstrate a correct right hand position while maintaining a relaxed posture, keep watching them and assess when the right time to add the proper hand position is. The back of their fingers must be against the bell, with a slight curve at the palm of the hand. Also, it’s important that students push slides all the way in when they put their instruments away, and pull the slides out when they play. They can forget these important steps when unpacking and packing up quickly.  

Right Hand Position

Horn Embouchure 

Where embouchures are concerned, my general belief is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, this is something important to address when starting students or switching students. I focus on a mouthpiece placement that is ⅔ top lip and ⅓ bottom lip. I often find it easier to switch flute or clarinet students to horn, rather than brass students. Woodwind students are more of a blank slate embouchure-wise, while most brass players are likely used to a ½-½ mouthpiece placement that they will need to adjust (unless they fall into the “if it ain’t broke” category!) Using mirrors to help students see placement is so useful, as are mouthpiece visualizers. The roundness of the mouthpiece rim should connect across the bow of the top lips, not sit in the lip.

Horn Embouchure

Common Performance Errors 

Fingering charts for horn players are COMPLICATED! I think teachers really do need to offer more guidance here to help students “decode” fingerings. Most fingering charts show two fingerings, one for F horn and one for Bb horn. Without guidance, students often just pick a fingering – and not always the one that is best in tune, part of the easiest fingering patterns, or that provides the best tone and most resonance. Teachers can highlight the appropriate fingerings in a chart or provide them with a “no choices” fingering chart for their instrument. 

Simplifying Horn Fingering Charts

As I mentioned earlier, slides do need to be pulled out. Too often students think the instrument is play-ready when it comes out of the case, but they need to be told to pull the slides out. For horn, pulling slides out approximately a pinky width is a good start.

Bell placement is another big issue for horn players. While this was referenced earlier, it is important that bells are not held off of legs before students are physically able to hold the horn weight, as this may create tension in arms, back, shoulders, and sometimes an arch in the back. The most important bell issue in any set-up is that the bell is pointed out and away from the body (not turned in and pointed directly into the player’s body.) You want the sound to come out of the bell into the space around the player, and the right hand should guide the sound behind you. When you listen to students play individually, you can often tell if their hand is in the bell too far (uncentered sounds) or if the bell is pointed directly into the body (muffled sounds), so listen regularly! 

Supporting young horn players

I absolutely love the “horn only” pages in method books. It’s so helpful for students to have options, as some find it easier to play in mid-high ranges, while others prefer mid-low ranges. Drawing on the concept of the “horn only” exercises, rewriting parts to help students access their most secure, confident, and comfortable range is a great way to help them grow. In an effort to meet the students where they are range-wise, I often give horn players the trumpet parts in unison exercises, and then rewrite alto and/or tenor saxophone parts so the horns have buddies to play in unison with. Helping horns more regularly access their preferred range helps students focus on mastering all the fundamental parts of playing before they are asked to play in other growing ranges outside of their comfort zone. It allows the setting of a solid foundation that focuses on air and relaxation and eliminates pinching and tension.   

Along these lines, it is so helpful to guide students to audiate pitches and discern patterns. Is that next note higher or lower? Is it a lot higher or a lot lower? Maybe it’s only a step? I use “home base” (C-E-G-E-C) as the foundation for pitch target practice because they are generally comfortable pitches for all players and the intervals have an even-ness about them that is missing if you start too low or too high. In this way, students can use “home base” to find their first pitch before they play, and combine that skill with their pattern knowledge to set a great course for pitch accuracy. 

Audiation

I am a big proponent of modeling for students. I keep almost every instrument at my teaching station so I can quickly pick it up and play. It’s important that teachers understand what students are dealing with on each of their instruments, and building skills to model helps the teacher know what is behind a particular issue and how to correct it. It’s also vital that students listen to professionals play on their instrument. Teachers can provide a playlist or students can search to create their own. Students need a concept in their head of what that sound should sound like, and we want them to aim high toward a great pro sound! Students can more easily replicate characteristic tone when it is the sound they hear in their head. Play music for them and encourage them to attend live performances. 

Modeling and Listening

MakeMusic Cloud resources  

Scale patterns are great tools to help horn students develop their pitch skills. When patterns are present, it is easier to know if you are correct or incorrect. Also playing songs that you know is key, since, again, you can tell if you are correct or incorrect. Sing or buzz songs even without playing them on the horn so that you have the freedom to focus on the sound and the musicality of the tune. I encourage young horn players to seek out music to songs they know and love, use the MakeMusic Cloud first pitch tool so they can hear the starting note and match it before they begin, and have a great time developing their ear and playing skills while playing songs they love!  

MakeMusic Cloud Tuner Demo

MakeMusic Cloud Pitch Reference Tool

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Below are some steps for you to lead your students through and some activities for them to engage in to help guide the music learning process.

1. Get a feel for the big picture

Get a sense for what you are about to play. Is the piece relatively long or short? Do you see any obvious repetitions of material, including repeat signs or other “road map” markings? What is the piece’s key signature and time signature? Is the tempo slow, medium, or fast? Is there a specific style indicated? Once you have a sense of the piece, try these exercises to build readiness:

Key Signature

Determine the key signature and tonality of the piece.

• Discuss the key signature as it relates to each individual instrument, and put your fingers on any special key signature notes, both on the page and via fingerings directly on the instrument. Remember that this might mean a natural if the note is normally played flat or sharp (ex: B-natural for concert-pitched instruments; F-natural for alto and bari saxophones).
• Play the scale associated with the key, or if the piece has a limited range, perhaps just the first 5 notes. Be sure to isolate the 4th pitch in major keys with flats and the 7th pitch in sharp major keys, potentially playing pitches 1 through 5 up and down, followed by a lowered pitch 7 before returning to pitch 1. 

Time signature

Define the organization of beats in each measure, including the appropriate beat inflections (ex: in 3/4 time, beat 3 generally leads to beat 1, so no breath between beats 3 and 1!).

• Audibly count the time signature, including the subdivisions. Demonstrate the appropriate beat inflections.
• Conduct the pattern associated with the time signature. 

Tempo

Identify any tempo indications included in the piece.

• Select a comfortable working tempo. Regardless of the written tempo, choose a tempo that will allow for student success and accuracy from the start. Stick with this tempo unless there is a specific tempo change written in the music.
• Get the metronome going and repeat the previous time signature steps, then continue its use as you move through the next steps.

★   Teaching Tip: Try to get your students tapping their toes! It’s a great way to help them feel the beat, and will be a valuable addition to all of the steps that follow!

2. Start learning the music with a small section

(“Small section” could mean a measure, a phrase, a movement, etc.) Depending on the overall challenges of a piece and my awareness of the ensemble and individual student needs, I might start with a section that will be relatively accessible or I might start with a more challenging section, or maybe even the most challenging section! In any case, consider these steps and exercises:

Rhythms only

Reminding students of the time signature, focus on learning the rhythm only for the section.

• Check in with students—are there any rhythms they are unsure how to count?
• Have the students count and clap the section. If needed, break the ensemble up into smaller groups to help them identify their “team.”

★   Teaching Tip: If you break the students into smaller groups, keep them all working toward the team goals by having them quietly count the subdivided time signature to match the metronome when it is not their turn.

• Reviewing the key signature (found in Step 1, Get a feel for the big picture above), play the rhythms on the key’s concert pitch. Focus on accurate note starts and releases. Have students lightly tongue the start of each note for slurred passages.

★   Extension: Have students “bop” the notes (play only the initial note starts with no duration) to better assess rhythmic accuracy and allow students to more quickly notice how their part fits in with others. This is also a great exercise to use once written pitches are added in! 

Add the notes

Reminding students of the key signature, add the notes to the established rhythms.

• Give students a moment to check their individual parts. Remind them of key signature notes and accidentals as appropriate. Are there any notes they are unsure of that they need help with, or fingerings that they need to verify with a section-mate or a fingering chart?
• Guide students through the following steps. Encourage them to keep going even if they miss a note name or make a similar mistake, but to then review their mistake or ask questions in between steps or repetitions of steps. (Note—all opportunities to practice fingerings below should be done as “air drumming” for non-mallet percussionists. Mallet percussionists should touch the instrument bars with their fingers.)
  1. Say the note names aloud along with the metronome.
  2. Practice the fingerings directly on the instrument while saying the note names.
  3. Count out loud while practicing the fingerings through the section.
  4. “Tizzle” the rhythms while practicing the fingerings. Percussionists should continue to “air drum” while counting out loud, and wind players should “look like they are playing” with proper playing position and posture.
  5. Play the part on instruments.

★   Teaching Tip: If students are struggling, you may need to back up a step or two for select groups or as a whole, or break the ensemble down into smaller groups just like you did in the rhythms. If that’s the case, keep all students involved by having them “tizzle” or count when not playing.

Now the details

Look for the articulation and style markings, dynamic markings, overt phrase indicators, and implied phrase shapes. Work to add them into the section to really turn those rhythms and notes into music!

★   Teaching Tip: Be sure you clearly define how you want these details to be played. What note shape do you want for accents? Where is the height of the crescendo? Explain what any markings mean and how to play them on each instrument. Don’t be afraid to demonstrate what you want to hear from the students (bonus benefit—you’ll help them develop a concept of characteristic sound!).

3. Select the best “next step” to learn even more music!

(Depending on your goals and choices for scaffolding, this step can happen before or after adding the “details” in Step 2, Now the details)—just remember to go back and add the details if you initially skip over them. There are many options for how to move on after learning a section of the music. You can choose to:

• Bookend this section (starting with this section, continue the above process with a little bit of music right before and after the section, continuing in this manner until you build a large section).
• Repeat these steps with a nearby section, then combine with this section to form a larger chunk of music.
• Look for this section elsewhere in the piece to make repetitive connections.

Things to keep in mind:

★     ALWAYS play with your best sound—even when you are playing something for the first time! Being able to sound amazing when playing something new is a sign of great air and embouchure habits!

★     Slow and steady wins the race. Trying to play music faster than you can accurately access it will not build a strong foundation for learning a piece or demonstrate appropriate musical skills. Be patient, and make incremental metronome changes as you are ready.  

★     It is important to constantly assess readiness for moving through the steps. If another repetition is needed, take it. If the tempo needs to be altered, change it. If you need to go back a few steps or can move through the steps more quickly, do it. Allow yourself to stay in a constant feedback loop and make real-time pacing decisions based on student feedback (both what they may say and what you hear them play!).

★     The steps listed above can also serve as a framework for an ensemble or individual sight-reading routine, and can be used to establish an effective individual practice routine.

★     Did you know that MakeMusic Cloud (SmartMusic) has a lot of tools to help you through these steps? In any piece of music, you can choose to isolate measures, set parameters to repeat selected measures, turn on the metronome, adjust the tempo, and much more!

 Learning new music can be challenging, but if we focus on stringing together small, attainable goals, we set ourselves up for success. As Desmond Tutu once wisely said, “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”

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