Horn Notes Podcast
54 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsHosted by John Ericson, this podcast looks at a variety of topics related to the French horn and music.
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Episodes
Hornnotes 59: Your horn and the Music it Wants to Play, Transposition, and Intuitive Musicianship
July 05, 2023 18:02 - 23 minutes - 25.1 MBIn this episode John Ericson tackles questions related to how different horns work better on different music in a variety of ways, the topic of how we think of transpostion, and how intuitive musicianship can help you scope out if something is wrong in your music.
Hornnotes 58: Bad Horns, Bad Ears, and Bad Loud Dynamics
June 28, 2023 17:39 - 26 minutes - 27.9 MBIn this episode Dr. Ericson tackles questions relating to what makes a bad horn a bad horn, earplugs (and bad ears), and improving loud dynamic playing.
Hornnotes 57: A look at Carl Geyer and his horns
January 30, 2023 21:48 - 20 minutes - 20.7 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at the topic of Carl Geyer and his horns, and reflects on his recent series of articles ("Geyer Dreaming") on Horn Maters, as 2023 is the 100th anniversary year of the Geyer style double horn. Length 20:09
Hornnotes 56: Updating the University of Horn Matters
July 31, 2022 22:47 - 35 minutes - 37.4 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at major updates done this summer to the University of Horn Matters, the free rep. and pedagogy courses posted in the Horn Matters website. Length 35:25
Hornnotes 55: Remembering an embouchure change and other playing challenges
June 15, 2022 20:17 - 28 minutes - 31.4 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks back to a summer 40 years ago when he changed his embouchure for the first time, an embouchure injury the following year, and more. Length 27:59
Hornnotes 54 -- Stories involving Giardinelli mouthpieces and more
May 18, 2022 23:09 - 24 minutes - 26.1 MBIn this episode John Ericson has a few stories related to vintage Giardinelli mouthpieces, a brief review of a book by Arthur Brooks, and more. Length 24:23
Hornnotes 53 -- Better Mouthpiece = Better Accuracy
May 02, 2022 19:25 - 25 minutes - 27 MBThere are probably 1,000 ways to miss a note on the French horn, but one of the key items that will help improve your accuracy is proper selection of a better mouthpiece. In this episode John Ericson focuses on the topics of note connections, how those are impacted by mouthpiece choice, how to find better mouthpiece, and more. Lenght 25:22
Hornnotes 52 -- Pushing horn practice too far
April 27, 2022 20:53 - 25 minutes - 26.5 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at the topic of practice and playing the French horn. Some teachers, in an effort to encourage progress, push duration and intensity of practice too far -- to the point of failure -- which is not a productive way to improve on the horn. Rest days, atheletic training, and tactics for good chops are discussed. Length 25:31
Hornnotes 51 -- Is it time to retire Kopprasch?
April 20, 2022 17:33 - 29 minutes - 32.7 MBIn this episode John Ericson examines the topic of moving on from Kopprasch in lesson teaching. These venerable etudes are dated music with many alternatives that may be used today. The episode concludes with further notes looking back at grad auditions for this year and more. Length 29:37
Hornnotes 50: Let's Talk about Till and Farkas
October 14, 2021 20:43 - 17 minutes - 18.2 MBIn this episode we look at the topic of a correct interpretation of the Till Eulenspiegel opening solo, with a focus on how Farkas taught the excerpt. Farkas learned the solo working with the conductor Frederick Stock, who had studied the work with Strauss, as he explains in an audio clip from a presentation at the 1989 Southwest Horn Workshop. Length 17:59
Hornnotes 49: Kruspe, Geyer, etc., Part II
October 07, 2021 19:50 - 27 minutes - 28.4 MBIn this episode John Ericson returns to the overall topic of horn designs, and more specifically can the Kruspe type horn come back? Length 27:07
Hornnotes 49: Kruspe, Geyer, more
October 07, 2021 19:50 - 27 minutes - 28.4 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at the overall topic of can the Kruspe type horn come back, Geyer horns, and more. Length 27:07
Hornnotes 48: Pro tips on getting back into ensemble rehearsals
September 16, 2021 22:31 - 24 minutes - 25.8 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at some of the issues related to getting going again with ensemble rehearsals and performances. Length 24:08
Hornnotes 47: Using drones to warmup and practice etudes and excerpts
July 02, 2021 22:10 - 14 minutes - 15.2 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at using drones to improve your warmup and your practice of French horn etudes and excerpts. The etude example is from Rangesongs by Rose French, and the excerpt is the opening of the Brahms second piano concerto. Length 14:43
Hornnotes 46: Excerpts -- Till, Brahms 2, and Janacek
June 10, 2021 18:36 - 16 minutes - 16.3 MBIn this episode with John Ericson the focus is on horn excerpts, with tips on performing Till, Brahms 2, and the Janacek Sinfonietta. Length 16:26
Hornnotes 45: A teaching method and more
June 09, 2021 20:33 - 20 minutes - 19.9 MBIn this episode John Ericson reflects on a recent project, that of laying out his teaching method, and more. Length 20:10
Hornnotes 44: Warming up on F horn and more
May 14, 2021 18:06 - 16 minutes - 17.1 MBIn this episode John Ericson talks about warming-up on the F horn, his sabbatical project of building single F horns, and looking forward to more horn playing in the near future. Length 16:32
Hornnotes 43: Toward Healthy Chops and Getting Your Chops Going Again
March 26, 2021 21:43 - 21 minutes - 22.6 MBIn this episode John Ericson examines the large topic of getting your chops back in shape after the long year of Zoom lessons and no ensembles. Length 21:16
Hornnotes 42: The Low Horn Session
April 29, 2020 20:26 - 22 minutes - 23.6 MBIn this episode John Ericson presents a "workshop session" on materials and techniques to use to improve your low horn performance. Length 22:54
Hornnotes 41: Playing the Wagner Tuba
April 02, 2020 20:37 - 13 minutes - 13.5 MBContinuing the series of "workshop presentations," the topic for this episode is playing the Wagner tuba. Performed by horn players, these instruments are called for in works of Wagner, Bruckner, Strauss, and more. Length 13:19
Hornnotes 40: Playing Natural Horn Today
March 25, 2020 21:16 - 14 minutes - 15.2 MBContinuing the series of "workshop presentations," in this episode John Ericson presents a session introducing the performing techniques of the natural horn. Length 14:30
Hornnotes 39: Geyer, Kruspe, and more
March 13, 2020 20:02 - 25 minutes - 27 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at the topic of the two popular horn types, the Geyer and the Kruspe, getting beyond the buzzwords into their history, design, and more. Length 25:12
Horn Notes 38: Understanding warmup publications and more
October 29, 2019 22:44 - 13 minutes - 14.1 MBIn this episode John Ericson looks at warmup publications in general, his new warmup publication, setting up the embouchure as you start the day, and more. Length 13:13.
Horn Notes 37: Brass teachers with wide impacts, with Mike Grose
July 17, 2019 13:35 - 44 minutes - 49.4 MBIn this episode the guest is Mike Grose, host of the Tuba People series on YouTube, and the topic is brass teachers who had influence beyond the "silo" of their own instruments -- especially Arnold Jacobs, but also others with a wide impact. Length 44:26.
Horn Notes 36: A look at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp with Peggy Moran
June 06, 2019 17:03 - 8 minutes - 9.61 MBIn this episode John Ericson has as his guest Peggy Moran, Executive Director of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp, a great summer event to consider attending. Length 8:46
Horn Notes 35: Mellophonium and more with Bobby Pirtle
June 04, 2019 18:43 - 23 minutes - 24 MBThis episode concludes the conversation from episode 34 with Bobby Pirtle as he establishes new musical connections in Phoenix, gets involved playing an over the shoulder alto with a period instrument brass group, and with a concluding section looking at Stan Kenton and the Mellophonium, which he researched extensively. Length 23:04
Horn Notes 34: Mellophone and Mellocast memories with Bobby Pirtle
May 07, 2019 17:54 - 30 minutes - 31.4 MBIn this episode John Ericson has as his guest Bobby Pirtle, creator of the Middle Horn Leader website and a regular guest on The Mellocast, a podcast that ran for 126 episodes from 2007-11. The conversation will continue in Episode 35. Length 30:11
Horn Notes 23b: The IHCA with John McGuire
May 01, 2019 15:15 - 19 minutes - 14.3 MBThis episode is an update of a 2017 video podcast where the conversation is with John McGuire, host of the International Horn Competition of America. He'll be hosting it again in 2019. Length 19:52
Horn Notes 33: Brass playing injuries and prevention with Richard Seraphinoff
April 13, 2019 03:04 - 24 minutes - 26.3 MBIn this episode the conversation is with Richard Seraphinoff on brass playing injuries, prevention, and much more. Length 24:46
Horn Notes 32: Looking toward IWBC 2019 with Deanna Swoboda
April 01, 2019 20:41 - 18 minutes - 19 MBIn this episode the conversation is with Deanna Swoboda, host of the upcoming 2019 International Women's Brass Conference, to be held in late May on the campus of Arizona State University. Length 18:21
Horn Notes 31: Talking rock horn and more with Adam Wolf
March 19, 2019 19:50 - 19 minutes - 22.7 MBIn this episode John Ericson has as his guest Adam Wolf, host of the Pathways podcast, the brains behind Rock Horn Project, and much more. Length 19:45
Horn Notes 30: Growth Mindset and the horn player, with Nicole Deuvall
March 05, 2019 21:18 - 21 minutes - 22.3 MBIn this episode John Ericson has as his guest Nicole Deuvall, who is looking at the topic of Growth Mindset and the horn player (and teacher) for her DMA project at UMKC. Length 21:05
Horn Notes 29: Injury, pressure, dystonia, other playing problems, with Gabriel Kovach
November 20, 2018 22:34 - 20 minutes - 21.5 MBIn this episode of the Horn Notes Podcast with guest Gabriel Kovach of the Phoenix Symphony the topic centers around injury, including focal dystonia, mouthpiece pressure, and various playing problems, with some equipment tips. Length 20:20.
Horn Notes 28: Etudes, with guest Gabriel Kovach
November 09, 2018 04:12 - 16 minutes - 17.5 MBIn this episode John Ericson chats with Gabriel Kovach, principal horn of the Phoenix Symphony, about etudes and more. Length 16:35
Horn Notes 27: Talking horns with Ion Balu (Balu Musik) and Dan Vidican (Lukas Horns).
September 19, 2018 22:50 - 18 minutes - 13.6 MBIn this episode host John Ericson talks with Ion Balu (Balumusik.com) and Dan Vidican (Lukashorns.com) about their horns, developments in horn making, and more. Length 18:51
Horn Notes 26: Talking Custom Horns with Derek Wright, and a little Horn Internet History
March 15, 2018 04:27 - 20 minutes - 15.8 MBIn this episode John Ericson has as his guest again Derek Wright of Houghton Horns, where the topic is custom horns. Following that, in a horn history segment John takes a brief look at the horn on the Internet twenty years ago. Length 20:05
Horn Notes 25: What's New in Horn from TMEA 2018, and More
February 23, 2018 03:27 - 25 minutes - 26.6 MBGuests for this episode of the Horn Notes Podcast are Derek Wright of Houghton Horns, talking about new products seen at TMEA 2018 (BAM cases, Verus mouthpieces and horns), and Warren Gref, formerly of the San Diego Symphony, with ideas to improve musicality and accuracy on the horn. In addition, host John Ericson presents a tip on low range production. Length 25:28.
Horn Notes 24: Ten Insights from the MRI Horn Studies
February 07, 2018 04:42 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBIn this episode podcast host John Ericson goes over the main points from a January, 2017 presentation given at the Southwest Horn Conference, "Ten insights you can apply to your playing from the MRI horn studies." Originally posted to YouTube on 5/23/2017. Length 24:20.
Horn Notes 22: Working on Tuning, with Drones -- Gustavo Camacho
January 27, 2018 02:43 - 17 minutes - 19 MBIn this episode our guest is Dr. Gustavo Camacho of Western Washington University, and the topic is working on tuning using drones. Originally posted to YouTube, 03/05/2017. Length 17:48.
Horn Notes 21: The Brass Gym for Horn
January 12, 2018 03:30 - 9 minutes - 9.67 MBIn this episode John recaps a presentation from the 2017 Southwest Horn Symposium, looking at The Brass Gym for Horn, a 2007 publication which he helped edit. Originally posted to YouTube on 2/17/2017. Length 9:15.
Horn Notes 20: The Horn Opera Project with Ericka Grodrian
January 04, 2018 04:48 - 15 minutes - 12.9 MBIn this episode John talks with Ericka Grodrian about her website "Beyond the Short Call," with a focus on some of the top operatic French horn excerpts. Originally posted to YouTube on 11/30/2016. Length 15:52.
Horn Notes 18: On testing horns and mouthpieces with Derek Wright
December 23, 2017 16:04 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBWe are joined again by Derek Wright of Houghton Horns, with the focus on testing horns and mouthpieces, but with also discussion of market trends in the French horn world and more. Originally posted to YouTube on 7/9/2016. Length 14:28.
Horn Notes 17: Talking mouthpieces with Derek Wright
December 12, 2017 05:22 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MBIn this episode the topic is mouthpieces generally but also more specifically the new Houghton Horns line of mouthpieces, with guest Derek Wright. Originally posted to YouTube, 7/8/16. Length 11:06.
Horn Notes 16: Talking mouthpieces with Gabriel Kovach
December 06, 2017 05:31 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBThis episode continues the conversation with Gabriel Kovach, Principal Horn of the Phoenix Symphony, on the topic of mouthpieces for the horn and developing mouthpieces. Originally posted to YouTube on 7/6/2016. Length 17:42
Horn Notes 15: Talking Triple Horns with Gabriel Kovach
November 27, 2017 03:34 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MBIn this episode the topic is triple horns. Our guest is Gabriel Kovach, principal horn of the Phoenix Symphony, who was involved with the development of the new Patterson triple horn. Originally posted to YouTube on 7/5/2016. Length 16:04.
Horn Notes 12-14: MRI Horn Studies with Dr. Peter Iltis
November 11, 2017 04:56 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBIn this episode John Ericson talks with Dr. Peter Iltis, principal investigator of the recent and ongoing MRI horn studies. Topics include approaches to range, articulation, and much more. Originally posted in three parts to YouTube June 28-30 2016. Length 35:29.
Horn Notes 11: Trios for Horn, Tuba, and Piano with Heidi Lucas
October 26, 2017 02:38 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBThis episode looks at trios for French horn, tuba, and piano, in a conversation with Dr. Heidi Lucas of the trio Eastern Standard. Originally posted to YouTube on 6/25/2016. Length 11:40
Horn Notes 10: The Big Book of Sight Reading Duets, interview with Heidi Lucas
October 26, 2017 02:31 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBIn this episode the conversation is with Heidi Lucas, looking at her new edition for French horn of the Big Book of Sight Reading Duets and more. Originally posted to YouTube on 6/21/2016. Length 11:35.
Horn Notes 9: Horn Warmup Routines, Part II, with Alex Manners
October 02, 2017 03:49 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBThis episode is the conclusion of the conversation on horn warmup routines with Alex Manners, who recently completed his DMA project which looked at the topic in depth. Originally posted to YouTube on 06/15/2016, length 13:30.
Horn Notes 8: Horn Warmup Routines Part I, with Alex Manners
October 02, 2017 03:45 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBThis episode is part one of a conversation with Alex Manners, who recently completed his DMA project looking at the history of published horn warmup routines. Originally published to YouTube on June 13, 2016, length 11:37