Opinion and Parody: The ‘New and Improved’ Louisville Orchestra

Interested in owning a custom horn but hesitant about the cost? There is a resource out there worth checking into. I have mentioned a couple times in this site that I made a natural horn as a Doctoral student with the help of Richard Seraphinoff, and that also I cut my first bell with his [...]

Buying and flipping horns Bruce Tubbs takes us through the process of buying a horn online and fixing it, then providing it for sale. Heightened emotions In speaking about “emerging adulthood” Angela Bilger observes For anyone, no matter the professional aspirations, this time of life is usually full of exploration, excitement, and constant change – [...]

In updating the Events page recently I noted in the website for the 2012 International Women’s Brass Conference an article by co-host Lin Foulk titled “Why IWBC 2012?” This particular section was one that caught my attention, on her experience with sexism in the brass world and a story from a public master class. I [...]

After having played on the same mouthpiece rim for about 15 years I recently decided to try out something totally different – stainless-steel rims from Houser Mouthpieces (as provided through Houghton Horns). This is the main benefit of owning a screw-rimmed mouthpiece –  it allows the owner to use and try out different rims. The most important [...]

This is a topic that is really central to tonguing but not necessarily well taught or understood. To begin, for all articulations more gentle than the sforzando Farkas notes in The Art of French Horn Playing that the “air seal is broken more or less gently” depending on the exact musical context. But what of [...]

Ginger asks: Dave, I’ve been having a hard time with my left hand grip.  My horn came prepared for a huge hand and mine is smaller with a shorter thumb.  How flexible can you make the thumb valve? I’ve already had the little finger brace moved up and the valves are as low as they [...]