A Comprehensive Approach to Achieving Your Horn-playing Goals
Based on The Foundation chapter of Good Vibrations: Masterclasses for Brass
Players, this presentation offers proven strategies to realize a hornist’s
full potential and achieve their goals. Development of a superior musical mind,
powerful practice techniques, time-savers to develop both musicianship and
technique with the greatest possible simplicity in the least amount of time,
empowering attitudes and approaches employed by elite athletes, valuable
resources, and more are offered that build a solid foundation for personal
success.
Effective Approaches
to Teaching and Learning
Achieve
your full potential as a teacher and performer, and learn how to become your own
best teacher. Proven techniques to diagnose and solve problems in a
simple, time-saving manner are presented. Discussions proceed from the macro
level of teaching philosophy/psychology down to ‘nuts and bolts’ issues. Both
teachers and students will benefit from this session.
Practice for Success
Make the most of those
hours in a practice room.
Observing, analyzing, and coaching volunteer performers while they
practice is an especially valuable component of this session.
Among the topics discussed during this session are
goal setting, time management, organization of practice periods, productive
attitudes and study habits, problem solving, helpful resources, and uses of
technology.
Fine-tune Your Ears
Learn
to instantly differentiate the qualities of sound (and types of pain)
associated with flatness and sharpness, and experience the great resonance
produced by pure intonation. The science of just intonation and equal
temperament is made simple. Exercises are demonstrated that systematically
lead musicians along the road to hearing with remarkable pitch
discrimination.
Mental Focus –
Distraction Class 101
Music performance is a
mental game. Learn techniques to develop iron-clad mental focus, and personally
experience Distraction Class 101 – an ever-popular class that challenges and
intensely focuses the musical mind. Be prepared for surprises and fun along the
way.
Audition Preparation
Auditions are
opportunities to turn dreams into reality, whether those dreams are to win a
position in a high school band, college music program, community orchestra, or
major symphony. This session will provide keys to open those doors to
opportunity.
Visualize to Realize
Learn visualization techniques that Olympic
athletes employ in their quest to become champions, in order to greatly enhance your
performances and realize your goals.
Achieving Peak
Performance – Sports Psychology Meets Music Performance
Realize your potential
in high-pressure situations. Advances in sports psychology have had an amazing
impact in all fields of performance. Learn specific techniques and holistic
approaches from the discipline of sports psychology that are now benefiting
musicians, SWAT team members, and business executives who must perform at the
highest level under pressure.
Developing a Career
in Music
After college, then
what? Topics include career opportunities, developing a private studio, K – 12
and college teaching, military bands, the symphony life, entrepreneurship,
resume writing, auditions and interviews, professional etiquette,
networking, social media, and helpful resources.
Mastering the Horn’s
Low Register
Barry Tuckwell called
Randy Gardner’s Mastering the Horn’s Low Register “…an invaluable book
for all horn players,” and David Ohanion wrote, “ …it is the most important new
offering to the horn world since Kopprasch.” Mastering the Horn’s Low
Register (www.internationalopus.com/Gardner.html)
is written for all horn players, students and professionals, who wish to enjoy
the many benefits that come with low register proficiency. Interactive
masterclasses based on this book focus on production fundamentals and
excerpt lessons, and are tailored to fit the needs of any audience.
Horn Masterclasses
Students perform in a
traditional masterclass setting.
Brass Masterclasses
Students perform in a
traditional masterclass setting.
Teaching Individual
Horn and Brass Instrument Lessons
Conducting Rehearsals
of:
Wind and/or Brass
Sectionals of Orchestral Repertoire
Horn Choirs
Brass Choirs
Wind Serenades and
Harmoniemusik Ensembles
(CCM Esprit de Cor
Horn Choir performances are posted on the Videos page.)
Coaching Chamber
Music Ensembles of any configuration
During rehearsals and
coachings, attention is focused on refining ensemble skills and sense of style
while preparing polished performances of the selected repertoire. A strong
emphasis is placed on opening the ears of ensemble members to music being made
by their colleagues. During the course of these interactive rehearsals,
ensemble members are regularly called upon to discuss their perception of
specific details such as balance, intonation, styles of articulation, note
lengths, and phrasing. Emphasis is also given to appropriate stylistic
performance of the chosen repertoire.
Special topic requests are welcome!
