Extending Horn Range

H
arvey Phillips once stated that
his instrument had three reg-
isters, "the upper register, the
lower register, and the cash register,"
and while hornists may be more com-
fortable playing in either the high or
low register, the days of specialization
are gone. In orchestral playing high
horns use the lower range in Strauss'
Till Eulenspiegel, Shostakovich's Sym-
phony No. 5, and Mussorgsky's Pic-
tures at an Exhibition, and low horns
play in the upper register on Mozart's
Symphony No. 29 in A Major,
Mahler's Symphony No. 1, and
Strauss' Ein Heldenleben. Such con-
temporary solo works as Sigmund
Berg's Horn Lok, Vitaly Bujanovski's
Country Sketches, Thomas Beversdorfs
by Eldon Matlick
Sonata for Horn and Piano, and
Joseph Rheinberger's Sonata for Horn
and Piano use a broad range. In an
age of increasing competition for
fewer positions, students should work
for control in all registers and follow
Philip Parkas' advice to "develop the
entire command of your instrument.
You cannot afford to wait for horn
vacancies for your selected specialty."
While there is no miracle cure for
high or low range problems, most
arise from inadequate air support and
poor embouchure control. Hornists
can feel the changes in air support
and embouchure in different octaves
by singing a middle register note and
moving stepwise either up or down,
noting differences in vowel sound, jaw
position, tongue placement, and air
use. Usually singing causes a higher
tongue and jaw position on high notes
while abdominal muscles change posi-
tion for a faster air velocity.
Whistling a familiar tune demon-
strates the proper use of air and em-
bouchure; there is a correlation be-
tween the highest whistled note and
the upper horn note in a player's
range. This is a good exercise even for
players who cannot produce a sound
while whistling. Keep one hand in
front of the mouth while whistling to
feel the air stream with the other
hand placed on the lower abdomen to;
feel how these muscles work. Avoid
clamped lips, as when saying an ra
syllable, and instead use an oo sha]
for every note,
aperture will fi
camera shutter
as abdominal t
is what shoulc
higher notes on
Once this c
with whistling
mouthpiece bu:
additional praci
per range if stm
rectly. First pla
and strive for a
ty. Place one 1
mouthpiece sha.
of air producir*
perfect fourth a:
quality; each p:
same quantity c
loss of air veloc
piece shank. Ne:
the same intervE
ty of the buzzinj
wind. After perl
to sixths or octa
The next exer
thodox, but it i
holding the inst
index finger in
stead of the pin
thumb alongside
the mouthpiece
smallest pressure
!5; without mot
quality wil l "
should be played
Jy the vibratin
the mouthp:
} pitch in this e>
1 C, gently focu
! next harmonic
ar between n
ving sequenc-
i only with a :
notes.
poiliblt
for every note. As the pitch rises the
aperture will focus each note like a
camera shutter with air moving faster
as abdominal muscles contract. This
is what should occur when playing
higher notes on the horn.
Once this concept is established
with whistling exercises, move on to
mouthpiece buzzing. No amount of
additional practice will develop an up-
per range if students do not buzz cor-
rectly. First play a comfortable pitch
and strive for a vibrant, breathy quali-
ty. Place one hand in front of the
mouthpiece shank to feel the amount
of air producing this sound. Buzz a
perfect fourth and listen to the sound
quality; each pitch should have the
same quantity of wind noise and no
loss of air velocity from the mouth-
piece shank. Next play a glissando over
the same interval, checking the quali-
ty of the buzzing and the quantity of
wind. After perfect fourths, move on
to sixths or octaves.
The next exercise may seem unor-
thodox, but it is effective. Begin by
holding the instrument with the left
index finger in the finger hook, in-
stead of the pinky, and placing the
thumb alongside the leadpipe. Rest
the mouthpiece on the lips with the
smallest pressure possible and play
C5; without mouthpiece pressure the
buzz quality will be airy. This exercise
should be played on the open F horn.
I Only the vibrating edge of the lip in-
Iside the mouthpiece should control
i the pitch in this exercise. After the ini-
1 tial C, gently focus the lip to produce
I the next harmonic, D, with a glissando
Ismear between notes. In playing the
I following sequence, move to the next
I pitch only with a smooth glissando be-
irween notes.
Charles Kavalovski of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra uses an over-
tone exercise covering the entire horn
range. Begin with the second over-
tone, C3, on open F horn and slowly
play all notes in the natural harmonic
series up to the 16th partial, C6. Use a
breathy buzz throughout, never forc-
ing or pinching any upper notes; for
difficult pitches stop ascending and
work up to them. Move in a measured
fashion, slurring between partials
played as quarter, eighth, and six-
teenth notes. Advanced players
should work towards playing all of
these partials in a three octave gliss to
prepare for clean, wide range slurs.
gliss
Players with a stiff, dull tone are
usually over-using the interior em-
bouchure muscles, making them too
rigid to vibrate. Fred Fox devoted a
chapter of his book The Essentials of
Brass Playing to this problem and in-
cluded a four-note diatonic slur exer-
cise in which the aperture only fo-
cuses the initial middle-range note,
while other notes are played changing
only air velocity, which makes them
under-focused and flat.
mp
f
To further develop aperture, upper
register, and control of lip trills the
following Bb horn exercises work par-
ticularly well. Perform all of these ex-
ercises on second and third valve
combinations ascending chromatic'
ally to open notes. Produce the
pitches with the vibrating edge of the
lip at a mezzo-piano volume, playing
upper notes with a small bump of air
from the lower abdominal muscles;
the lips should not focus down on the
upper notes for any reason.
^
=^
=t=
Blow directly into the center of the
mouthpiece cone when performing as-
cending passages. Too often inexperi-
enced students perform extended
scales or arpeggios by directing the air
stream down toward the side of the
mouthpiece wall. This helps playing
problematic upper notes, but the tone
quality suffers. Play a one octave ar-
peggio starting on second line G and
make a conscious effort to bend the
air stream steadily downwards. Re-
peat this paying close attention to the
quality and freedom of tone. Then
perform the same arpeggio striving to
keep the air stream moving straight
ahead on every pitch. If this pro-
cedure does not immediately improve
the tone and consistency, imagine
whistling the arpeggio. Transfer this
action to playing and notice the ease
and fullness of tone.
To develop a strong air stream ima-
gine blowing the upper notes out-
wards past the music stand. For exam-
ple, think of C4 as being one foot
away, C5 three feet away, and C6
blown by an air stream that reaches
eight feet. Approaching high notes ac-
cording to their vertical position on
the staff often causes players to
squeeze and pinch, but by thinking of
blowing out horizontally with a con-
trolled air direction, the pitches will
sound more easily.
Students should use the same wind
and aperture control for a solid low
range. On descending notes the aper-
ture enlarges and should vibrate freely
with firm corners and the chin
pointed down; if the embouchure is
firmly set, the aperture will enlarge in
the correct elliptical shape. An en-
Eldon Matlick is assistant professor of
horn at the University of Oklahoma
School of Music, principal ham with the
Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra,
a former finalist in the Heldenleben In-
ternational Horn Competition, and a fre-
quent recitalist and clinician. He holds an
M.M. in performance from Indiana Uni-
versity, and a B.M.E. from Eastern Ken-
tucky University, and is presently a doc-
toral candidate in brass pedagogy at Indi-
ana University,
SEPTEMBER 1992 / THE INSTRUMENTALIST 47