Welcome to Frackville: The art of the French Horn

Yooooooo,


   I hope all of you had a great week. Super pumped to finalize groups and get our projects rolling. But first here is a little bit about the world of French Horn and Brass in general.

Air: When you become a brass player the idea of what Air means and how to describe it is blown way open. *pun* I really didn't understand the concept and how attentive it needs to be to your playing until I came to college. The number one misconception of your air is the strength; no matter how soft, loud, dark, bright, etc you are, your air must be strong. And usually with brass players when they are nervous, the first thing to go is their air. But there isn't another concept I talk about more in my lessons or with colleagues than air. We are always thinking "oh, you should make your air darker for this piece" or " you are over blowing and added too much speed", the list can vary from colors, to speed, to direction even! My last lesson was dedicated to the SHAPE of my air. My prof was saying that my air sounded too pointed and he wanted me to push it widely then pointed rather then just pointed. *explains with hand motions* But never the less air is crucial and very important to wind instruments. Its the key to any subtle details in a piece.

Chops/Lips: Chops aka Lips mean the same thing in French Horn land. The endurance and stamina of our playing relies on how our lips feel. The biggest struggle for a wind playing at times is our stamina. Although all instrumentalists are limited to a number of hours their bodies can physically handle , the brass world is much shorter than most. We have to be very careful with what we spend our time practicing in a day because we will eventually have to stop. Im always very cautious of how much energy I use in a rehearsal or if I have a lesson the next day I usually limit my night practice the day before. Currently I am going through a huge stamina change because this summer I didn't practice a whole lot and I lossed a lot of muscle. So by doing several short sessions throughout the day I am gaining that all back. Oh as a wind player, never bite your lip while eating or else its game over.

Frack:  Despite the urban dictionary telling me a very different opinion, Fracking is a joking way of being frustrated with our playing. The term relates to when you miss the beginning of a note but slide into it quickly after. Its like a little blurrish at the beginning. Horn players are just expected to deal with this regardless of skill due to the nature and difficulty of our instrument. Our partials are so close and small that fracking can happen due to a lot of things. But its always great to ask someone how their fracks are gong that day. Humbling.

Anyways, this is a little bit about my instrument and culture; so if you ever hear me talk about these terms, this is kind of what I mean but please don't hesitate to make me explain. Have a wonderful weekend, see ya Tuesday!

Much love,
Spence