Practicing Slow, Slower, and Slower Yet

In any field, repetition is key to success. Whether you are like my room mate who does calculus and physics problems over and over again until, like he says, "It becomes muscle memory" or if you are like me, a musician, who practices passages over and over to become proficient, repetition is essential. When I practice I tend to get caught up in trying to play things really fast and most of the time quite sloppy. But recently I have been focused on quality instead of speed. As a Horn player, playing a note is less than half of the battle. Things such as the start of a note, the note itself, intonation of the note, the volume of the note, and also the end of the note. The list can go on and on about what to think about while playing ONE single note. So when practicing I practice slow. REALLY SLOW. I try to go into the practice session with a mentality much like I would have when entering a gym. I really could care less what others think of my performance in the practice room. You can not have an ego when practicing. Making yourself satisfied should be good enough. So, I practice slow. When I am done practicing slow, I go slower. Try it. I guarantee results.

Learning What to Say

In the horn world, as well as in everyday life, one must censor what is said. If during a rehearsal something sounds a little askew, then something should be said, right? Not all of the time. The situation dictates whether or not to verbally address something. Some variables in this complex equation may be how well the players play, whether or not it is a reoccurring mistake, and if the player will actually try to fix the problem rather than blow you off. If something needs to be said that might insult someone's playing ability, I try to include myself in the problem and then offer a solution. For instance, within the section one player may not be matching articulation or overall sound. If I feel something needs to be said then I might say, "Hey, we need to go for one unified sound here in this particular section." Whether or not this works is unpredictable. I can only control how I play and have no control on others.

Self Dent Removal

Today was a good day in Horn world. Where I live, we are wearing shorts pretty much year round. So I figured since it was such nice weather, why not play outside today. Beautiful weather calls for warming up and playing the daily scales outside. I looked around and saw a nice mature oak tree that provided shade from the sun and decided that this would be a prime spot to play. Halfway through my warmup procedure I noticed a dent that I had made in my Horn earlier in the week at a lesson. Being the Mr.Fixit that I am I sought out to find a tool to fix my ugly dent. Looking around this massive oak tree, I noticed that several thumb sized branches had fallen from the tree. I am sure I looked like some form of nomad trying to use tools for the first time, but I proceeded to shove sticks down the bell. Pushing and rubbing resulted in little to no progress. Nature is good for many things but not for taking dents out of a horn.