Follow-up: A Small Huge Equipment Change

     As promised in my last post, "A Small Huge Equipment Change," I'd like to offer a quick update on how the change to a wider internal diameter mouthpiece rim is going.

A Small Huge Equipment Change

*Disclaimer: While I like to think many of my posts appeal to a wider audience, non-horn players will have to excuse me while I geek out on this one!

     About 3 weeks ago, I changed my mouthpiece rim.  I'm not one of those players who changes mouthpieces and horns all the time.  In fact, other than a change in my mouthpiece cup a few years ago, this is the only equipment change I've undertaken in the last 9 years.  I usually subscribe to the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Or, as this cartoon illustrates...

But, this is a change I've been considering for a while, and so I finally took the plunge.

I Love the Olympics

     As long as I can remember, I've always loved watching the Olympics, and the past 2 weeks I've been tuning in as often as I can.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is that I can relate to the athletes (in a metaphorical way...).

Saint-Saens' Morceau de Concert, Op. 94

I’ve been involved with a project for the past three years that has finally come to fruition!  My colleague at WCU, pianist Andrew Adams, and I have created a critically revised performing edition of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Morceau de Concert, Op. 94.  This has recently been published by Faust Music.

SMBQ Jamaica Tour 2012

     The SMBQ travelled to Jamaica May 13-20, and we played a total of 6 concerts in Kingston and Montego Bay, mostly at all-girls schools.  We played for some huge audiences (1500+), and they were very enthusiastic!  For the majority of these girls, this was the first time they had ever heard a brass quintet live, or any brass instrument, for that matter.

Are You Pickin' Up What I'm Puttin' Down?

     I tried a new activity in our weekly Studio Class yesterday: Dynamic Dictation.  If you've been through sight-singing and ear training courses, you know about rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation.  This is when the instructor plays something on the piano, and you have to write down what you hear.  Well, in a Dynamic Dictation exercise, one horn student plays part of a prepared solo, etude, or excerpt, and the rest of the students mark the dynamics they hear.

On Counting Rests

        I recently played Così fan tutte with the Asheville Lyric Opera.  I plan to post more on this later, particularly No. 25: "Per pieta", which has some hair-raising horn parts.  But for now, this is just a quick post inspired by all the counting of rests the opera involved.
        First, an important point for any ensemble playing...

My Philosophy of Teaching

            I recently re-wrote the following statement of my teaching philosophy, and I thought it would make a good post...

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            I believe the job of any teacher is not only to impart knowledge, but also to equip the students with the ability to advance their own learning beyond the classroom.  I face two very different audiences in my teaching.  My horn students are music lovers who need to see “behind the veil” and learn how music is made.  In Music Appreciation class, most of my students are completely new to the world of art music, and need to be convinced that the subject matter is alive and relevant to their lives.