Monday, June 27, 2011

Tip: Operation - Horn Edition

  Have you ever hated it, when right right in the middle of a concert, or recording, someone starts talking or making some kind of noise? I know for me, that's one of my biggest pet peeves. Sadly, horn players are notorious for this, without even knowing it.
  Whenever we empty the water out of our horn, a lot of us forget to realize how much noise that can possibly make. 
  1. If you have a water key on your horn, make sure not to blow air vigorously through the horn. This causes a hissing and airy sound that is quite unpleasant to anyone that is listening.
  2. When rotating your horn around to get the water out, concentrate even more on not "nicking" your horn on a stand, chair, or even another horn.
  3. When emptying slides, take it slowly. You absolutely don't want to get the clatter of "dings" from slides bumping around in there.
  I think of this like "Operation - Horn Edition," you have to be extra careful whenever you're emptying your horn. If you make a sound, then that's like the little man's nose going red and you getting buzzed. You lose.
  Now, some of you might think I'm making a big deal of this, and if you have a chance to empty your horn during a loud section of the piece, this isn't as much of a concern. Usually though, the majority of the horns play during all the loud sections, and only a couple play during the quiet portion. During these soft moments is when these tips come to the utmost importance.
 

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