Hi Tedi On 29 March 2010 00:23, Tedi Lojewski <[email protected]> wrote: > > I have been reading the horn digest for about a month - given that I am > a mere amateur, I am obviously impressed. As a an old (almost retired) > amateur who has not picked up the horn since college, I would appreciate > some advice on getting back to horn playing again. I am frustrated because > of my obvious loss of ability over the last 30 years. I have been playing > with a community band for about 6 months and my lip and breathing are still > not anywhere near where they used to be. I will be seeking out private > instruction locally. Now the questions - > 1) The horn - I play a Holton H177 which I've had since jr hi and I did have > reconditioned. Should I be saving up for a better horn over the long haul?
Get some lessons and have an experienced player look over the horn. He or she will be in a much better position to say whether it is OK than anybody here > 2) Breathing - I'm doing the old "book on the diaphragm" exercises; long > tones; not much improvement. Previously I lived in the midwest. I'm now in > the mountains at 8500 feet. Could that make a difference? Since you're acclimatised to it, there's no particular reason for that to make much of a difference. It's far more likely one or more of the following is the major cause of slow progress with strength of lip - You've picked up some bad habits with breathing, embouchure & posture, which need to be diagnosed and corrected by a teacher - You've advanced musically in the meantime and have a stronger idea of what you want to achieve, and its just frustrating that the embouchure isn't able to deliver what you're asking of it - Your muscles aren't quite what they used to be. Get to a teacher, who will be able to give an indication of how much these are contributing. > 3)What is the going price for lessons from a good teacher (i.e., college > professor or symphony horn)? I don't live in that part of the world, I'll leave it to somebody who lives nearer to answer that one. > 4) Any websites you would recommend for music and just general horn > knowledge? When I played previously there was no internet! Thanks! Here are a few http://registeredmusictherapist.blogspot.com/ http://beforhorn.blogspot.com/ http://hornmatters.com/ and mine http://jonathanhornthoughts.blogspot.com/ Others will no doubt chip in with additional sites. Regards Jonathan West _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
