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.

5 Days in the Life

     Tonight I will conclude a busy 5-day stretch that demonstrates what makes my job hectic at times, but also exemplifies one of the aspects I love about my job: the opportunity to perform and make music in a variety of settings. Here are the highlights...

In the Hot Seat

     Last week I had the opportunity to play Principal with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for Mahler's 2nd Symphony.  I normally play 4th in this group, but due to a couple of absences in the section, I got to play 1st.  If that doesn't deserve a blog post, I don't know what does!

How Much Should a Teacher Play in Lessons?

     I'm a little behind on my Horn Call reading.  Recently, I was reading James Boldin's interview with Douglas Hill in the February 2011 issue (Vol. XLI, No. 2).  This quote caught my eye.  Discussing what it takes to be a successful, effective teacher, Hill says...

"Developing verbal skills is important, and maybe even developing vocal skills, or demonstration skills. I don't demonstrate much on the horn, mostly because I'm not asking people to imitate. If you rarely play for students in lessons, the best sounds come from them. I'm not denouncing imitation - it's useful for many things - but we can get that by listening to CDs." (p. 50)

My Best Practice Advice

     It's been waaaay too long since my last post!  There are lots of reasons for this, but one of my favorite sayings is: "A reason is not an excuse."  I feel compelled to write this post because I've been giving this little bit of advice in several lessons lately.
     Back in February, I posted a list of Practice Tips.  If I could only give one, this would be it: